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ragcv After the reversal of his 1980 conviction, Alcala was retried, convicted and sentenced to death a second time at a Santa Ana trial in 1986. The state Supreme Court Los Angeles ruied that, during Alcala's second trial, Orange County Superior Court. Judge Donald A. McCartin had "precluded the defense from developing and presenting evidence material to slgnificant issues in the case.'. A cruclal Issue was the reliabillty of the prosecution's key witness, Dana Crappa, a former U.S. Forest Service ranger. Crappa offered the only evidence linking Alcala to Samsoe at the site where her body was found. Crappa testified during the first trial that she belleved she had seen the two together. At the second trial, however, Crappa said she had amnesia. The prosecution was allowed to have her testimony from the first case read to the jury. McCartin did not permit testimony from psychologist Ray w. London of Irvine, who had listened to hours of taped police interviews with Crappa, and was prepared contention they denied. Crappa's demeanor during the first trial "was odd, If not bizarre," appeals court judge Dorothy w. Nelson wrote in the opinion released Friday.. "The record is replete with examples of Crappa behaving in a manner that calls into question her credibility, mental stability, psychiatric health and veracity as witness," Nelson concluded. Nelson's opinion upheld virtually all of wison's rulings. The appeals court agreed that McCartin had wrongly barred testimony of three other potentially relevant witnesses and had incorrectly admitted evidence.. The appeals court also ruled that Alcala had received constitutionally deficient representation from his trial lawyers. The lawyers failed to introduce evidence from a possible key alibi witness and falled to Investigate the crime scene, the judges wrote. The effect of Judge McCartin's errors, coupled with the defense attorneys' lackluster performance, "goes to the heart of the prosecutlon's theory of the case and undermines every important element of proof offered by the prosecution agalnst Alcala,"Nelson wrote. "Indeed, after reviewing the errors in this case, we are left with the unambiguous convlction that the verdict In this case was not the result of a fair trial, Nelson found. Brea attorney 3ohn P. Dolan, one of Alcala's trial lawyers, and Redondo Beach Jawyer Norman D. James, one of his appellate attorneys, said they were pleased that the appeals court had ruled A!cala was entitled to a new triat. Both said they thought he did not kill Samsoe. James, a former federal prosecutor, sald there was no physical evldence linking Alcala to the crime. An alibi witness told investigators that Alcala had been at Knotts Berry Farm about the time Samsce was last seen alive, he said. "He certainly has malntalned his innocence from the beginning, and I am convinced he Is innocent,James sald. Connelly, who said she has experienced considerable anguish as the case has bounced around various courts for better than two decades, cried when reached by telepnone at her home in Norco. Weeks and months spent away from work in trial and at court hearings have left the Connellys financially unstabie. Durlng the last trial, their house went into October. Over the years, they have been paraded around by politicians. Marianne Connelly campaigned to get former California Chief Justice Rose Bird out of office. The family has raised funds for victlms rlghts. "It didn't do us a damn bit of good," said Harry Connelly. "what more does soclety want from us? There's no end to this,Marianne Connelly said.I can't believe we have to go through this again. We've been reliving this for 23 years. It just isn't right. When are we going to be given some consideration? when is Robin going to be thought about in all of this? http://netscape.digitalcity.com/losangeles/news/article.adp?article=1322754& dci e tinc... 6/29/2003