People v. Sassounian

Opinion

CROSKEY, J. *

The defendant and appellant Harry M. Sassounian (herein the defendant), appeals from the judgment imposing upon him a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole following a jury trial in which he was found guilty of murder in the first degree (Pen. Code, § 187), with a true finding of the special circumstance that the killing was because of the victim’s nationality or country of origin. (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subd. (a)(16).) 1

Factual Background

On the last morning of his life, Kemal Arikan (herein Arikan), the Consul General of the Republic of Turkey at Los…