Ukiah Daily Journal from Ukiah, California • Page 1

UHS Wildcats rally to clip ElMolino Page 12 New DA 'arrested' WEATHER MENDOCINO COUNTY Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Patchy dense valley fog during the late night hours. Lows in the 40s to low 50s. Highs in the upper 50s to low 70s. Friday 62 49 Last year 85 54 Saturday 70 44 Last year 62 Rainfall From 5p.m.

yesterday to 8 a.m. today 0.01 Year to date 2.20 Last year 1.73 Ukiah Daily Sunday, September 28, 1986 1986, Donrey, inc. Vol. 126 No. 139 34 pages Serving Mendocino County, Calif.

50 cents Danielson handed death penalty Jury reaches verdict in two hours By PETER PAGE and BRIAN WILLOUGHBY Journal Staff Wrlttn Almost without hesitation Friday, a Mendocino County jury became the first in 35 years to sentence a killer to death. Pleas to spare the life of multiple killer Robert Wayne Danielson were dissected and discarded in less than two hours by the four-woman, eight- man panel which has heard the case against Danielson the past four months. "We all tried to find a way to reach the lesser sentence," said juror Don Tucker, of Mendocino. All the jurors were uncomfortably aware of the speed at which they reached their decision, but all points of law were observed, he insisted. "The weight of the evidence was so heavy that it couldn't be ignored," Tucker explained.

The same jury two months ago found Danielson guilty of the July 1982 kidnap, robbery, and execution-style slayings of Benjamin and Edith Shaffer, 69 and 62 respectively, on the Mendocino County coast. The penalty phase of the trial ended Friday morning with defense lawyers Ron Brown and George McClure pleading for Danielson to be sentenced to life in prison without parole, and prosecutor Cliff Harris restating his demand for a death sentence. McClure and Brown reminded the jury of other infamous murderers such as Charles Manson, Juan Corona, and Hillside Stranglers Kenneth A. Bianchi and Angelo Buono who were sentenced to life in prison, but did not receive the death "Wttether my client spends the rest of his life in prison and dies at the hand of God, or whether he dies in the gas chamber it's your choice," Brown said. "It's a moral question.

"What do we resolve by adding another death to this tragedy?" Brown asked jurors near the end of his closing argument. Harris, though, characterized Danielson as a cold-blooded killer who left a trail of "misery, injury, pain, suffering, blood and human bodies on the countryside. "When it serves his purpose, (Danielson is) ready to kill," Harris safd. The jury began deliberations at 11:45 a.m., took an hour for lunch at 12:30 p.m., and announced that they had reached a verdict before 3 p.m. "I have a clear conscience," said jury foreman Frances Throop.

"We've enforced the law and we've done what is right. I have no guilt feelings." Outside the courtroom, which remained locked with the jury inside while bailiffs awaited the arrival of the attorneys for both sides, members of the Shaffer family and spectators crowded into a narrow hallway shortly before court reconvened for the jury's decision. There was little audible reaction from spectators when the death penalty verdict was read at 3:23 p.m. Peggy Johnson, Danielson's sister, stared straight ahead for a moment before breaking into tears and sobs. She was comforted by a friend.

Danielson showed no trace of emotion when the verdict was read. His calm demeanor in the past has been attributed in part to large doses of prescription tranquilizers provided by See DEATH, Page 3 202 others await gas chamber By PETER PAGE Journal Staff Writer There are many men ahead of Robert Wayne Danielson in the grim line leading to death in the California gas chamber. Assuming no one else arrives there before his formal sentencing Nov. 7, Danielson will become prisoner number 203 on Death Row at San Quentin state prison, according to Lt. Dave Langerman.

Langerman is charged with keeping the records of Death Row inmates. There are no women prisoners awaiting death sentences at this time, according to a spokeswoman from Frontera California Correctional Institution for Women in Southern California. The last man executed in the California gas chamber was Aaron Mitchell, who was put to death April 12, 1967. Mitchell was sentenced to death for killing police officer Arnold Gamble in a gunfight in Sacramento County, according to Langerman. Former Mendocino County Sheriff Reno Bartolomei was a witness when the last man sentenced to death by a Mendocino County court was executed at San Quentin.

"It was the Porter case, back in '54," Bartolomei recalled. Porter was sentenced to death in 1951 for the gunshot slayings of his wife and mother-in-law near the town of Mendocino. Andrew Robertson, 41, has been on Death Row the longest of any current inmate, having arrived at San Quentin in June 1978. He was sentenced to death for kidnaping, raping and killing two women in San Bernardino County in 1977. The most recent arrival on Death Row is Ralph International Thomas, 40, who arrived Friday, the day after an Alameda County judge upheld the recommended death sentence for the murders of two people, Langerman said.

All executions in California have been the responsibility of the the state prison system since the passage of the execution law in 1892. Prior to that, capital offenders were executed counties where victed, Langerman said, Evan Johnson by hanging in the Robert Wayne Danielson gave no sign of apprehension as he walked into the courtroom Fn- they were con- day afternoon to hear the jury recommend that he be put to death for the murders of Benjamin and Edith Shaffer. Tax reform bi gets Senate nod WASHINGTON (UPI) The Senate easily gave final congressional approval Saturday to an historic tax reform bill, ending a two-year legislative odyssey to provide Americans with a new tax code that has lower rates and far fewer loopholes. The sweeping bill that will touch the finances of virtually every taxpayer now goes to President Reagan who, as the driving force behind the effort to overhaul the nation's tax laws, is certain to sign it. The 74-23 vote inlhe Senate came two days after the House passed the bill 292-136.

A total of 41 Republican senators and Democrats voted for the bill while 11 Republicans and 12 Democrats opposed it. "Taxes are about more than money and they're about more than economics," said Sen. Bob Packwood, one of the main architects of the plan, as he closed out a two-day debate. "They're about fairness and this bill is fair." "I'm not certain we've gained a lot as far as simplicity, added Senate Republican leader Robert Pole of we gained a lot in fairness." As senators cast their ballots, Packwood, chairman of the Finance committee, stood smiling broadly in the well of the chamber and accepted congratulations from the bill's friends and foes. Treasury Secretary James Baker sat by himself in the visitors' gallery, also smiling and waving to The Senate action seemed an almost anti-climactic end for the legislation which has been considered dead time and again in the past year, only to be dramatically resurrected by congressional sponsors and Reagan, who made the issue his top domestic priority.

Reagan, who began the main drive for tax reform with a plan released in late 1984, joined congressional sponsors in arguing that the bill was needed because Americans were beginning to lose faith in their tax system. Meeting a key demand from Reagan, the bill is supposed to be revenue neutral" not raising nor lowering the amount of income tax money the government collects. Willits residents rally to fight drug abuse By REBECCA SNETSELAAR Journal Correipondent WILLITS While there is no hard evidence to suggest upswings in drug or alcohol abuse among Willits youths, residents of the city are not taking state statistics on the matter lightly, Northern rural areas of California show higher use of drugs and alcohol among teens than the big cities, according to a recent survey by the state attorney general's office. By the middle of their junior year, 75 percent of those students have had at least one beer, and half of them say they have tried marijuana. In Willits last year, a total of nine students were suspended from school in grades 7 through 12 for intoxication or possession of illegal substances.

According to school administrators, that is about the same as in past years. "There is no evidence of increased use in the schools, although there may be more in the community," said Willits high school principal Charles Davison. "I hear more talk these days about drinking and weekend parties, though. I think there are more parties," he added. Vice principal Floyd Brandt agreed that the problem is not obvious in school.

"They cut class to drink and smoke, or they just don't come in that day," he said. He added, "I don't know of any kids right now that appear to have a severe problem." Police chief Barry Kalar disagrees. "I don't think the school administration is aware of the problem. I know there are drugs being used on that campus," he said. "I'd love to have an undercover narcotics officer in the school, but the funding isn't available." "It's not getting a lot worse.

We're just becoming more aware of the problem that exists," said Kalar. At Kalar's request, the city council passed a resolution last week applauding the determination of the school distict to make drug and alcohol abuse prevention their number one priority this year, and instructing the chief to work with the schools to develop a plan of action to make the schools a safe haven from drugs. The Willits school district has demonstrated its committment to the fight against drug abuse. It spent over $10,000 last year on educational programs for staff and students. The district paid for 41 teachers and staff to attend a seminar held in Willits last June, at a cost of $4,100.

They hope to do it again next year. The five-day workshop focused on increasing awareness of alcohol and drug abuse, and on determining a plan to help drug users and abusers in Willits. As a result of that workshop, each school has a core of teachers who meet to find ways to address the issue. The high school drug and alcohol abuse intervention program has printed an informational poster listing social service programs available to students. "We want to make Willits high school a place where its safe to say said Willits substance abuse mentor Margaret Smith.

Besides teaching Family Life classes at the high school, her job is to coordinate the school district's substance abuse curriculum and maintain her involvement with the Willits Substance Abuse Action Committee. The mentor program uses state funds for projects chosen by the district to meet special needs. With $5,290 budgeted by the school board, Smith selected a specific curriculum for all grades this year. Laytonville uses the same program. Kindergarteners and first graders will receive 10 hours a year of instruction in self- awareness and how to identify poisons.

Grades two through seven devote 20 hours per year to the study of substance abuse, starting with the effect of poisons on the body and the dangers of drug use. Discussion of alcoholic beverages begins in the second or third grade, and marijuana is first discussed in the fourth or fifth. Eighth grade students are required to take a course in Family Life, which includes two-and- a-half weeks of intensive study of substance abuse. Courses in Family Life are also offered to llth and 12th graders. "We aren't going 19 stop the hard-core user," said Smith.

"We hope to intervene before he ever gets to that point. We may never know if we have done any good, "she added. "We teach them how to know when drugs or alcohol becomes a problem. We're dealing a Ipt with drinking and driving," said Smith. The high school also sponsors a Peer Counseling Program.

Student volunteers are trained in communication skills so they can help kids who get in trouble. "They are taught to be confidential, and they are very reliable," said Smith. "Kids will talk to kids. Peer counselors are chosen for their ability to deal with other kids." Fifty high school students applied to participate in the program this year. Smith also serves as chairperson on the Willits Substance Abuse Action Committee, a group aiming to intervene in substance abuse.

"We think its time we just get it together and get it stopped," said Smith..