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volume 71 Issue 7

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After 24 years, Symptoms of the new hope for former student the congressional standoff in its second week, the on death row With consequences for higher education draw nearer.

SHUTDOWN

Benjamin Mullin

Editor-in-Chief

Steven Crittenden, now 46, was a 19-year-old Chico State student when police arrested him at gunpoint outside his Chico apartment on suspicion of killing a prominent Chico physician and his wife. Police said the two were found in separate rooms, and were bound and gagged with knives protruding from their chests, according to a 1987 Orion article. Crittenden was convicted two years later for the brutal slayings of Dr. William Chiapella and his wife, Katherine. He was sentenced to death, and spent much of his time in San Quentin State Prison. Now, 24 years after his conviction, the former Chico State football player may be granted a retrial if a decision made by a federal court judge stands. The decision, made by U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller last week, tosses out Crittenden’s conviction on the grounds that the prosecution’s dismissal of the lone African American on the jury was racially motivated. Before Mueller’s ruling, the appeal gradThe evidence ually made its way against Mr. through the judicial Crittenden system and was denied by the California Suand his preme Court. butchering of Butte County DisMr. and Mr. trict Attorney Mike Chiapella was Ramsey, who was overwhelmelected shortly after ing. the slayings took place, disputes Mueller’s Michael Ramsey ruling. It flies in the Butte County face of decisions made District Attorney by numerous other judges, he said. “The evidence against Mr. Crittenden and his butchering of Mr. and Mr. Chiapella was overwhelming,” Ramsey said. “Here we are 24 years later and a single federal judge in Sacramento made a decision that 10 other previous judges disagreed with.” Ramsey contends that the prosecutor for the case, Gerald Flanagan, made his decision because the juror was unsure whether she supported the death penalty, not because she was African-American. One of Crittenden’s attorneys, Mark Goldrosen, praised Mueller’s decision. The prosecutor’s records show that the African-American juror was given undue scrutiny because of her race, Goldrosen said. Crittenden, who is also African-American, was excited and encouraged when he heard that he might get a retrial, Goldrosen said. “He was thrilled and he felt new confidence in the workings of the court system to reach a fair result,” he said. Mueller’s ruling requires the court to start a retrial within 60 days, but the Attorney General will appeal that decision, Ramsey said. The prosecution is willing to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. Benjamin Mullin can be reached at editorinchief@theorion.com or

JUDICIAL REVIEW Jan. 13, 1987

William and Katherine Chiappella are murdered in their Chico home.

Federal Grants

Student Aid Just 5 percent of the U.S. Department of Education’s workforce is coming in every day. Of those employees, the majority are working to provide high-priority financial aid to students nationwide. But while the department will be prioritizing student loans and grants, services including federal work-study, low priority grants, customer service and administrative functions not related to financial aid have been put on the back burner.

Sept. 20, 2013

U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller signs an order tossing out Crittenden’s conviction, requiring prosecutors to institute a retrial or release him within 60 days.

Yo-yo experts face off downtown Anthony Rojas, a Cal Poly Pomona student, spins his yo-yo between his legs during a performance at the 2013 National Yo-yo Contest in downtown Chico Saturday. The competition saw yo-yo players from throughout the country try their skills against one another onstage at City Plaza. For more on the competition, check out The Orion’s coverage on B5. MORE ON THEORION.com Video and photo gallery available online.

Drug arrests up, booze crimes down, university report finds Disciplinary referrals and arrests for alcohol violations significantly declined at Chico State last year, while drug arrests increased, according to an annual crime report released by the University Police Department. The 2013 Annual Security Report, compiled in accordance with the Clery Act, was released on Oct. 1. The report details crime statistics gathered by university police from 2010-2012.

INDEX Corrections

Referrals for on-campus liquor law violations saw a 36 percent decrease in 2012, dropping from 111 referrals in 2011 to 71 referrals last year. Four arrests for alcohol violations were made last year, down from 11 in 2011. University police have been noticing fewer minors in possession of alcohol and fewer open container violations, said Lt. Corinne Beck of the University Police Department. Beck said she hopes that programs like Freshman Safe Start have helped to curb citations and arrests. “We’ve been really trying to educate stu-

dents,” Beck said. “Hopefully some of that education has paid off.” The report also indicates that drug violations have steadily increased on campus, with 23 arrests being made in 2012, up from 7 in 2011. “We’re seeing more meth and more heroin,” Beck said. There has also been an increase in the prevalence of drugs such as marijuana and prescription drugs like Adderall. The cause of the increase is unclear, Beck said. She speculated that the trend could

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