Sylvia Rosa Cosio, 27

Sept. 14, 2012

Sylvia Rosa Cosio, a 27-year-old Latina, died Friday, Sept. 14, seven days after she was shot in the 400 block of East Avenue Q-3 in Palmdale, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Ed Winter, spokesman for the coroner's office, said Cosio was shot by her boyfriend Sept. 7 about 5:30 a.m.

After the boyfriend shot Cosio, he killed himself, Winter said.

Cosio was taken by paramedics to a hospital, where she died seven days later.

Coroner's officials said the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

Anyone with more information about the killing is asked to contact the Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

-- Los Angeles Times

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16 reader comments

@Uncle Sam,

Here are some facts:

Legal costs: Almost all people facing the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney. The state must assign them two public defenders, and pay for the costs of the prosecution as well. So the state pays ALL the lawyers, both sides!

Pre-trial costs: Capital cases are far more complicated than non-capital cases. Experts will probably be needed on forensic evidence, mental health and the social history of the defendant.

Jury selection: Because of the death penalty question, jury selection in capital cases is much more time consuming and expensive.

Trial: Death penalty trials can last over four times longer, requiring juror and attorney compensation, in addition to court personnel and other related costs.

Incarceration: Most death rows involve solitary confinement in a special facility. These require more security and other accommodations as the prisoners are kept for 23 hours a day in their cells.

Appeals: To minimize mistakes, every inmate is entitled to a series of appeals. The costs are borne at taxpayers' expense. These appeals are essential because some inmates have come within hours of execution before evidence was uncovered proving their innocence.
DPIC Podcast

"The current backlog of death penalty cases (in CA) is so severe that most of the 714 prisoners now on death row will wait well over 20 years before their cases are resolved. Many of these condemned inmates will thus languish on death row for decades, only to die of natural causes while still waiting for their cases to be resolved."
www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

“The additional cost of confining an inmate to death row, as compared to the maximum security prisons where those sentenced to life without possibility of parole ordinarily serve their sentences, is $90,000 per year per inmate.”
www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

So basically giving a defendant life in prison is $90,000 LESS than putting an inmate on death row in California. Most death row inmates die of old age rather than being executed. Uncle Sam, if murderers were executed right after their convictions, then yes, that would be cheaper than life in prison. But that's not the way it works. The system is so broken. Ask Damon Thibodeaux what he thinks. He was released from death row in Louisiana after serving 15 years for a crime he didn't commit. He is the 141st person to be freed from death row nationwide. Death penalty cases are exorbitantly expensive and in some cases, inaccurate. Yes, some people should die for their crimes. But until the system is fixed, I don't believe the death penalty serves any purpose. Hey, life in prison worked out for Jeffery Dahmer, didn't it?

— Ms. Lee Oct. 6, 2012 at 3:37 p.m.

@michellel,

The death penalty does nothing to reduce crime. Life in prison is actually cheaper than putting a person on death row. There is an endless appeals process for those on death row and their court appointed lawyers eat up a lot of the cost. The death penalty inmates are also in protective custody, that is expensive too. As of this year, there are 725 inmates on California's death row. Since reinstating the death penalty in 1978, only 13 inmates have been executed. Plus the state of California has halted the death penalty for several reasons since 2006. So we are paying billions to house these inmates never knowing if they will be executed. The death penalty doesn't work as a deterrent because the system is so flawed. And finally, if you still believe in the death penalty, ask the more than 140 people previously on death row nationwide who have had their convictions overturned for a myriad of reasons. Those reasons being anything from DNA evidence to witnesses recanting their testimony. If you are poor and can't afford a lawyer, good luck. It's a sad commentary of our judicial system that even today we are STILL exonerating prisoners due to faulty court proceedings. But the death penalty doesn't prevent crime. People just aren't that scared I guess, or they don't think they will get caught.

— Ms. Lee Oct. 4, 2012 at 10:43 a.m.

@ michelleI,

I'd take it a step futher and show them on Pay Per View. Take all the money and feed it into our school systems, especially the less fortunate districts so they can add more programs to help prevent this way of life.

It will never happen. Too many people don't have the ability to put themselves in other people's shoes. Kind of what you mentioned, can you imagine if it was your family member that was killed?

It reminds me of "stay of executions", when people are picketing outside of prisons to keep the killer alive. My first thought is always, "what if it was your daughter who was raped and killed by this monster? Would you still be holding that sign?"

Unfortunately, too many people just don't get it and never will.

— mightymike33tm3 Oct. 3, 2012 at 4:34 p.m.

Bulldozing the areas won’t resolve anything. Gang activities will start up when they return, or wherever they go, just like they did in Palmdale and Antelope Valley.
A better idea in my opinion is to institute the Death Penalty, as in actually following through with it. Murders should meet the same fate as their innocent victims, albeit in much less violent ways like lethal injection, which in itself is already “unfair” for the innocent victims, who suffered much more violent deaths, and their families.
Three years in jail, or life in prison without parole, is in no way ‘justice’ for the victim or their families. Just imagine losing a loved one yourself and having to accept that as ‘restitution’ to society. Not even close. Some murderers can come out of jail one day and go home to their children, spouses, parents, families, but what about their victims? What about their loved ones? They have to live on, never to see their loved ones on this earth again. Not fair at all.
Instituting the Death Penalty also reduces tax money from being spent to feed them and give them medical care, etc., permanently eliminates repeat offenders from going back into the streets to commit more crimes, and puts criminals on notice that they’re risking their own lives by committing crimes, so it’s a “win-win” situation all the way around in my opinion.

— michelleI Oct. 2, 2012 at 10:19 a.m.