The Marin County district attorney says he will seek the death penalty for a San Quentin prisoner accused of fatally stabbing a fellow inmate in July 2010.
Frank Souza of San Jose was serving a 55-year-to-life sentence for murdering a homeless man when the stabbing occurred in the San Quentin West Block Yard. Souza, 31, arrived at San Quentin in January.
The inmate victim was Edward Schaefer, 44, newly arrived at San Quentin to serve a life sentence for manslaughter. He was convicted of speeding while driving drunk on his motorcycle, which hit and killed Melody Osheroff, 9, and seriously injuring her father, Aaron Osheroff. He lost a leg in the accident.
District Attorney Ed Berberian said Souza is eligible for the death penalty because of two special circumstances. They are his prior conviction for the murder of John Carl Riggins in 2007 and his current “lying in wait” surprise attack on Schaefer.
Souza’s attorney, Gerald Schwartzbach, gained an acquittal for actor Robert Blake in his murder trial. He also represented Stephen Bingham, who was accused of smuggling a gun into San Quentin prisoner George Jackson in a bloody 1971 escape attempt. Three guards and three inmates, including Jackson, died in that incident.
Because this is a capital case, the Superior Court assigned a second lawyer to represent Souza, death penalty appellate expert Eric Multhaup.
Souza allegedly created a prison weapon called a “bone crusher” and used it to stab Schafer seven times in the chest and neck on July 26, 2010.