Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said it was not necessary to convene a committee to decide whether to seek the death penalty in the Seal Beach salon shooting rampage because only "one punishment" would fit the crime.
In most cases, Rackauckas said the committee reviews facts of the case as well as aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
Full coverage: Deadly shooting at Seal Beach beauty salon
"But there are some crimes that are so depraved, so callous, so malignant, that there is only one punishment that will fit the crime," Rackauckas said at a news conference Friday. "When a person, in a case such as this, goes on a rampage and kills innocent people in an indiscriminate bloody massacre, I will of course seek the death penalty. The circumstances of this case are so terrible and incomprehensible that the aggravating factors overwhelm any mitigation that has any likelihood of being raised."
Rackauckas said suspect Scott Dekraai's actions were "intentional" and "methodical." He faces murder charges in the deaths of Michelle Fournier, Victoria Buzzo, David Caouette, Laura Elody, Randy Fannin, Michelle Fast, Lucia Kondas and Christy Wilson. He is also charged in the attempted murder of Harriet Stretz.
"This is the only way our society can get anything approaching justice for the victims, their families, the town of Seal Beach and the larger community we live in," Rackauckas said.
Rackauckas, who fought back tears at several points during the news conference, said this "mass murder will never make sense."
He vowed to make sure that the victims are remembered and that justice is served.
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