Nicolas H., 1470650, Death penalty eliminated from the case on June 16, 2015

This is the Holzer case,
he was charged with the quadruple murder of his parents and two sons
defense attorneys consider a case where the prosecution seeks a death sentence
that does not result in a death sentence an absolute win
Christine met with the district attorney when She was making her decision whether or not to seek the Death penalty
Christine made a mitigation presentation and convinced the district attorney to no seek a death Sentence
at that point the case was won and
Nick was saved from death row

- Charges: Four counts of murder (Penal Code § 187(a)), with special circumstance of multiple murder (Penal Code § 190.2(a)(3)), special allegation of personal use of a knife (Penal Code § 12022(b)(1)) and animal cruelty (Penal Code § 597(a)).
- Exposure: Nicolas was facing the death penalty.
- Outcome: Christine did a mitigation presentation and was able to convince the district attorney to not seek the death penalty. Nicolas is not on Death Row.
This case was a tragedy in every aspect. The evidence that was presented at trial was that Nick was extremely mentally ill and delusional. He believed that God had to told him that he needed to kill his parents and two sons in order in to save them. Several expert witnesses were presented by both sides during the trial. All of the experts agreed that he was extremely mentally ill, but there was a disagreement regarding whether he understood the difference between right and wrong at the time that he killed his family. Nick had gone through a long custody battle to have his boys, he clearly loved them. In a police interrogation he said that he knew that it was legally wrong to kill his children, but that he did it anyway because God told him that was what he had to do in order to save his boys from Hell.
It would appear that there is no way that a case like this could be "won." However, Nick had killed two children and two elderly people, the kind of case that it would be no surprise at all for the district attorney to seek the death penalty. A victory in this case was for Christine to save Nick from Death Row. Most district attorneys allow a defense attorney to do a "mitigation presentation," but they seldom make a difference. Christine approached the mitigation presentation as if it was the trial. After her thorough presentation the district attorney elected to NOT seek the death penalty. It was at that moment that Christine won Nick's case.
These are stills from when Christine was on television defending her client


This is the press from when Christine saved Nick from the death penalty


































































































































- Charges: Four counts of murder (Penal Code § 187(a)), with special circumstance of multiple murder (Penal Code § 190.2(a)(3)), special allegation of personal use of a knife (Penal Code § 12022(b)(1)) and animal cruelty (Penal Code § 597(a)).
- Exposure: Nicolas was facing the death penalty.
- Outcome: Christine did a mitigation presentation and was able to convince the district attorney to not seek the death penalty. Nicolas is not on Death Row.
This case was a tragedy in every aspect. The evidence that was presented at trial was that Nick was extremely mentally ill and delusional. He believed that God had to told him that he needed to kill his parents and two sons in order in to save them. Several expert witnesses were presented by both sides during the trial. All of the experts agreed that he was extremely mentally ill, but there was a disagreement regarding whether he understood the difference between right and wrong at the time that he killed his family. Nick had gone through a long custody battle to have his boys, he clearly loved them. In a police interrogation he said that he knew that it was legally wrong to kill his children, but that he did it anyway because God told him that was what he had to do in order to save his boys from Hell.
It would appear that there is no way that a case like this could be "won." However, Nick had killed two children and two elderly people, the kind of case that it would be no surprise at all for the district attorney to seek the death penalty. A victory in this case was for Christine to save Nick from Death Row. Most district attorneys allow a defense attorney to do a "mitigation presentation," but they seldom make a difference. Christine approached the mitigation presentation as if it was the trial. After her thorough presentation the district attorney elected to NOT seek the death penalty. It was at that moment that Christine won Nick's case.












































































































































































































