Supreme Court hears death sentence appeal

Thursday, Nov. 13, 1997 | 9:20 a.m.

Chappell, 26, a black, also may have been the victim of racism because he was tried by an all-white jury for murdering a white woman, Deputy Public Defender Howard Brooks told the court Wednesday.

Before his trial began, Chappell admitted he stabbed to death 26-year-old Deborah Panos, 26, in August 1995, in her home.

Brooks argued the crime could have been manslaughter because Chappell said he acted in the heat of passion after becoming enraged about a love-letter Panos got from another man.

But the attorney said jurors never gave any credence to Chappell's story because they had been inundated with evidence of four previous domestic violence incidents.

The jury also heard witnesses say Chappell was a drug addict and thief who once stole diapers from his own children to sell for money to buy crack cocaine, Brooks said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Abbi Silver said all the domestic violence evidence was necessary to show that Chappell's version of events didn't match the facts. For example, Silver told the justices, the day of the murder was the day after Chappell had been accidentally released from jail on a domestic violence charge

Silver also said Chappell had known for at least a month that Panos was seeing other people and therefore didn't act in the heat of passion.

The high court will rule on the appeal at a later date.