Watergate lawyer
Meet Charles Gessler: Lyle Menendez’s defence attorney who made sure killer stayed off death row in second trial
Charles saved every single one of his clients from the death penalty
CHARLES Gassler was a hugely successful defense attorney, who defended Lyle Menendez in his second trial for the murder of his parents.
He specialized in death penalty litigation and, in his final trial, he succeeded in saving Lyle from the death penalty.
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Watergate and defending a blood-drinking killer
Charles was born on May 26, 1933.
He graduated from USC Gould School of Law in 1961 and then went on to work as a deputy district attorney in LA county.
Charles joined the public defender’s office in 1965 and began specializing in death penalty litigation.
One of his most high profile clients was G. Gordon Liddy, an American lawyer and FBI agent who directed the burglary of the Democratic National Committee in 1972.
Read more on Menendez brothers
The event, known to the world as Watergate, was one of the biggest moments in American political history.
G. Gordon Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary and illegal wiretapping in a high-profile court case that captured America’s imagination.
Charles later defended Vaughan Greenwood, who was known as the Skid Row Slasher.
Vaughan murdered eleven homeless people between 1964 and 1975 and was reported to have drunk the blood of some of the victims.
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In 1977, Vaughan was sentenced to life in prison but was spared the death penalty thanks to Charles' efforts.
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The Menendez trial
On August 20, 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez murdered their parents Kitty and Jose.
The killing was so brutal that the police initially thought the Mob had been involved.
Eventually, the brothers were arrested after Erik confessed to his therapist, Dr Jerome Oziel, about his crime.
Jerome’s mistress, Judalon Smyth, then told the police about Erik’s confession.
In court, the brothers alleged that they had been victims of sexual abuse at the hands of their father and that their actions were in self-defense.
The trial ended in a hung jury, which infuriated their lawyer Leslie Abramson.
Jill Lansing, Lyle’s lawyer in the first trial, stepped back from the case, so Leslie called on Charles to save Lyle from the death penalty.
At the time, Charles was 62, and had decided that Lyle would be his final client.
Although the brothers were sentenced to life in prison, Charles was victorious in preventing Lyle from being sentenced to the death penalty.
When asked about Charles' victory, reported that Leslie said: “I’m so glad, for him, he didn’t go out a loser.”
Then, after more than 30 years of working as a public defender who saw every single one of his clients spared the death penalty, Charles retired.
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Best in the business
When Charles retired, there was a swell of support and praise from lawyers across the legal profession.
Jill Lansing honored the highly-achieved lawyer by saying that he had an “aura of integrity”.
She said: “He’s very smart.
“He’s very hard-working--he not only keeps up on the law, he prepares his cases extremely well.
“He has very sound judgment.
“And I think he brings with him into the courtroom an aura of integrity.
“I think jurors know they can trust what he says.
She added: “That is a terrifically powerful ally to have in a courtroom, your credibility.”
After the trial, Charles served as a vestry member, a senior warden, clergy of the vestry and delegate to the Diocesan Convention at St Cross Episcopal Church.
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He was rewarded for his efforts when Bishop J. Jon Bruno named him a canon of the Cathedral Center of St Paul in 2012.
Sadly, Charles passed away on April 27, 2019, and a funeral service was held in his honor at St Cross Church.
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