Onion Field Murder Trials: 1963-69

In March 1972, seven years after the murder, the California Supreme Court, considering the trial of Robert P. Anderson, ruled that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment. All death sentences were automatically commuted.

The next year, Joseph Wambaugh, a Los Angeles detective sergeant who had published two previous police procedural novels, wrote another book. That book, The Onion Field, was what author Truman Capote called a "non-fiction novel." It was a powerful indictment of both the judicial system and the LAPD hierarchy. It became a best-seller and a major factor in the trend toward reinstating the death penalty in the United States.