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THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Alix Tichelman, le , of Folsom, confers with public defender Diane August during her arraignment in Santa Cruz Superior Court. Tichelman, an alleged upscale prostitute, is facing manslaughter charges for the November 2013death of Forrest Hayes, a Google executive. ByMarthaMendoza TheAssociatedPress SANTACRUZ Ahigh-priced prostitute accused of aban- doning a Google executive after shooting him up with a fatal dose of heroin would never have wanted him to die because he was paying her well, a defense attorney said Wednesday. "There was no intent to harm or injure Mr. Hayes," said Larry Biggam, whose Santa Cruz firm has been appointed to represent de- fendant Alix Tichelman. "Why would she? He was a lucrative source of income to her." As her parents watched quietly from the front row of a courtroom packed with media, Tichelman, 26, pleaded not guilty to prosti- tution, drug use and man- slaughter in the death of Forrest Hayes, 51. Her eyes were often closed during the proceed- ings, but she told Judge Timothy Volkmann "yes sir" when asked if she agreed to waive her right to a preliminary hearing within 10 days. Hayes was found dead by the captain of his 50- foot yacht Escape last No- vember. But the circum- stances of his death were not widely known until last week, when Santa Cruz po- lice arrested Tichelman af- ter luring her 160 miles south from Folsom with a fake story about a client who wanted to hire her at an upscale resort. Police detective Laurel Shonfield said video sur- veillance from the yacht shows Tichelman injecting Hayes with heroin "and do- ing nothing to render aid when he overdoses," accord- ing to court records. Tichelman has wealthy parents and dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada, and was preparing to move out of California when she was arrested, Shonfield said. At the hearing, Judge Volkmann denied Tichel- man's request to release her on her own recogni- zance and kept her bail at $1.5 million. Her attorneys said she has been unfairly de- nounced in the high-pro- file case. "This case is extremely sad. There are five kids without a father today. But to demonize and sensation- alize and totally blame Alix Tichelman for his death is misplaced, unfair and sim- ply wrong," Biggam said af- ter the hearing. "This case is about two adults who en- gaged in mutual, consen- sual drug usage in the con- text of a sexual encounter initiated and encouraged by Mr. Hayes." Meanwhile, police in Mil- ton, Georgia, have reopened their investigation into the September 2013 overdose death of Tichelman's former boyfriend Dean Riopelle, 53, the owner of a popular Atlanta music venue. Police said a panicked Tichelman called police, saying her boyfriend had overdosed on something and wouldn't re- spond. She has not been charged in the case, and an autopsy report listed Riopelle's death as an accidental over- dose of heroin, alcohol and oxycodone. Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark said de- tectives are planning a trip to Milton to work with au- thorities there on portions of the investigation. It was not clear how long Tichelman might have been involved in prostitution, though police in Santa Cruz say she had many clients in the wealthy Silicon Valley. Attorney: Prostitute had no reason to kill executive COURTS By Linda Deutsch The Associated Press LOS ANGELES A federal judge ruled California's death penalty unconsti- tutional Wednesday, writ- ing that lengthy and un- predictable delays have re- sulted in an arbitrary and unfair capital punishment system. The decision by U.S. Dis- trict Court Judge Cormac J. Carney represents a legal victory for those who want to abolish the death pen- alty in California and fol- lows a similar ruling that has suspended executions in the state for eight years. Carney, in a case brought by a death row in- mate against the warden of San Quentin state prison, called the death penalty an empty promise that vi- olates the Eighth Amend- ment's protection against cruel and unusual punish- ment. "Inordinate and unpre- dictable delay has resulted in a death penalty system in which very few of the hundreds of individuals sentenced to death have been, or even will be, exe- cuted by the State," wrote Carney, a George W. Bush appointee. He noted that death penalty appeals can last decades and as a result most condemned inmates are likely to die of natural causes before their execu- tions are carried out. Carney also wrote that since the current death penalty system was ad- opted by California voters 35 years ago, more than 900 people have been sen- tenced to death, but only 13 have been executed. "As for the random few for whom execution does become a reality, they will have languished for so long on Death Row that their execution will serve no re- tributive or deterrent pur- pose and will be arbitrary," the judge stated. Gil Garcetti, a former Los Angeles County dis- trict attorney, who has be- come an anti-death pen- alty activist called the rul- ing "truly historic." "It further proves that the death penalty is bro- ken beyond repair," he said, calling for capital punish- ment to be replaced "with life in prison without the possibility of parole." Carney's ruling came in a legal petition brought by Ernest Dewayne Jones, sentenced to die in 1994 af- ter being convicted of mur- dering and raping his girl- friend's mother. Jones remains on death row "with complete un- certainty as to when, or even whether," his execu- tion will come, the judge wrote, adding, "Mr. Jones is not alone." Carney's ruling could be appealed by the governor or state attorney general, who both oppose the death penalty. For now, Jones will likely remain on death row. Carney noted that "arbi- trary factors" such as the manner in which paper- work is handled are what "determine whether an in- dividual will actually be ex- ecuted." Another federal judge put California's death pen- alty on hold in 2006 when he ruled the state's le- thal injection procedures needed overhaul. The judge found that the state's procedures cre- ated too much risk that an inmate would suffer ex- treme pain while being executed. At that time, lethal injections were carried out in San Quen- tin's old gas chamber, which the judge found too cramped, too dark and too old for prison staff to properly administer exe- cution drugs. Since then, the Califor- nia Department of Correc- tions and Rehabilitation has built a new execution chamber on the grounds of San Quentin in North- ern California and made a number of changes to its procedures to address the judge's concerns. A new federal judge has taken over the case and has not ruled on whether those changes are enough to re- start executions. Additionally, the cor- rections department is drafting a new set of reg- ulations for administer- ing lethal injections. No executions can take place until the new rules are for- mally adopted. COURTS Judge rules against state's death penalty Critics of capital punishment cheer decision "Inordinate and unpredictable delay has resulted in a death penalty system in which very few of the hundreds of individuals sentenced to death have been, or even will be, executed by the State." — Cormac J. Carney, U.S. District Court judge The Associated Press LOS ANGELES The tallest building in the West is get- ting a makeover that will include a sky-high obser- vation deck and restaurant offering 360-degree views of metropolitan Los Ange- les, from the mountains to offshore islands. The 72-story U.S. Bank Tower will see about $50 million worth of improve- ments, including an up- grade of the lobby, the Los Angeles Times re- ported Tuesday (http://lat. ms/1qdGVKH ). The downtown tower's new owners hope to make the building a busy tour- ist attraction to rival New York's Empire State Build- ing and Chicago's Willis Tower, both of which are more than 100 stories tall. Singapore investor Over- seas Union Enterprise bought the structure on West Fifth Street for more than $360 million last year. It was built in 1989. Market observers had speculated that some of the tower might be converted to hotel or residential use, but OUE says it will remain an office building. The top floor is to remain offices for rent, but the 71st floor below it will become home to a restaurant, the newspaper said. Visitors can see past Long Beach to Santa Cata- lina Island on a clear day. OUE anticipates that the observation deck could at- tract 500,000 people per year, each of whom would pay around $25 for entry. TALLEST BUILDING IN WEST Lo s An ge le s sk ys cr ap er to get observation deck THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The US Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles. The tallest building in the West is getting a makeover that will include a sky-high observation deck and restaurant. The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he will coordinate with federal officials and local nonprof- its to help make the city a destination for immigrant children detained after crossing the border. Federal money would pay for legal representation and temporary shelter, while lo- cal nonprofits would help find homes for the children, Garcetti said Tuesday at a forum hosted downtown by Politico Magazine. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser- vices contacted the city, but the mayor gave few details about what accommodating thechildrenwouldentail,the Los Angeles Times reported. Garcetti said it's up to lo- cal entities to keep the kids someplace safe while the federal government figures out how to deal with them. "As a father, who are we as Americans if we don't step forward first and say, these kids who are isolated, alone ... let's get them some- place safe and secure," the mayor told the crowd. Garcetti also said that Los Angeles would be an appropriate place to reunify many of the children with their families as their legal situation is worked out, be- cause many of their parents are probably in the area. 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