Death Penalty Sentence For Murderer

John Wayne Thomson was formally sentenced to receive the death penalty today for fatally stabbing Charles Hedlund of Lucerne Valley, who had stopped on the side of the road in the Cajon Pass to help Thomson in 2006. Thomson, 54, was found guilty by a jury on Oct. 16th of last year of one felony count of special circumstances murder during the commission of second degree robbery, aggravated mayhem, carjacking and attempted carjacking. Recently, a jury of his peers recommended that Thomson receive the death Penelope for his crimes. A few days following Hedlund’s murder Thomson attacked a 70-year-old man with a hammer, stole his car, and then attempted to steal vehicles from two other victims. Thomson has also been linked to two other homicides in Washington. Supervising Deputy District Attorney Robert Bulloch prosecuted the case. “John Thomson is the reason why the death penalty is still relevant,” Bulloch said. He explained that state correctional facilities attempted to rehabilitate Thomson but his crimes only increased in violence and severity, saying, "There is nothing else that society can do to stop Thomson, other than to give him the harshest punishment.”