Chessman to Die May 2

Charlie Neal, right, is on the receiving end as four aspirants try out for the Dodger shortstop starting position. They are, from left, Don Zimmer, Bob Aspromonte, Bobby Lillis and Maury Wills.

March 3, 1960: James Kendrick, top, reenacts the slaying of Highway Patrolman Richard Duvall near Victorville. On the jump, a judge schedules Caryl Chessman to be executed May 2 … The state Senate gets a bill to abolish the death penalty  … And Don Drysdale says: "The toughest batter for me is..."

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times Defense attorney Grant Cooper, left, embraces Bernard Finch after making closing arguments in the case.

You might ask why we're spending so much time on Caryl Chessman and Dr. R. Bernard Finch. The answer is that Finch eventually went free even though he was a killer, and Chessman was executed even though he never killed anybody.