State Supreme Court denies legal claims by Polly Klaas' killer

<p>The state Supreme Court denied a flurry of legal challenges Wednesday from convicted murderer Richard Allen Davis, who is on Death Row for the 1993 kidnapping and strangulation of 12-year-old Polly Klaas of Petaluma.</p><p>Davis raised more than a dozen claims he hoped would set him free, including that he was mentally incompetent to stand trial and was incapable of forming the required malice or premeditation.</p><p>Davis also filed claims stating he was subjected to improper law enforcement tactics such as sleep deprivation and nicotine withdrawal and was threatened by mental health workers.</p><p>The seven-member high court denied each of Davis' claims, but said he could renew one challenge after an execution date is set.</p><p>Davis, a career criminal, was convicted of abducting Klaas from a slumber party at her mother's house. Her murder led to the adoption of the state's three-strikes sentencing law.</p>