Editing Cary Stayner (section)

== Trial and imprisonment ==
Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His lawyers claimed that Stayner had a history of sexual abuse and mental illness, manifesting itself not only in the murders, but also his OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). Dr. Jose Arturo Silva testified that Stayner had mild autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and paraphilia. In spite of this, Stayner was found sane and convicted of four counts of first degree murder.

In 2002, during the penalty phase of his trial, he was sentenced to death and thereafter entered housing in the Adjustment Center on death row at San Quentin Penitentiary in California. As of 2018, Stayner remains on death row, though San Quentin's gas chamber has been inactive since a 2006 judicial action called California executions to a halt over perceived flaws in process.