Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 9, 2006 9:49:17 GMT -5
Jury Selection Is Postponed in Death Penalty Case of 2 Slain Detectives on S.I.
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
The federal judge presiding over the death penalty trial of a man charged with killing two undercover police detectives on Staten Island in 2003 has postponed jury selection in the case just days before it was set to begin, clearing the way for possible plea negotiations.
The move on Thursday came nearly three weeks after federal prosecutors disclosed that a central witness in the case had changed parts of his story, a development that could severely undermine their ability to win a conviction on the charges that carry the death penalty.
The case against the man, Ronell Wilson, 24, was initially brought in State Supreme Court in Staten Island, where prosecutors had sought the death penalty in the March 10, 2003, killings of the two detectives during a gun buy. But when the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled that parts of the state death penalty statute were unconstitutional in June 2004, the case was transferred to federal court under an agreement between the Staten Island District Attorney, Daniel M. Donovan Jr., and the office of Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the United States attorney in Brooklyn.
The change was made expressly so Ms. Mauskopf’s office could seek the federal death penalty in the killing of the two detectives, Rodney J. Andrews and James V. Nemorin, assigned to the Police Department’s elite Firearms Investigation Unit.
A plea agreement in federal court that would spare Mr. Wilson the death penalty would be an embarrassment for Ms. Mauskopf, who has been nominated to serve as a federal district court judge and is expected to leave her post soon.
But the outcome of any possible plea negotiations in the killings of the detectives remains far from clear.
In fact, any decision by the government to allow Mr. Wilson to plead guilty to charges that would not carry the death penalty, even if the agreement included a sentence of life without the possibility of release, would have to be made by United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The decision rests with him because the decision to seek the federal death penalty is made by the attorney general.
Several people involved in the case have acknowledged that the jury selection process, originally set to begin on Monday with roughly 600 potential jurors summoned to the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, was postponed to allow consultation with Washington. If Mr. Gonzales approves, plea negotiations can go forward. But they said that there was no specific plea offer on the table.
Lawyers for the prosecution and defense, along with a spokesman for Ms. Mauskopf, have declined to comment on any possible negotiations.
Mr. Wilson was charged in a 29-count indictment with racketeering, murder and a host of other crimes linked to the killings and the drug and robbery crew that prosecutors charge spawned the crimes. Four other people pleaded guilty to federal charges in the case. State charges are pending against several others who are cooperating with prosecutors.
Yesterday, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said, “Whatever difficulties arise at trial, it’s important that the killers of police officers face the death penalty.”
Michael J. Palladino, the president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, the union that represented the two detectives, said a plea deal would be distressing.
“If there’s going to be a plea bargain, that’s extremely disappointing, especially because the intent of the federal government in taking the case over was to pursue the death penalty, which was precluded in the state court in Staten Island,” he said.
The two-week postponement by the judge presiding over the case, Nicholas G. Garaufis of United States District Court, was disclosed in a court filing on Thursday. Mr. Wilson’s defense lawyers, Ephraim Savitt, Kelley Sharkey and Mitchel Dinnerstein, asked for the postponement in a letter filed with the court, saying simply that they were not ready to proceed.
Judge Garaufis, who has repeatedly told the defense and prosecution lawyers at pretrial conferences over the last several months that he was intent that jury selection begin on Sept. 11, handwrote a two-sentence order on the defense lawyers’ letter postponing jury selection until Sept. 25.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
The federal judge presiding over the death penalty trial of a man charged with killing two undercover police detectives on Staten Island in 2003 has postponed jury selection in the case just days before it was set to begin, clearing the way for possible plea negotiations.
The move on Thursday came nearly three weeks after federal prosecutors disclosed that a central witness in the case had changed parts of his story, a development that could severely undermine their ability to win a conviction on the charges that carry the death penalty.
The case against the man, Ronell Wilson, 24, was initially brought in State Supreme Court in Staten Island, where prosecutors had sought the death penalty in the March 10, 2003, killings of the two detectives during a gun buy. But when the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled that parts of the state death penalty statute were unconstitutional in June 2004, the case was transferred to federal court under an agreement between the Staten Island District Attorney, Daniel M. Donovan Jr., and the office of Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the United States attorney in Brooklyn.
The change was made expressly so Ms. Mauskopf’s office could seek the federal death penalty in the killing of the two detectives, Rodney J. Andrews and James V. Nemorin, assigned to the Police Department’s elite Firearms Investigation Unit.
A plea agreement in federal court that would spare Mr. Wilson the death penalty would be an embarrassment for Ms. Mauskopf, who has been nominated to serve as a federal district court judge and is expected to leave her post soon.
But the outcome of any possible plea negotiations in the killings of the detectives remains far from clear.
In fact, any decision by the government to allow Mr. Wilson to plead guilty to charges that would not carry the death penalty, even if the agreement included a sentence of life without the possibility of release, would have to be made by United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The decision rests with him because the decision to seek the federal death penalty is made by the attorney general.
Several people involved in the case have acknowledged that the jury selection process, originally set to begin on Monday with roughly 600 potential jurors summoned to the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, was postponed to allow consultation with Washington. If Mr. Gonzales approves, plea negotiations can go forward. But they said that there was no specific plea offer on the table.
Lawyers for the prosecution and defense, along with a spokesman for Ms. Mauskopf, have declined to comment on any possible negotiations.
Mr. Wilson was charged in a 29-count indictment with racketeering, murder and a host of other crimes linked to the killings and the drug and robbery crew that prosecutors charge spawned the crimes. Four other people pleaded guilty to federal charges in the case. State charges are pending against several others who are cooperating with prosecutors.
Yesterday, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said, “Whatever difficulties arise at trial, it’s important that the killers of police officers face the death penalty.”
Michael J. Palladino, the president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, the union that represented the two detectives, said a plea deal would be distressing.
“If there’s going to be a plea bargain, that’s extremely disappointing, especially because the intent of the federal government in taking the case over was to pursue the death penalty, which was precluded in the state court in Staten Island,” he said.
The two-week postponement by the judge presiding over the case, Nicholas G. Garaufis of United States District Court, was disclosed in a court filing on Thursday. Mr. Wilson’s defense lawyers, Ephraim Savitt, Kelley Sharkey and Mitchel Dinnerstein, asked for the postponement in a letter filed with the court, saying simply that they were not ready to proceed.
Judge Garaufis, who has repeatedly told the defense and prosecution lawyers at pretrial conferences over the last several months that he was intent that jury selection begin on Sept. 11, handwrote a two-sentence order on the defense lawyers’ letter postponing jury selection until Sept. 25.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company