Chicago, IL, March 19, 1996 (ENN) -- Governor George Pataki of New York today sent a scathing letter to Bronx County District Attorney Robert Johnson asking whether he is capable of prosecuting a capital murder case that could result in the death penalty.
In a letter sent to DA Johnson dated March 19th, Gov. Pataki refers to the recent death of NYPD Officer Kevin Gillespie, which occurred on March 16th in the Bronx, and to Johnson's publicly stated stand against the death penalty. Johnson has said previously that he would not seek the death penalty in any Capital Case in Bronx County, stating that it was his "statutory discretion" not to.
However, Pataki, calling Officer Gillespie's shooting by three carjackers, a "...brutal murder," and "...cold blooded," in his letter to Johnson, stating that "...the people (of NYS) have spoken," and "the death penalty is the law in New York State, and was intended to apply in just the sort of circumstances presented by the murder of Officer Gillespie."
In the letter, Pataki also refers to Johnson's public refusal to seek the death penalty for Michael Vernon, who was arrested in The Bronx for the mass murder of eight customers in a shoe store during the 1995 Christmas shopping season. "At that time," says Pataki, "I accepted, albeit with serious reservations, your representation that your decision not to seek the death penalty was based on your 'statutory discretion'."
In Johnson's defense, there have been reports that Vernon was suffering from mental problems that he had refused to be treated for. This could have negated any death penalty sentence, had DA Johnson sought it. Many in the strife-ridden community where Vernon had allegedly killed eight (8) people have been calling for the death penalty in the Vernon case.
Governor Pataki's letter to DA Johnson ends with a pointed and direct question to Johnson: "Are there circumstances under which you will seek the death penalty in Bronx County?"
Governor Pataki is empowered to remove any local District Attorney and appoint a special prosecutor for a particular case if the governor feels that the DA is not in a position to prosecute the case within the law. There have been reports that Pataki is seriously considering this move in the Gillespie case, and the letter to Johnson would seem to be a preliminary move to do so. If Johnson answers Pataki that he will not, under any circumstances, seek the death penalty in Bronx County, it is the feeling that Pataki will remove Johnson from the prosecution of those arrested for PO Gillespie's murder.
The individuals arrested for the murder of Gillespie were out on parole, and have long records for violent crimes, one of whom has a conviction for a previous murder. Pataki, in his formal letter to Johnson, requested that Johnson reply to the Governor's Counsel, regarding the matter by "1:00 p.m. tomorrow," which is Wednesday, March 20th.
(c) EmergencyNet News Service, 1996, All rights Reserved.
(312) 631-3774 - Voice
(312) 631-4703 - Fax
(312) 631-3467 -Modem/Emergency BBS On-Line
Website: http://www.emergency.com