Crime and Punishment in New York State

[George at Orwellian.Org]

Republican in favor of more lawsuits.

http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/SubTopic/index.html?topicintid=1&subtopicintid=1&contentintid=14152
#    
#    State To Expand Son of Sam Law
#    
#    JUNE 14TH, 2001
#    
#    State lawmakers and Governor George Pataki say they have made 
#    a deal to expand New York's so-called Son of Sam law that allows 
#    crime victims to sue for compensation from their attackers.
#    
#    Under the current version, victims can only sue criminals for 
#    profits made from a crime, such as proceeds from a book or a 
#    movie deal.
#    
#    Under the proposed change, victims would be able to sue for any 
#    money the criminal may have, including income, inheritance, 
#    investments and even lottery winnings. Victims will also get 
#    more time to file a lawsuit.
#    
#    The measure is expected to be approved next week.
#    
#    The original law was enacted in 1977 to prevent serial killer 
#    David Berkowitz, a.k.a. Son of Sam, from profiting by his 
#    notoriety.

----

Look what snuck into this bill:

#    The bill would expand the databank of DNA samples the state takes 
#    from people convicted of violent crimes to include people 
#    convicted of all crimes, including misdemeanors.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/13/nyregion/13PERJ.html
#    
#    June 13, 2001
#    
#    Governor to Seek Harsher Penalties for Perjurers in Criminal 
#    Cases
#    
#    By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
#    
#    LBANY, June 12 - Responding to notorious cases of innocent people 
#    being convicted of crimes on the basis of false testimony, Gov. 
#    George E. Pataki plans to propose tougher penalties for perjury 
#    in criminal cases, aides to the governor said today.
#    
#    Mr. Pataki will call for the creation of a crime of aggravated 
#    perjury, applicable only to testimony in criminal cases, and 
#    punishable by up to 15 years in prison, the aides said. Current 
#    law makes no distinction between perjury in criminal and civil 
#    cases, and it carries a maximum penalty of seven years.
#    
#    Under the governor's proposal, there would be no statute of 
#    limitations for aggravated perjury, so that people could be 
#    prosecuted no matter how many years later their lies came to 
#    light. For perjury, the statute of limitations is five years.
#    
#    Officials in the governor's office said the proposal, which he 
#    will make public on Wednesday, was prompted by several highly 
#    publicized cases in the last few years of people claiming to 
#    have witnessed crimes sending innocent defendants to prison.
#    
#    One man, Dana Garner, has admitted to lying on the witness stand 
#    in three Brooklyn cases, sending two men to prison for murder 
#    and one for kidnapping; in one case he claimed to have seen a 
#    killing take place in Brooklyn at a time when he was in North 
#    Carolina. Two of the three have been freed.
#    
#    "The impetus behind the governor's proposal is the recognition 
#    that perjury in criminal trials is an extraordinarily serious 
#    crime that can have enduring effects," said James McGuire, counsel 
#    to Mr. Pataki. "When there is proof of perjury, the integrity 
#    of the criminal justice system demands that prosecutions should 
#    be brought in appropriate cases."
#    
#    But defense lawyers who were involved in those cases said the 
#    governor's proposal would make it harder to exonerate inmates 
#    convicted on false testimony, not easier.
#    
#    "This would discourage people from coming forward and admitting 
#    to perjury," said Michelle Fox, a Legal Aid Society lawyer who 
#    helped clear Jeffrey Blake, one of the men convicted of murder 
#    on Mr. Garner's testimony. "In the Blake case, I actually sent 
#    a copy of the statute of limitations to Dana Garner to show him 
#    that he couldn't be punished for coming forward, which he was 
#    very afraid of."
#    
#    Mr. McGuire called that "a speculative and ill-founded objection," 
#    in part because district attorneys can offer witnesses immunity 
#    from prosecution if they come forward to change their testimony. 
#    "I don't think that there's any real likelihood that any of those 
#    people who are recanting are acting with a knowledge of whether 
#    there's a statute of limitations or not," he said. "They're 
#    motivated by conscience."
#    
#    Charles J. Hynes, the Brooklyn district attorney, said through 
#    a spokesman, Kevin Davitt, that he supports the governor's plan. 
#    Mr. Davitt said that in several instances, when convictions were 
#    overturned years later, "We would have liked to prosecute those 
#    witnesses for perjury, but we couldn't."
#    
#    The defense lawyer Ronald Kuby said he, like Ms. Fox, opposed 
#    the idea, adding, "What we need is a statewide second-look unit 
#    that would review cases where there's a question about guilt."
#    
#    Mr. Kuby recently secured the freedom of two men who were 
#    convicted of murder based on the perjured testimony of a crack 
#    addict seeking a reward.
#    
#    The governor's proposal would also apply to people who falsely 
#    testify to protect defendants - witnesses who provide phony 
#    alibis, for instance. Many lawyers say that is a far more common 
#    practice than lying to convict someone.
#    
#    Mr. McGuire said removing the statute of limitations could give 
#    prosecutors a second chance at some defendants. If, years after 
#    an acquittal, new evidence of guilt is found, a prosecutor might 
#    be able to use that evidence to build a perjury case.
#    
#    The governor, a Republican, will add the perjury provisions to 
#    a bill he has already submitted to the Legislature that focuses 
#    on uses of DNA evidence in court, a bill that has been stalled 
#    in the Democrat-controlled Assembly.
#    
#    The bill would expand the databank of DNA samples the state takes 
#    from people convicted of violent crimes to include people 
#    convicted of all crimes, including misdemeanors. It would also 
#    eliminate the statute of limitations for some violent crimes, 
#    including rape. And it would create a state committee to determine 
#    how DNA evidence can be used, systematically, to prevent and 
#    reverse false convictions.