Cop-killers are much in the news these days — for all the wrong reasons.
First it was Mumia Anu-Jamal, whom Goddard College honored as its commencement speaker.
Now, a fellow cop-killer in New Jersey will soon be set free.
Sundiata Acoli, formerly known as Clark Edward Squire, was convicted of murdering State Trooper Werner Foerster during a 1973 shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike.
Also in the car was fellow Black Liberation Army member Joanne Chesimard, who later escaped and now lives as Fidel Castro's guest in Cuba. In 2013, she was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list.
Acoli-Squire was sentenced to two terms of life plus 24 to 30 years. In ruling that the terms were to be served consecutively, the judge was sending the clear message that Acoli should never walk free.
In his first 25 years behind bars, Acoli temporarily escaped and racked up 27 disciplinary citations. For those reasons, along with his refusal to accept full responsibility for his crime, he has been denied parole.
But now, a three-judge panel has ruled the parole board's action "arbitrary and capricious" and ordered Acoli turned loose, saying there is no risk of his offending again, which was the sole reason allowed for denying parole under the law when he was first sentenced.
Acoli has always claimed he doesn't recall what happened because he blacked out after being grazed by a bullet. But he showed no sign of any such injury.
Regardless, said the judges, he can't accept full responsibility for something he doesn't remember.
It's the same logic New Jersey courts used to free another cop-killer, Thomas Trantino, who also conveniently claimed he couldn't recall his crime and had initially been sentenced to death.
The judges also claim Acoli has renounced violence. In fact, what he told the psychologist who evaluated him is that "the political climate had evolved such that violence was no longer necessary" — hardly the same thing.
The state attorney general and parole board vow to fight their decision, but the odds are against them.
In his evaluation, Acoli "expressed regret about missing out on raising his daughters."
We do well to remember that Werner Foerster also missed out on raising his 3-year-old son — but for a very different reason.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
NJ cop-killer goes free
Dengan url
http://bahayaprostat.blogspot.com/2014/10/nj-cop-killer-goes-free.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
NJ cop-killer goes free
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar