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Article: Rumble in the Bronx: the death penalty. (New York governor George Pataki removes district attorney Robert Johnson from murder case because of concerns he would not seek the death penalty)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- March 30, 1996
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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NEW YORK
A YEAR ago, Governor George Pataki of New York used the pen of a murdered police officer to sign the state's new death-penalty into law. On the same day, Robert Johnson, district attorney (DA) for New York city's crime-ridden Bronx, irked the governor by saying that he would not call for the death penalty under any circumstances. Mr Johnson's resolve was put to the test this month when, in a gun battle in the Bronx, a police officer, Kevin Gillespie, was shot and killed. But Mr Pataki did not wait for the DA to wrestle with his conscience: in an unprecedented move, he simply took Mr Johnson off the case.
In theory, Mr Johnson should have had 120 days ...