Convicted New York killer freed on a technicality: Judge says he was held at the wrong prison

[EvilEyeFleegle]

So WTF eh? Guy is lawfully convicted, and because the bonehead Sheriff violated a Federal statute..murderer goes free after serving only 6 years of a life sentence for a drive-by shooting!

Convicted New York killer freed on a technicality: Judge says he was held at the wrong prison

A man convicted for a 2015 killing in western New York has been freed and his indictment has been dismissed, solely because he was held at the wrong prison.

apnews.com

A man convicted for a 2015 killing in western New York has been freed and his indictment has been dismissed solely because he was held at the wrong prison according to an interstate law on detainees, a state judge has ruled.
Terrence Lewis was released earlier this month from a maximum-security prison in Seneca County, where he was serving a sentence of 22 years to life for second-degree murder, the Democrat and Chronicle reported Wednesday. A jury convicted him in 2018 in the drive-by fatal shooting of 29-year-old Johnny Washington in Rochester.
Judge Stephen Miller wrote in a Feb. 5 decision that Monroe County officials violated the federal Interstate Agreement on Detainer’s Law, or the IAD, when they sent him back to a federal prison in Pennsylvania, where he was serving a sentence for a drug conviction, as he awaited trial in the New York murder case after his indictment.
The agreement, approved by Congress in 1970, says a prisoner charged with an unrelated crime in another jurisdiction must be held and tried in that jurisdiction before being returned to the place of their original imprisonment, or else the case in the other jurisdiction must be dismissed.

 

[SavannahMann]

So WTF eh? Guy is lawfully convicted, and because the bonehead Sheriff violated a Federal statute..murderer goes free after serving only 6 years of a life sentence for a drive-by shooting!

Convicted New York killer freed on a technicality: Judge says he was held at the wrong prison

A man convicted for a 2015 killing in western New York has been freed and his indictment has been dismissed, solely because he was held at the wrong prison.

apnews.com

A man convicted for a 2015 killing in western New York has been freed and his indictment has been dismissed solely because he was held at the wrong prison according to an interstate law on detainees, a state judge has ruled.
Terrence Lewis was released earlier this month from a maximum-security prison in Seneca County, where he was serving a sentence of 22 years to life for second-degree murder, the Democrat and Chronicle reported Wednesday. A jury convicted him in 2018 in the drive-by fatal shooting of 29-year-old Johnny Washington in Rochester.
Judge Stephen Miller wrote in a Feb. 5 decision that Monroe County officials violated the federal Interstate Agreement on Detainer’s Law, or the IAD, when they sent him back to a federal prison in Pennsylvania, where he was serving a sentence for a drug conviction, as he awaited trial in the New York murder case after his indictment.
The agreement, approved by Congress in 1970, says a prisoner charged with an unrelated crime in another jurisdiction must be held and tried in that jurisdiction before being returned to the place of their original imprisonment, or else the case in the other jurisdiction must be dismissed.

I don’t get it. The Right is supposed to be the Law and Order party. But they get so upset when they are supposed to obey the law. Why is that?

This law has been on the books since 1970.

18a U.S. Code § 2 - Enactment into law of Interstate Agreement on Detainers

www.law.cornell.edu

It isn’t new. It’s been around for quite a while. It actually makes sense. This way the Defendant has access to his legal representation. They can coordinate and discuss the details of the case.

So it’s an old law. And the Sheriff screwed up. The complaint that the Defense didn’t raise the issue is even worse. It isn’t incumbent upon the Defense to prevent the prosecution from screwing up. In fact it is the job of the Defense to take advantage of Prosecution mistakes.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

I don’t get it. The Right is supposed to be the Law and Order party. But they get so upset when they are supposed to obey the law. Why is that?

This law has been on the books since 1970.

18a U.S. Code § 2 - Enactment into law of Interstate Agreement on Detainers

www.law.cornell.edu

It isn’t new. It’s been around for quite a while. It actually makes sense. This way the Defendant has access to his legal representation. They can coordinate and discuss the details of the case.

So it’s an old law. And the Sheriff screwed up. The complaint that the Defense didn’t raise the issue is even worse. It isn’t incumbent upon the Defense to prevent the prosecution from screwing up. In fact it is the job of the Defense to take advantage of Prosecution mistakes.

Uh-huh. First, are you conflating me and my opinion with the 'Right'? Must chuckle at that~
Second...I do not rail at the implementation of the law..I rail, as the judge did, at the unjustness of it.
Third, it was NOT a prosecution mistake..it was the result of an incompetent Sheriff's decision. As you stated.

Oh yeah, the actual impetus of the law, when it was passed, was to avoid the denial of due process and the stashing of defendants in jurisdictions that would not let go of them until they had finished their sentence. Prior to its passing...many jurisdictions would stop the speedy trial clock, thus denying defendant's their rights.
As an added bonus, it sometimes happened that a prisoner would be released to the streets, rather than being transported to the jurisdiction where they had charges pending.

So, outside of what you see as the legitimate purpose of the law..do you feel any qualms at all about the early release of a proven and convicted murderer?

 

[SavannahMann]

Uh-huh. First, are you conflating me and my opinion with the 'Right'? Must chuckle at that~
Second...I do not rail at the implementation of the law..I rail, as the judge did, at the unjustness of it.
Third, it was NOT a prosecution mistake..it was the result of an incompetent Sheriff's decision. As you stated.

Oh yeah, the actual impetus of the law, when it was passed, was to avoid the denial of due process and the stashing of defendants in jurisdictions that would not let go of them until they had finished their sentence. Prior to its passing...many jurisdictions would stop the speedy trial clock, thus denying defendant's their rights.
As an added bonus, it sometimes happened that a prisoner would be released to the streets, rather than being transported to the jurisdiction where they had charges pending.

So, outside of what you see as the legitimate purpose of the law..do you feel any qualms at all about the early release of a proven and convicted murderer?

No. Not in the least.

And for the outrage of the Right I was speaking about the statement from the Sheriff who was angry.

Now. As to why I don’t feel any qualms. The Constitution has the Bill of Rights. Half of those Amendments are regarding Courts, criminal prosecutions, and rights of the defendants. The Founders intended it to be hard to convict someone. They expected that the Prosecution would have to play by the rules.

It was a little known law, and apparently the people in power didn’t know. This one fellow going free may save others from getting freed on similar technicalities. When the people in power read and learn about this law.

Many of the restrictions put in place on Police and Prosecutors is in response to abuses carried out in a routine fashion.

The County Sheriff in Los Angeles was charged with Obstruction for a smaller scale version of this trick. Federal Investigators would show up at one of the jails as scheduled to speak to an inmate only to find the inmate wasn’t there. A few days later they would discover the inmate had not been released as implied by the Deputes. Instead they had been shuffled to another facility.

The investigators would schedule an appointment at the new location and arrive to find the guy gone again.

The Constitution intended for the Defendant to have a cogent and vigorous defense. The defense already faces an unequal battlefield. The Prosecution has more resources and the esteem of the Law Enforcement in the public eye.

It isn’t right for the Prosecution to further handicap the defense by hiding the defendant halfway across the country.

 

[marvin martian]

No. Not in the least.

And for the outrage of the Right I was speaking about the statement from the Sheriff who was angry.

Now. As to why I don’t feel any qualms. The Constitution has the Bill of Rights. Half of those Amendments are regarding Courts, criminal prosecutions, and rights of the defendants. The Founders intended it to be hard to convict someone. They expected that the Prosecution would have to play by the rules.

It was a little known law, and apparently the people in power didn’t know. This one fellow going free may save others from getting freed on similar technicalities. When the people in power read and learn about this law.

Many of the restrictions put in place on Police and Prosecutors is in response to abuses carried out in a routine fashion.

The County Sheriff in Los Angeles was charged with Obstruction for a smaller scale version of this trick. Federal Investigators would show up at one of the jails as scheduled to speak to an inmate only to find the inmate wasn’t there. A few days later they would discover the inmate had not been released as implied by the Deputes. Instead they had been shuffled to another facility.

The investigators would schedule an appointment at the new location and arrive to find the guy gone again.

The Constitution intended for the Defendant to have a cogent and vigorous defense. The defense already faces an unequal battlefield. The Prosecution has more resources and the esteem of the Law Enforcement in the public eye.

It isn’t right for the Prosecution to further handicap the defense by hiding the defendant halfway across the country.

The Sheriff is a DemoKKKrat, just like you.

 

[SavannahMann]

The Sheriff is a DemoKKKrat, just like you.

Sort of a Democrat.

Baxter has been a Republican but switched parties. However, some of his past views — including voicing support for President Donald Trump — raised the ire of some in the Democratic Party who saw his candidacy as one of opportunism more than ideology.

Todd Baxter unseats Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn

In an upset, former Greece Police Chief Todd Baxter defeated four-term Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn.

www.democratandchronicle.com