I heard this on the radio last night.
A State Supreme Court jury in the Bronx found the defendant, Lillo Brancato Jr., 32, guilty of first-degree attempted burglary, a felony, but said he was not culpable in the death of the officer, Daniel Enchautegui, who was shot by Mr. Brancato’s accomplice after a night of drinking and a search for drugs.
…
Under the law, a person is guilty of second-degree murder in a killing that occurs in the commission of another felony. But the law provides for mitigating circumstances in a defense.
via Ex-‘Sopranos’ Actor Cleared of Murder Charge in Officer’s Death – NYTimes.com.
I do not get this at all. This man participated in a crime and off-duty officer Daniel Enchautegui died as a result. That’s a direct line event to this officer’s death. No crime and that officer may still be with us today.
No one likes to put people in jail, and serving on a jury before the holiday’s must be especially difficult. But it is a duty, a responsibility and justice must be fair and equal. This was not a plea deal, this was not a administrative move or legal trick. The jury intentionally gave this man a pass after buying his story.
What an actor. I can’t help but think that if this eloquent actor had been Puerto Rican and the murder victim an off-duty Italian American officer, would the jury’s result have been different? I don’t want to think about that, it makes me more upset.
This result from the jury is unfair and I hope that the judge sentences this man to 15 years in jail for “attempted burglary”. I hope that that would provide some small comfort to Officer Enchautegui’s family.