NY gov David Patterson commutes sentence of wrongly convicted John White in racially charged case

Gov David Patterson did a tremendous thing by commuting the sentence of John White, an African Americad dad, who was defending his home and his family aginast a White mob of teenages out to get his son. White shoud have neve been convicted in the shooting of white teen who had no business terroringm the White’s home in the dead of night. See prior post here




ABC Local News reports that New York Governor David Paterson on Thursday commuted the sentence of a Long Island man convicted in a racially-charged shooting.

John White was found guilty of manslaughter in the 2006 shooting of 17-year-old Daniel Cicciaro, who was killed outside White's home in Miller Place.

He claimed Cicciaro threatened to attack his son.
A judge sentenced White to two to four years in prison, a fraction of the maximum. He finally went to prison in July this year after his appeals were rejected.

Paterson did not issue a pardon, but commuted White's sentence to time served.

"Our society strives to
be just, but the pursuit of justice is a difficult and arduous endeavor," Paterson said. "While the incident and Mr. White's trial engendered much controversy and comment, and varying assessments of justice were perceived, its most common feature was heartbreak. My decision today may be an affront to some and a joy to others, but my objective is only to seek to ameliorate the profound suffering that occurred as a result of this tragic event."

The commutation is conditioned upon White not engaging in subsequent violation of law.

The case began in 2006, when White's son Aaron woke him to say that Cicciaro and a gang of friends were heading to their home for a fight.

John White admitted to taking a gun and shooting Cicciaro in the face, but he said he did it out of fear it was a lynch mob attack.

More details here

Justice has been served!

Crazed Brazilian Groom (Rogerio Damascena) Shoots Self, Best Man, New Wife at Wedding

Although I can’t find any reports on it, something had to have happened between the groom, the best man and the wife.

You just don’t kill your wife and the best man as well as yourself without a powerful reason.

Lovers triangle maybe?

CBS News reports that a bridegroom fatally shot his new wife, his best man and then himself after announcing to horrified guests that he had a "surprise" for them, authorities said Monday.

Witnesses reported that 29-year-old Rogerio Damascena, a sales manager in Camaragibe, outside the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife, did not give any previous indication that anything was wrong at his wedding reception, police investigator Joao Brito said. Brito would not speculate on a possible motive, saying family members were in shock and he had not interviewed them yet.

Brito did say the killings are believed to be premeditated because of the groom's announcement and because he had hidden a gun in his father's pickup truck. Twenty-five-year-old bride Renata Alexandre Costa Coelho and best man Marcelo Guimaraes were both killed in Saturday's murder-suicide. A brother of the bride was treated at a hospital and released.

More details here