Shooting ruled homicide after half a century

[seamusTX]

In 1960, William M. Jenkins, age 18 at the time, was shot during a gang rumble in Spanish Harlem. He was left paralyzed for life. He died last month from complications of a lifetime spent in a wheelchair. The New York medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by the shooting 49 years earlier.

Like many disabled people, Mr. Jenkins did not let himself be defined by his injuries. He was arrested four times from 1971 through 1991 on criminal charges including attempted murder. In 1975, he was accused of robbing someone from his wheelchair and went to prison for three years on lesser charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Police officers called him Wheelchair Willie.

Two brothers in a rival gang served prison time for the shooting in the 1960s and afterward turned their lives around.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/nyreg ... de.html?em" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[Fangs]

Like many disabled people, Mr. Jenkins did not let himself be defined by his injuries....

[barres]

Would this fall under double jeopardy, since the two shooters served time for their shooting of Jenkins, or could they now be prosecuted for murder?

[seamusTX]

It depends upon what they were initially charged with. If they were charged with aggravated assault or attempted murder, trying them again would be dicey. (Actually, one is already deceased and the other is almost 70).

It's possible that they were convicted of a weapons charge. It's easier to prove that someone broke the law by possessing a weapon than to prove intent to assault or kill someone. In that case, they could theoretically be charged with murder now.

There is a case working through the courts where a police officer died many years after being shot by a criminal, and the criminal was then charged with murder. I don't remember enough about the case to find it quickly.

- Jim

[seamusTX]

There is a case working through the courts where a police officer died many years after being shot by a criminal, and the criminal was then charged with murder. I don't remember enough about the case to find it quickly.

The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they don't stop.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 12, 2010:

Jury selection in the trial of William J. Barnes - accused of murdering Philadelphia Police Officer Walter T. Barclay Jr., who died 41 years after he was shot - started Monday, while opening arguments are scheduled for next week.

The trial is unusual for the length of time between the incident, which happened on Nov. 27, 1966, and the officer's death, which came in 2007.

Barnes, 73, shot Barclay after the officer found him burglarizing a beauty parlor on East Oak Lane. The officer was 23 at the time.

Convicted of attempted murder and related charges, Barnes served 26 years in prison for the shooting and for several escape attempts.

The murder charge was brought against Barnes after Barclay, paralyzed from the waist down by the shooting, died of a urinary-tract infection at 64. The central question will be whether the 1966 shooting can be directly linked to Barclay's death.

Assistant District Attorney Edward Cameron will contend that it did, and Barclay's family said he suffered recurring infections and constant pain for 41 years.

Defense attorney Samuel W. Silver will attempt to prove that other incidents after the shooting, including at least one accident in his modified vehicle, were factors in Barclay's death.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa ... z0nxltcMOU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[seamusTX]

Acquitted, but ...

A 74-year-old man who shot a Philadelphia police officer in 1966 was acquitted Monday of murder and other charges filed after the officer's death in 2007.

[The defense attorney] said it was unclear when his client would be released because he had parole violations at the time of his arrest in 2007.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... AD9FTDGKG0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[seamusTX]

This case is similar but hardly a record-setter:

In 1986, a man in Oklahoma City was shot in the face during a dispute over a woman in a bar. He was paralyzed and died in February 2010. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by the gunshot wound 24 years earlier.

The shooter had pled guilty and died in prison in 1996.

http://www.newsok.com/mans-death-in-feb ... ie-reviews" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[baldeagle]

I'm having trouble understanding what the point is. What do you gain by charging someone who is dead with the murder of a person they shot decades ago? Is it just to set the record straight? Or is for some other reason?

[seamusTX]

They're not charging the shooter. He pled guilty (probably to aggravated assault) and died years ago.

Every death must have a cause—disease, accident, homicide, or suicide. I just find these cases where the cause preceded the death by so many years interesting. As emergency care and medical care in general improve, there are going to be more of these cases where someone is severely injured and lives many years with a disability.

Maybe I'm weird.

- Jim

[seamusTX]

Here's another one: In Pennsylvania a man who was shot in an incident in 1973 was paralyzed and died in 2009. The medical examiner ruled that the 54-year-old man's death was caused by the gunshot wound received 36 years earlier.

The suspect in the case had been found guilty of assault shortly after the shooting and sentenced to prison.

Last week prosecutors delivered an indictment for murder and announced that they will bring the defendant, now 58 years old, to trial. They are not seeking the death penalty.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/c ... 0f31a.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[chasfm11]

The 54-year-old man had been paralyzed from the chest down since May 26, 1973, when, prosecutors say, Negron, then 21, shot him in the back during a racially charged neighborhood brawl.

I was teaching in Warminster at the time but have no recollection of gang related brawls. There were buildings that had been military barracks and were turned into low income housing where a majority of police activity in Warminster occurred. Many of the younger kids from that housing attended the school where I taught. There was a lot of DA but I don't remember hearing about gangs.

Perhaps those memories were in the brain cells that I've since dispatched.

[The Annoyed Man]

Perhaps those memories were in the brain cells that I've since dispatched.

I am a child of the '60s, and I've used similar descriptions in the past, but I think that one is perfect. I'll be borrowing it, if you don't mind.

[Dave2]

Perhaps those memories were in the brain cells that I've since dispatched.

I am a child of the '60s, and I've used similar descriptions in the past, but I think that one is perfect. I'll be borrowing it, if you don't mind.

It's kind of academic, isn't it? I mean by the time chasfm11 notices, the brain cells responsible for the memory of giving you permission will have been dispatched.

[jmra]

Perhaps those memories were in the brain cells that I've since dispatched.

I am a child of the '60s, and I've used similar descriptions in the past, but I think that one is perfect. I'll be borrowing it, if you don't mind.

It's kind of academic, isn't it? I mean by the time chasfm11 notices, the brain cells responsible for the memory of giving you permission will have been dispatched.

Goes both ways - The brain cells responsible for TAM's memory of asking permission will soon also be dispatched.

Uh, What were we talking about again?

[chasfm11]

Perhaps those memories were in the brain cells that I've since dispatched.

I am a child of the '60s, and I've used similar descriptions in the past, but I think that one is perfect. I'll be borrowing it, if you don't mind.

Be my guest. Use it in good health.

Chas