As recounted by Darnell Epps, one of the two brothers, in this NY Times Op Ed piece, the judge could have sentenced them to forty years to life, almost ensuring that they would spend the rest of their life in prison.
But, inexplicably, NY State Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach did not condemn the two young men to a life in prison. Justice Reichbach, in the face of the prevailing attitude then (and now) that people are unredeemable and should be always sentenced to the maximum sentence-especially in a murder case (even where the victim was a gang-member rapist), sentenced the brothers to 17 1/2 years to life, allowing them to seek parole after 17 1/2 years.
In 2017 both brothers were paroled after serving the minimum sentence.
Darnell Epps, who authored the op-ed piece, is currently a student at Cornell majoring in government. His brother Darryl is enrolled in the Justice In Education Program at Colombia University.
Both brothers went from the NY State Correctional system to Ivy League schools within a year of their release.
Darnell Epps wrote the op-ed piece to highlight the help he and his brother received from the prison "old-timers": the men serving life sentences who at ages 50, 60, and beyond, provided guidance to the brothers and other young inmates.
We cannot help thinking about another hero in this case: Justice Reichbach. Justice Reichbach saw something in the two young men before him, and he made the politically, socially, and legally un-popular decision: he did not sentence two young black men convicted of murder to the maximum sentence.
It is unfortunate that we write that such a decision (and yes, race is most definitely a factor in sentences) is remarkable for how rare it is. And we write this in the (small) hope that some Judge somewhere may read about this case and realize that the ability to total the maximum years of a lawful sentence is not the distinguishing factor about what makes a judge "good". There should be no pride in a judge who has a reputation as a tough sentencer. Rather, it should be a badge of shame, the moniker proof that within the judge there is no humanity or, more importantly, no ability to see the spark of humanity in a defendant appearing before them at the worst moment of their life.
The triumph is the wisdom of Justice Reichbach in this case-his "Mercy": "It becomes the throned monarch better than his crown". The tragedy is that there are far too few Justice Reichbach's in the legal profession. And as a result, there are far too many "old-timers" in prison.
The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The thronèd monarch better than his crown.
Portia, The Merchant of Venice, Billy Shakes.
9 comments:
Thus great Justice died at the age of 65. Pancreatic cancer. He lost his only daughter 2 years earlier.
He was a Columbia Law School graduate. He was a radical liberal against Viet Nam atrocities and fought for medical marijuana before anyone was. He even handed out condoms in his courtroom in the height of AIDS.
In court, Justice Reichbach wore robes only on sentencing days. A white scarf usually accented his three-piece suits, along with a Phi Beta Kappa key from his undergraduate days. His curly mane lost none of its exuberance as it grayed.
We all on the bench can take some of his HUMILITY and HUMANITY and apply mercy to all. It’s not a jurists job to be macho, send a message, be tougher than others or have an EGO that they are any better than anyone else.
Thank you for that comment. The habit of not wearing robes except at sentencing brings to mind another great judge-also in Brooklyn. Judge Jack Weinstein of the EDNY, clearly the greatest trial judge of the last 100 years in the US in our opinion. Judge Weinstein also did not wear his robes unless at sentencing, and he had the habit of getting off the bench and pulling up a chair across from a defendant and, looking him or her in the eye, engaged in a discussion about the case and the sentence he thought appropriate.
I never heard of Justice Reichbach until this case But I won't soon forget him or what he did for those two young men.
Gotta love the media on this one. An in-depth look at the murderers, but just a momentary pause on the victim as a sexual assaulting gang member. We don't even get his name. Not his age. Is the allegation even true?
Here are the facts recited in an appeal of the case i found in 3 seconds after a simple google search:
"In the early morning hours of March 8, 2000, Darnell Epps was sitting in a van parked outside a convenience store when he was informed by an acquaintance, Jesus Plazza, that Derek Warren-who was inside the store with a friend, Randy Jiles—“was calling [Darnell] a pussy.” Darnell seemed unperturbed and drove off in the van. Some time later, however, while Warren and Jiles were still inside the store, Darnell phoned the store and asked for Plazza, who was standing outside selling drugs. When Plazza came to the phone, Darnell told him to leave the store “because something might happen, it was not safe there.” Plazza and some others left the scene, while Warren, Jiles, another customer named Kenny, and two store employees remained inside.
At approximately 2:30 a.m., Darnell entered the store, followed by his brother, Darryl, who “came in fast.” Darryl, brandishing a gun, approached Warren, grabbed him around the neck, and said “I told you to stay out of this store.” Warren then “st[u]ck his arm up on the gun” and “[t]he gun [went] off.” Darnell instinctually drew his own gun, and pointed it at Jiles. Darryl rapidly fired four more shots into Warren's head and neck. As Darnell later testified, everything “happened so fast” that he did not know whether the first shot was intentionally fired by Darryl or whether the gun had gone off by accident. Although police later confirmed that the only bullets fired came from Darryl's gun, Darryl himself was somehow shot in the encounter."
***
As you will notice above, no mention of Derek Warren being a gang member or sexually assaulting anyone.
Call me old fashioned, but if these brothers planned a violent confrontation with and then shot Derek Warren 5 times, 4 in the head and neck, and all because he called one of them a pussy, 17.5 is a little bit light.
Good for them for turning things around, but cmon. Derek Warren is every bit as dead 17.5 years later.
Personally Id give Darryl about 35 years and Darnell about 25.
Lets assume these facts are correct. So what you are saying, in the face of evidence that these two young men learned, matured, and rehabilitated themselves to the point where they are now both in ivy league colleges within a year of being released from prison where they had spotless records, that you wish to ignore that evidence of rehabilitation and just want more punishment for punishment's sake? So the departments across the land should strike the word "corrections" from their title and replace it with the word "vengeance" as in "The Department of Vengeance and Punishment" and not the department of corrections and rehabilitation?
If you're not one the judges or prosecutors I deal with every single day on every single case I have...I bet you want to be.
Rumpole...KABOOM
No one should mess with you.
True or false- Shakespeare's Merchant Of Venice was initially titled "The Jew Of Venice"?
I don't believe the use of the word "corrections" in the phrase "department of corrections" limits the reasons we as a society can legitimately rely on to justify incarceration of those who break our rules. In other words, while i think rehabilitation is an important factor in sentencing, and perhaps the exclusive factor we should consider in, say, a drug possession case, this is a murder case. Maybe im not enlightened, but it just feels unfair to me that this person can execute another with 4 head/neck shots and then walk away just 17 years later and we uncritically celebrate his education, and quite possibly defame the deceased as someone who deserved killing.
Take an example. Say kavanaugh was convicted this year of attempted rape of dr. Ford in 1982 and since 1982 he has led an exemplary life. He convinces his sentencing judge that he is a 0% risk of reoffending. Are you saying since no "correction" is needed, the punishmenet is no jail time?
What do you say rump? In that case would a little retribution be okay?
One of the best Judges I have been in front of was John Gleeson, of the EDNY. He never wore robes on the motion days that I appeared in front of him. He was extremely knowledgeable in the cases before him and did not tolerate fools or the unprepared. Sadly, he has left the bench to make millions in private practice. A reverse of Judge Hanzman who made millions in private practice and gave it up to take the bench. Hanzman is probably the best state judge that has ever stepped foot at the Justice Bldg,l or 73 West Flagler.
I really like Judge Alan Fine. What a lovely demeanor this Judge has!
Such a breathe of fresh air from certain judges on the second floor.
Post a Comment