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Child Murder Suspect Gets New "Heavy Hitting" Attorney
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 23, 2011
Modified Jul 23, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 23, 2011
Modified Jul 23, 2011
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Previously, one of the attorneys for Levi Aron, the man who confessed to killing and dismembering 8-year-old Hasidic boy Leiby Kletzky last week, abruptly resigned; Gerard Marrone told reporters that his conscious weighed heavy on him because of "the horrific way this boy was killed." Now, a new "heavy hitting" defense lawyer has been brought in to replace him, and she "has a reputation for being an aggressive attorney who diligently represents high profile defendants," according to fellow lawyer Pierre Bazile.
Newspapers are already pointing out that the new lawyer, Jennifer L. McCann, was involved in one high-profile case which successfully utilized an insanity plea: McCann represented Long Island mother Kathleen Prisco, who was allowed to plead not guilty by reason of insanity for fatally stabbing her husband. Although Aron wrote a detailed written confession, he pled not guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping charges, and his lawyers have previously intimated that they would pursue an insanity defense.
McCann told the Times that she had been brought on to Aron's defense because of her experience “with mental health issues and plain old homicides.” She added that she had briefly met Aron at Bellevue Hospital, but she declined to comment on his mental state: “I think that is a question for the professionals and will depend on what doctors have to say about that.” Legal experts have said that Aron is eligible for the federal death penalty because he took Leiby across state lines to get gas the day he abducted Leiby—he then allegedly (and bizarrely) took him to a wedding in upstate Monsey, NY, the day before he drugged the boy, smothered him to death, and dismembered his body.
Tagged
dismemberment
lawyer
leiby kletzky
levi aron
murder
orthodox jew
trial
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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