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Ronell Wilson's Death Row Prison Tantrum
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 6, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 6, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Convicted cop killer Ronell Wilson angered the judge presiding over his trial when a warden told him Wilson broke the "shatterproof" windows in a prison visiting room. Wilson, who was sentenced to death for the murders of two undercover police detectives and is at the Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting formal sentencing, threw a chair at the windows when he found out a visit from his mother and sister would be "non-contact" (his previous visits had allowed him touch his relatives). There was a four-hour standoff, with a SWAT team waiting, until Wilson gave up.
Wilson allegedly said, “I’m a death penalty inmate; I don’t have anything to lose. If you want to get hard, I can get violent.” Well, Judge Nicholas Garaufis said he could get hard, too. Garaufis, who presided over his trial and had authorized the visit, saw photographs of the damage and said, "I'm angry! He can make it easy or he can make it hard. The next time it's going to be extremely hard. I'm not having anyone's safety compromised by Mr. Wilson, Never again!"
Judge Garaufis noted that Wilson's letter of remorse mentions maturity and that he would send Wilson to a more secure penitentiary farther away if needed. On Sunday, the NY Times' Michael Brick looked at how sticking his tongue out at his victims' family when he was sentenced to death might impact Wilson later on.
Tagged
crime
death
death penalty
Judge Garaufis
judge nicholas garaufis
Metropolitan Detention Center
Michael Brick
ny times
On Sunday
police
ronell wilson
safety
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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