From Newsday, Nassau County Court Judge Richard LaPera has laid it out the way it should be.  It would have been so easy to collapse and let the slings and arrows of the grief-stricken family push him to disavow his sentencing commitment on a plea offer to a truly heinous killer.  But he didn’t.  And it’s worthy of notice.

The case involved the murder of Denise Fox.  It was a bad murder, with her body found in Evan Marshall’s basement and her severed head in his car trunk. 

Judge LaPera heard the prosecutor and family on sentencing.  They urged him to reject the plea and give Marshall a straight life sentence so that he would never have the chance of seeing the outside of a prison again.  They’re point was clear.

“How brutal does a crime have to be, or how dangerous does a killer have to be to warrant just punishment as provided by law?” said Fox’s husband, Jay, in court Wednesday.

When these words come from the husband of the victim, it’s hard not to pay attention.  But Judge LaPera stood firm, not because he was at all sympathetic to the defendant.  Indeed, there was nothing to be sympathetic about.  Rather, he understood two things that the family did not.

“I agree that he should not be released from prison, and it is my experience that he will not be paroled,” LaPera said. “But it is my sincere belief that this is the best resolution to a most difficult situation.”

Judge LaPera recognized that despite the anger, there were issues that could not be ignored.

But LaPera said the brutality of the crime is not what defines first-degree murder. To prove first-degree murder, prosecutors would have had to show that Marshall murdered Fox, 57, while committing a burglary, and LaPera said there wasn’t sufficient evidence of that. He said there also wasn’t enough evidence to prove that Marshall committed first-degree assault when he hit Melville lawyer Cynthia Kouril with his car, hours before he murdered Fox.

I know Cindy Kouril, a former AUSA and a fine lawyer and person.  Her involvement in this case bears no connection to the murder, but it’s weird to have her play any role at all in such a horrible situation.

The judge also knew that the family had no idea what pain would go through, what memories would be stirred, by a trial in this case.  He spared them horrible trauma, but they didn’t realize it.  Without living through it, they would never realize that he did the right thing by them. 

Judge LaPera demonstrated integrity, empathy and justice by not changing his decision.  He fulfilled his duty to the People of the State of New York in the most honorable fashion.

Judge Richard LaPera will be retiring at the end of this month.  I wonder what role this played in his choice, not having to face the voters ever again and being free to exercise his authority without fear of reprisal.  Whoever gets to sit on Judge LaPera’s bench would do well to consider his decision in this case.