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Ambitious Prosecutor's Convictions Are Overturned

By TChris, Section Court Decisions
Posted on Thu Aug 31, 2006 at 12:05:41 PM EST
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by TChris

Christine Wilhelm drowned her son in a bathtub, and tried to drown her other son. Common sense might cause one to wonder whether this behavior was the product of mental illness, but it was only after Wilhelm's convictions were reversed last week (decision in pdf here) that the prosecutor, Patricia DeAngelis, said that she is "considering the possibility of giving a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity." What took so long?

Wilhelm has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic but DeAngelis had pressed for a 50 year to life prison sentence and denied her mental health treatment.

This columnist notes that many have criticized DeAngelis for "getting convictions at all costs."

So what happened to the one-time rising star who is now hanging on by the skin of her teeth? For starters, there is "prosecutorial misconduct," the reason the Appellate Division used to overturn two of her high-profile cases - Thomas Levandowski and Robert Gorghan. ...

Burton Hunter's name is worth mentioning. He is getting a new trial because the DA's office did not tell the defense the woman he allegedly raped made the same accusations against another man. DeAngelis did not prosecute, but she handled the pre-trial work. ...

And of course there is Christine Wilhelm .... Many across the nation did not think she should have been tried as a criminal. While prosecutorial misconduct was not the reason it was overturned, the justices saw fit to mention it in their decision.

The columnist notes that DeAngelis has done some good work, and faults her former boss for not keeping her in check. Now DeAngelis is the boss, having been elected district attorney on the strength of her ability to obtain high profile convictions. Now that those convictions are being overturned, the columnist suggests that "there is a good chance her career as a prosecutor will be over before her term expires at the end of 2007." Why did this happen?

[S]he was a young prosecutor, with ambition, and what quicker way to reach the stars than to get convictions. In a lot of ways, DeAngelis is a victim of her own ambition.

Blogger criticism of DeAngelis can be found here and here.

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    Ambitious Prosecutor's Convictions Are Overturned | 4 comments (4 topical)
    Re: Ambitious Prosecutor's Convictions Are Overtur (none / 0) (#2)
    by Sumner on Thu Aug 31, 2006 at 02:38:29 PM EST
    In my stream-of-consciousness, I processed this story thus so: I am reminded of former US Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey's use of the oxymoron "exquisite punishment". I am reminded of a DA that says she and the US Attorney always defer to the jurisdiction with the harshest punishment. Then I remember Andrea Yates and the publics's utter morbid fascination with a parent that could kill their own child or children, that if the "worst grief of all" is for a parent to lose a child, how much worse is it when the deed is by their own hand? Then I am reminded of the panel on CNN with Paula Zahn on August 21, 2006 where former federal prosecutor Wendy Murphy states:
    Cyril Wecht, who studied this case, believes that it was an accidental death at the hands of her father, that the garrote was used for sexual purposes, that he accidentally asphyxiated her and then... There were a lot of people early on in this case, back in 1997 who said it could well be JonBenet was being photographed pornographically. That garrote, S and M, kiddy porn is the most expensive, the most valuable kiddy porn you can pedal. ... I said that's what the police wrote in 1997, in support of the search warrant that they used to search the Ramsey, multiple Ramsey homes. They said this is consistent with child pornography and the garrote around the neck is an S and M child pornography.
    Then I think of Nancy Grace, and how she is so given to showboating. Then I think, OMG what if Nancy Grace ran for office and became a lawmaker? What if Nancy Grace were appointed as a judge? Think of the demagoguery and scapegoating into law there would be then. And then I realize that things are not yet quite so bad, and then I count my blessings. And I sing praise to the blogs.

    Re: Ambitious Prosecutor's Convictions Are Overtur (none / 0) (#1)
    by HK on Thu Aug 31, 2006 at 03:00:04 PM EST
    Exactly who in society benefits from anyone being denied medical treatment for or diagnosis of mental illness? Wilhelm's sanity is not the only one that should be questioned in this case... Furthermore, I am the first to admit that there are shortcomings in the English legal system, but it seems to me that we do not encourage the same kind of over-zealous prosecutors that appear to be rampant in the US. Prosecuting is a subtle art, a skill which cannot be measured by simply keeping score. Nobody is served by a prosecutor who wants to obtain a conviction at any cost, regardless of the possible innocence or questionable mental health of defendants. While individuals must take responsibility for their actions, DeAngelis alone should not be blamed here; the system created her.

    Re: Ambitious Prosecutor's Convictions Are Overtur (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 31, 2006 at 03:13:20 PM EST
    Dig a little deeper on this and you will find some truly interesting dirt. Remember, this occurred in Joe Brunoland. For those of you who do not live in NYS, NYS is basically governed by three men: George Pataki, Sheldon Silver, & Joe Bruno. Joe Bruno heads the Senate and lives in Rensselaer County, where this all went down. Guess who was this twit's prior boss? None other than Joe Bruno's incompentent son, who has since fled for greener (as in dead-presidents- green) pastures as a lobbyist. I could write more but, hey, since I was peripherally involved in this mess, the less written the better. And this is not the first royal f*&^ up that this DA's office has been involved in. Not by a longshot.

    Re: Ambitious Prosecutor's Convictions Are Overtur (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 31, 2006 at 04:49:31 PM EST
    Wow, Lavocat. Thanks for contributing your understanding of that case and the underlying politics. Elective office, it would seem, often involves an almost Faustian bargain (- to sacrifice anything in exchange for more power). In California, owing to the virtually unchecked prison guard and LEA union (CCPOA) influence, there has been a constant ongoing prison building fetish and perpetual ratcheting-up of punishment. Prosecutors have wrested much discretion from judges. Prosecutorial discretion should ordinarily play an important role in the carrying out of justice. Because in California, many laws now overlap where punishments are already Draconian. Over-charging simply adds to the injustice when it becomes the rule rather than exception. In the federal system, nearly everyone pleads out, as the government's resources are so heavily stacked against the individual. Yet the federal government has provided a "Special Master" to California in order to oversee the travesty. According to The Sacramento Bee, July 16, 2006, Special Master John Hagar called the governor's Cabinet secretary a liar, accused his chief of staff of "trading" appointments for political support and told the correctional officers union that the state's prison crisis "is on your shoulders." One of the continuing crimes against humanity in California's prison system is that there is an estimated double-digit percentage of the mentally ill in prison, rather than receiving mental health treatment. Poor health care, in general, is a long festering problem in California's prison population. Cases of AIDS are reported to run 8 times higher than in the general population. It being California, perhaps One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest had a subliminal influence on the subsequent placement of mentally ill offenders. California is still on a prison building kick, law-and-order bent and lock-em-up, throw away the key, spree. Supporters of the madness, generally parrot the line that, "Look, since we finally got serious about criminals, crime is way down." To his credit, Dr. Stephen W. Mayberg, the Director of the California Department of Mental Health, does a conscientious job. (Although, his number two at DMH, appears to be a "tool".) Things are so bad in California's prisons that even the University of California has been considered to take charge of the system. I wonder what would have become of Christine Wilhelm had her drama unfolded out here.

    Ambitious Prosecutor's Convictions Are Overturned | 4 comments (4 topical)