Word: capano
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...come straight out of Central Casting : poor, lower-class hard-luck cases for whom murder was the defining moment of their lives -- think Karla Faye Tucker, or Texas dragging murderer James William King. But the death sentence handed down Tuesday to former state prosecutor and political adviser Thomas Capano for the murder of a secretary to the governor of Delaware brings the death penalty to a far more rarefied social stratum. Indeed, when was the last time a rich, powerful white man was sentenced...
...like this." Celebrated past recipients of the death penalty such as Julius and Ethel Rosenberg or Caryl Chessman were neither rich nor powerful, and gained their status as a consequence of their trials, Cohen says. More recently, capital punishment was pre-emptively rejected in the O.J. Simpson case. But Capano had no legendary gridiron past, and a wholly unpleasant present. Although the scion of a wealthy real estate family and a mover among Delaware's elite, "at no point in the story did he present himself as an appealing human being," says Cohen. "People were outraged by the viciousness...
First, a brief on the Capano case: In a saga that captivated Delaware residents for years, Capano, a wealthy and well-connected former state prosecutor, was accused of killing a former lover, Anne Marie Fahey, who was a secretary for the governor. Capano initially denied any involvement in the 1996 incident; but in a plot twist worthy of a TV movie, he changed his story at the trial, claiming he was present as another of his ex-lovers killed Fahey. He then stuffed Fahey's body in a cooler, he claimed, and dumped it in the Atlantic to protect...
While it is easy to have no sympathy for a well-heeled man who apparently murdered a woman out of jealous rage, there are reasons to harbor lingering doubt about the verdict. Capano continues to deny he committed the crime; the fact that he was more defiant than remorseful at his sentencing hearing perversely hurt his chances to live. (The jury apparently expected another sudden switch and admission of guilt.) No body or murder weapon was ever found, and the prosecution relied entirely on circumstantial evidence...
That should be enough to make the judge think twice before ordering Capano's death. Not to mention another mitigating factor--the testimony of Marguerite Capano, the convicted murderer's 76-year-old mother. "My son is not a murderer," she pleaded at the sentencing hearing. "I don't care what anyone says, they will never convince me of that. I love him. I need him." What good will it do to kill...