On his last day in office, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo granted clemency to convicted cop killer David Gilbert, whom he insisted has turned his life around.
Gilbert, a member of Weather Underground, was convicted in 1983 of three counts of second-degree murder and four counts of first-degree robbery for his involvement in the robbery of a Brink’s truck in 1981. During that incident, two police officers and a security guard died, and $1.6 million in cash was stolen. Gilbert had been sentenced to 75 years-to-life in prison.
The law enforcement community was outraged by Cuomo’s decision.
Killed in the robbery were Sgt. Edward O’Grady, Officer Waverly Brown and Peter Paige, a Brink's guard. The commutation of Mr. Gilbert’s sentence, like Ms. Clark’s before him, outraged the law enforcement community in Rockland County.
“It’s absurd,” Arthur Keenan Jr., a retired detective with the Nyack Police Department, who was wounded in the shootout, said on Monday. He said Mr. Cuomo “is stabbing all of law enforcement in the back, and when I say all, I’m talking about federal, state, local — all across the whole country — because he’s a traitor.”
In a statement, Ed Day, the Rockland County executive, said that Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, had “debased himself” and the office of the governor.
“As if victimizing 11 women, including members of his own staff, was not despicable enough, his commutation of the 75-years-to-life sentence of David Gilbert is a further assault on the people of Rockland and New York State,” said Mr. Day, a Republican. “Andrew Cuomo continues to focus on the well-being of murderers rather than the victims of these horrible offenses.” (NYT)
Cuomo highlighted Gilbert’s involvement in AIDS education and work as a teacher and law library clerk.
“He has served 40 years of a 75-year sentence, related to an incident in which he was the driver, not the murderer,” Cuomo said on Twitter Monday evening.
Cuomo’s decision doesn’t mean Gilbert is out of prison, but he will be granted a parole hearing in the near future.
Gilbert’s son, Chesa Boudin, the controversial San Francisco district attorney, was among those who lobbied for Gilbert’s release. Boudin was an infant when the crime occurred. Boudin’s mother, Kathy Boudin, was also involved in the robbery. She was released in 2003 after serving 20 years and now teaches at Columbia University.
“I am overcome with emotion,” Boudin said in a statement on Monday night, according to The New York Times. “My heart is bursting, and it also aches for the families of the three victims. Although he never used a gun or intended for anyone to get hurt, my father’s crime caused unspeakable harm and devastated the lives of many separate families. I will continue to keep those families in my heart; I know they can never get their loved ones back.”
My heart is bursting. On the eve of my first child's birth, my dad - who's been in prison nearly my entire life - was granted clemency.
— Chesa Boudin ??? (@chesaboudin) August 24, 2021
He never intended harm, yet his crime devastated many families.
My heart breaks for the families that can never get their loved ones back.
Cuomo also granted sentence commutations to four other convicted murderers and a pardon to the founder of a private equity firm who had served two years for stealing from investors, according to The New York Post.
I am granting clemency to 6 people.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 23, 2021
These individuals have shown remorse, rehabilitation and commitment to their communities.
I thank all the volunteer attorneys representing clemency applicants for their dedication and service to justice. pic.twitter.com/iotA77BzzC