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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
Criminal Defense Attorney, Legal Analyst, and Writer (she/her). “I can't believe what you say, because I see what you do.” James Baldwin
Criminal LawyerNew York, New YorkBorn May 15Joined July 2013
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74K Followers

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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
No question, Manhattan DA could charge Daniel Penny with Murder. In New York, under Penal Law 125.25 (2), Murder in the Second Degree doesn't require the prosecutor prove intent, just that a person acted recklessly with a "depraved indifference to human life."
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jon ben-menachem
@jbenmenachem
Replying to @dnbrgr and @DrRJKavanagh
Think they are probably under-charging because he's lawyered to hell and they expect a trial
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Rebecca Kavanagh Retweeted
David Menschel
@davidminpdx
“A Louisiana man who served 29 years for a crime he did not commit has been released from prison after it was revealed… the victim had told the prosecutors in New Orleans for over two decades that the man was innocent, but she was repeatedly ignored.”
theguardian.com
Louisiana man wrongly convicted of rape released after 29 years in prison
Patrick Brown, 49, was sentenced to life without parole after being accused of raping his young stepdaughter in December 1994
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Rebecca Kavanagh Retweeted
Radley Balko
@radleybalko
After one of the most jaw-dropping police abuse and corruption scandals in city history, Baltimore disbanded its elite proactive policing units, then started them back up under a different name.
baltimoremagazine.com
After The GTTF Scandal, BPD Set Up More Plainclothes Units. Are They More of the Same?
“We establish our own probable cause,” a District Action Team officer said in a piece of video footage captured after a 2022 arrest.
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Rebecca Kavanagh Retweeted
Jenny Egan
@jennylynegan
Things I have heard BPD cops testify constitute characteristics of an armed person: - Baggy pants - Tight pants with bulge - Turning left - Turning right - Walking fast - Walking slow - Touching crotch area - Having a limp - A saggy jacket pocket
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Rebecca Kavanagh Retweeted
Kamau Franklin
@kamaufranklin
Today is John Brown's Birthday. "We need allies who are going to help us achieve a victory, not allies who are going to tell us to be nonviolent. If a white man wants to be your ally, what does he think of John Brown? You know what John Brown did? He went to war." Malcolm X
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Rebecca Kavanagh Retweeted
Brian P. Mangan
@brianpmangan
Everyone finds this funny, but it should be to the eternal shame of Jay Jacobs, the Democratic nominee Bob Zimmerman, and the Nassau Democratic Party that this happened in the first place. They did no investigation whatsoever.
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The New York Times
@nytimes
Breaking News: George Santos, the Republican congressman, surrendered to the authorities to face federal criminal charges. Follow our updates. nyti.ms/3VQOLeM
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tanvi
@Tanvim
To be crystal clear: This means the Biden administration has solidified into permanence one of the central tenets of Trump’s immigration regime despite promising to roll back those policies —
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Hamed Aleaziz
@Haleaziz
Today, the Biden administration finalized its proposal limiting asylum at the border. The US will now be significantly limiting asylum protections for those who cross into the US without authorization. “We will never go back to what it was before Trump.” twitter.com/Haleaziz/statu…
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Rebecca Kavanagh Retweeted
Garrett Felber
@garrett_felber
In light of this story about Alex Haley fabricating quotes by MLK, I'm resharing my first published article on Haley doing similar things in Malcolm X's autobiography. I literally found lines Haley wrote in Reader's Digest and later attributed to Malcolm.
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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
Murder in the Second Degree is a Class A violent felony carries a minimum sentence of 15-40 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison with or without parole. (Class A felonies have a different sentencing regime to other felonies.)
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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
Typically prosecutors overcharge so they can coerce plea bargains. In similar circumstances, if a Black person killed a White person, they would absolutely be charged with Murder in the Second Degree.
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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
That can happen in cases like this where a DA wants to do something but hasn't decided exactly how much, for instance, in the Amber Guygor case. She was originally charged with manslaughter in the killing of Botham Jean, then that was upgraded to murder.
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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
This says Daniel Penny will be arraigned in *Criminal Court* tomorrow. This means he hasn't been indicted yet (if he had been, the arraignment would be in Supreme Court). Manhattan DA still has the option to present more serious charges, including murder, to the grand jury.
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The New York Times
@nytimes
Breaking News: Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran who choked and killed Jordan Neely on the New York subway last week, is expected to be charged on Friday. nyti.ms/42IjxbY
The text reads: “Daniel Penny Will Be Charged in Subway Chokehold Killing of Jordan Neely. Penny held Neely in a chokehold for several minutes, killing him. He is expected to surrender on Friday and be charged with manslaughter.”
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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
Non-violent felonies in NY have non-determinate sentences (example 5-15 years); violent felonies have determinate (example - 5 years). The sentencing range I cited here is for someone with no criminal record. If Penny has a criminal record then a different regime would apply.
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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
The division is primarily for the purpose of sentencing. So class C violent felonies, non-violent and drug felonies all have different sentencing regimes, which then vary further dependent on a person's criminal record.
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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
New York divides felonies into three categories - violent, non-violent and drug offenses. Whether a felony is defined as violent or non-violent is very arbitrary and doesn't accord with what these words mean in colloquial usage.
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🦆M
@Grey_Sector
Replying to @DrRJKavanagh
"Non-Violent" is really throwing me for a loop here. How does that work? Is this sort of thing typically reserved for accidental deaths?
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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
The relevant provision of the New York Penal Code is S125.15 (1) which says that "A person is guilty of manslaughter in the second degree when ... [h]e recklessly causes the death of another person."
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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
In New York, Manslaughter in the Second Degree is classified as a Class C Non-Violent Felony. A person can receive a non- incarceratory sentence, usually of probation. The maximum sentence is an indeterminate term of 5-15 years in prison.
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Rebecca Kavanagh Retweeted
I Could’ve Just Sat On In With Massa
@WrittenByHanna
A homeless Black man is murdered and the conversation has turned into how affluent people feel “unsafe” on public transport lol
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Decider
@decider
"My husband doesn't let me ride the subway anymore because of the fear of threat." #TheView's Alyssa Farah Griffin and her family feels unsafe riding public transportation in New York City: trib.al/XNDcTdK
Alyssa Farah Griffin
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Twyla Carter
@twylajcarter
Watching housing court in the Bronx & unrepresented woman told judge that she missed last court hearing because her daughter died as landlord's attorney continues eviction process. If you want 2 see how USA is really doing, watch housing, criminal or family courts. Heartbreaking
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Rebecca Kavanagh
@DrRJKavanagh
This quote from the article above: "To those who hold it, district attorney is largely considered an apolitical job, with elections necessary to maintain a career. But activity in the courtroom inevitably seeps into the campaign cycle." Say what?
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