Accused Cop Killers Spared Death Penalty

The three men who have now been [indicted on charges of killing police] officer Russel Timoshenko and attempting to kill his partner, Herman Yan, will not be [eligible for the death penalty](http://www.nysun.com/article/59228), thanks to a decision announced yesterday by Brooklyn district attorney Charles Hynes. As we told you in the days following Timoshenko’s death, his family and some police advocates had hoped the trial would be [moved to federal court](http://207.154.16.219/blogx/display_blog.cfm?bid=25224651), where capital punishment is possible. Instead, Hynes said he would try the case himself in New York, where the death penalty is prohibited by law.

The judge provided the following explanation of his decision: “This case is in contrast to the Richmond County case where two young cops were executed by gun dealers who were in the course and in the furtherance of interstate commerce; that is the federal connection,” he said. “There is no such federal connection in this case.” The accused, Dexter Bostic, Robert Ellis and Lee Woods, all pleaded not guilty yesterday in Hynes’ court. If convicted on the most serious charges, the three could now face a [maximum punishment of life] in prison without parole.