Oct 23, 2009 8:05 pm US/Eastern
Appeal Sought In Racially Charged NY Murder Case
John White, Convicted Of Manslaughter, Asking Appellate Court To Vacate Ruling
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
A racially charged case that divided Suffolk County is again making headlines. On Friday came the controversial appeal from a black man convicted in the fatal shooting of a white teenager in his driveway.
It was a case that, two years ago, boiled over with emotions between both the family of the victim and supporters of the gunman.
John White, 56, was convicted of manslaughter but is now asking an appellate court to vacate the conviction.
"If John White can't defend his home, then who can?" White said.
But Joanne Cicciaro, the mother of the teen who was killed, says, "no way."
"We got our decision, and that's the truth," Cicciaro said.
Cicciaro, of Selden, said she still misses her son, Daniel, who was just 17 when he was fatally shot outside White's home. That's where five teens showed up in a dispute with White son. The father got a gun, which he says accidentally went off, killing Cicciaro.
White said Friday that he intended no harm.
"The primary issue is, I didn't go outside with intent to do anybody bodily harm," White said.
White's attorneys argued Friday that possession of the gun was lawful, that the angered teens were racially motivated, and that two of the jurors, they say, were pressured into a quick verdict.
"What's very unclear is why this jury in Suffolk County decided, two days before Christmas, that they had heard enough about and from John White," White's attorney, Fred Brewington, said. "That is not justice."
Cicciaro's mother said the decision should stand.
"They won't overturn what happened," Cicciaro said. "A jury of 12 already decided the truth, and he's been sentenced."
Just when will the appellate division make its decision? Experts say it will be at least 30 days.
White had scores of supporters in the courtroom, including representatives of several branches of the NAACP and members of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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