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Edgewood shooter to be tried in Delaware first, then Maryland

Lawmaker proposes death by heroin and fentanyl
Posted at 7:24 AM, Oct 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-23 17:17:36-04

Harford County State's Attorney Joe Cassilly came to the decision this weekend, he wants to outsource the justice to Delaware because as he put, there is simply no equal punishment in Maryland for what Radee Prince did here last week.

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"I can only tell you how frustrated it is for me as a prosecutor to feel that the justice system does not have a proportional penalty for three murders and two attempted murders," Cassilly said at a Monday news conference.

Cassilly's thinking is that if convicted here on three murders and two attempted, the worst sentence Prince could receive is life in prison and his office can only suggest no parole.              

In Delaware, a conviction on that attempted first degree murder in Wilmington alone carries a life sentence with no parole.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler knows that will be disappointing news for some but ultimately agreed with the calculated move to let Delaware go first.

"There was a thought process or an expectation he would face justice here first but as you heard Mr. Cassidy lay out in clear terms, the penalty has the potential to certainly not meet the severity of the crime," the sheriff said.

Also in agreement that Maryland is soft on justice, the state's attorney's brother and state Senator Robert Cassilly.

Today the lawmaker said he will introduce a bill next year to bring back the death penalty in Maryland.

Cassilly calls it a “targeted capital punishment” bill and is aimed at the perpetrators of mass attacks and multiple homicides as well as the murder of a police officer, murder during a rape or a homicide during the commission of a hate crime.

His proposed method of execution is a lethal injection containing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl.

"I know it's lethal and I am assuming it's not that painful, if it has any pain because these guys keep doing it again and again," Cassilly said, "It gets the message out that this is a lethal concoction but my objective here is to enact a viable targeted death penalty statute to deal with these mass shootings."

State's Attorney Cassilly says he still plans to try prince here in Maryland.

A timeline on when that could happen will depend on the Delaware prosecution.

In Delaware, Prince faces charges of Attempted Murder in the First Degree, Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Person Prohibited, Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon, and Resisting Arrest. He faces a maximum prison term of life without parole.  

 

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