Convicted Cop Killer Sentenced to Death, Asks God to Bless Victims' Families
Convicted New York murderer Ronell Wilson was sentenced to death by lethal injection but had a message for the victims' families. He offered an apology and asked God to bless them before being taken back to prison.
Wilson was convicted for the 2003 murders of undercover Detectives Rodney Andrews and James Nemorin. While in prison, Wilson managed to carry on a sexual affair with a female guard, who ultimately ended up pregnant with his son. It was a shock to Judge Nicholas Garaufis and the victims' families.
"Not only did Mr. Wilson's behavior in prison illuminate his continuing lack of remorse and disregard for authority, but also it shed light on the apparent ineptitude on the Bureau of Prisons," Judge Garaufis said in Brooklyn Federal Court.
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Before being resentenced to the death penalty, Wilson was given the opportunity to address the court.
"I said on a previous allocution how deeply sorry I am for the pain I caused upon your family," Wilson said, addressing Maryann Andrews, Rodney's widow. "I would like to leave on this note: To error is human, but to forgive is divine. May God bless you and your family."
Wilson will now be transferred to Death Row in Terre Haute, Indiana to await execution. His lawyer expressed remorse for failing to protect his client from the death penalty.
"It demonstrates how little we've evolved since Biblical times," David Stern told New York Daily News. "This is all pointless." He promised to appeal Wilson's sentence to the highest court possible.
Meanwhile, the families of those he killed had their own opinion about Wilson's apology and sentence.
"He hasn't said anything all these years," Rodney Andrews, Sr. said. "Now it's doomsday and he want's to talk. It doesn't mean anything."
"Ronell might outlive me," he previously told the Daily News. "I hope I'm here 'til I'm a hundred. I'd like to be there and get eye contact with him before they put him to sleep. I want to see that; I'm glad he's gone. He took two people's lives and doesn't deserve to be here."
