TRENTON, N.J. -- The state Attorney General and other
politicians said the failure to convict Jayson Williams of
manslaughter is pushing them to get a new homicide charge on the
books.
A charge of "criminally negligent homicide" would be easier to
prove and carry lighter penalties than aggravated or reckless
manslaughter, The Sunday Star-Ledger of Newark reported.
Twenty-three other states have such a charge.
Williams was acquitted this month of aggravated manslaughter in
the fatal shooting of a hired driver; a jury split on a reckless
manslaughter charge.
Williams was convicted of attempting to mask the circumstances
surrounding the February 2002 shooting. Costas "Gus" Christofi
died after being hit by a shotgun blast fired by a weapon Williams
was holding.
Attorney General Peter Harvey said there should such a crime as
negligent homicide, which would cover instances when a defendant
should have known he was putting someone's life at risk, but did
not consider it.
It would be punishable by probation to a maximum of five years
in prison, Harvey said.
The Williams case "makes it much clearer to legislators on
either side of the issue that there is a gap" in the law, said
Sen. John Adler, chairman of the state Senate's Judiciary
Committee.
Defense lawyers said right now the most severe penalty faced by
people accused of such accidental deaths are civil lawsuits.
"We run a great risk of criminalizing actions that have
traditionally been handled in the civil arena," said Maria Noto,
president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New
Jersey.
Harvey said the new charge was considered before the Christofi
shooting, but that after his death the proposal was written.
Adler, D-Camden, delayed considering the bill during the
Williams trial so it wouldn't affect the case.
He said the bill is likely to pass when considered early next
month.