Prosecutors seek dismissal of appeal in Brighton ax murder case after killer's death
The Monroe County District Attorney's Office wants an appellate court to deny the request from the lawyers of James Krauseneck Jr., convicted of the "Brighton ax murder," to allow his appeal to continue posthumously.
In court papers filed Friday the DA's office said the appeal should be dismissed, a move that would likely erase Krauseneck's indictment and conviction from the books. Krauseneck died in prison May 5 of esophageal cancer, almost eight months after being convicted of murdering his wife, Cathleen, with an ax blow to the head in 1982.
In New York, an indictment is dismissed and a conviction vacated if the individual found guilty dies with an appeal pending. This practice is the offspring of centuries-old legal practices maintaining that the convicted individual should have the right to appeal. Many states either do not use this practice, known as the "abatement doctrine," or have altered how it is applied with a death.
The DA's Office said the appeal should be dismissed because Krauseneck is deceased. In its papers, it said it soon will formally request the dismissal from the regional appellate court, and the court should then send the case to Monroe County Court, a typical step for the indictment's dismissal.
The Krauseneck murder was already unusual enough, with four decades between the crime and a conviction, but the DA's move adds another oddity: Typically prosecutors and the families of victims have protested the scrubbing of an individual's conviction with a death. For instance, the law was changed in Massachusetts after a public outcry with the suicide of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, who killed himself in prison after a murder conviction.
In his dying days in prison, Krauseneck signed a waiver, one that he and his family hoped would allow the appeal to go forward.
"Our family supports Jim’s desire to file his appeal in spite of his untimely death," his wife, Sharon Krauseneck, said in a statement last week. "Jim’s decision is not only based upon his desire to affirm his innocence, but also in hopes it may help other innocent people who have similarly been placed at huge disadvantages in defending themselves."
Krauseneck's attorneys have contended there is proof of innocence, that there are significant substantive grounds for an appeal, and the issues should still be heard even posthumously. A successful appeal could help clear Krauseneck's name beyond the pro forma steps typically taken posthumously, his attorneys have said.
In a statement last week, Annet Schlosser, the sister of Cathleen Krauseneck, said the Krausenecks "can spend all the money (they must have a lot) they want on an appeal. It does not change the fact that the entire world knows he is guilty. The Krausenecks will never get their reputation or name back. I will never get my sister back."
Calli Marianetti, the spokeswoman for the DA's office, said the office thinks judicial rulings which allowed Krauseneck's indictment to stand and him to be tried would survive an appellate challenge.
Weeks before Krauseneck's death, his lawyers asked the appellate court to allow him to be released on bail as his appeal was pending. Krauseneck's death appeared imminent then.
The Monroe County District Attorney's Office opposed the request, and an appellate judge decided not to release Krauseneck.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Brighton ax murder: DA wants appeal after killer's death dismissed
