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| Court orders hearing for death row inmate |
| By The Gloucester County Times |
| Published: 07/18/2005 |
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The New Jersey Supreme Court has cleared the way for death row inmate Richard Feaster to receive a second chance at overturning the death sentence he received in the early 1990s killing of a Deptford gas station attendant. Feaster, who changed his name to Sean Padraic Kenney in prison, was convicted in the Oct. 6, 1993 shotgun slaying of Keith Donaghy at a Deptford Texaco. In a 39-page decision rendered last Thursday, the high court ruled the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office intimidated the key witness in the case by threatening to lodge perjury charges against him if he recanted his trial testimony during Feaster's 2003 motion for post-conviction relief (PCR). At trial, prosecutors offered Michael Sadlowski, one of Feaster's closest friends and the star witness against him, immunity from separate charges if he testified against the accused killer. Sadlowski then testified Feaster admitted to the crime hours later while drinking beer and watching television news reports of the crime. He later recanted the statements during an interview with lawyers at Bayside State Prison and said he lied on the stand. "... the state may not use threats or intimidating tactics that substantially interfere with a witness's decision to testify for a defendant," Justice Barry Albin wrote in the 6-1 decision. "Such conduct, even if motivated by good faith, cannot be tolerated, particularly in a capital case." The justices ordered a new hearing to take place before Superior Court Judge John Tomasello on Feaster's motion to dismiss the guilty verdict or to overturn the death sentence. They also ruled prosecutors must opt to grant immunity to witness Sadlowski, strike his testimony or grant him a new trial. "We're seeking a new trial. This essentially brings us a step closer," said Isabelle McGinty, one of two public defenders arguing the case for Feaster. "Sadlowski's testimony went to the issue of guilt or innocence." In a written statement, Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said his office's next step is uncertain. "The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office will evaluate the Supreme Court opinion and determine whether or not Mr. Sadlowski will be brought into the PCR hearing for testimony under use immunity. That decision should be made in the coming weeks," the statement said. |
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