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| Controversial Award Given to NJ Inmate |
| By The Trentonian |
| Published: 10/31/2005 |
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A transsexual who was sprung from Death Row on a legal technicality after killing two police officers has been given an "inmate of the month" award by the women's prison where she is currently serving a life term, according to state corrections department officials. Leslie Ann Nelson, 47, was given a certificate and got a hug from Charlotte Blackwell, warden at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in northern New Jersey, after she was named "maximum security inmate worker of the month" for August, officials said. An officer who works at the prison and other law enforcement officials reacted with outrage yesterday at the recognition of Nelson, who admitted she gunned down two cops 10 years ago as they attempted to execute a search warrant at her Haddon Heights home. Camden County Prosecutor's Office investigator John McLaughlin and Haddon Heights police officer John Norcross were shot dead on April 20, 1995 when Nelson -- known as Glenn Nelson until a 1992 sex-change operation -- opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle and a 9-millimeter handgun. The officers went to her house to search for illegal weapons. "They don't have an officer of the month or an employee of the month, but we have inmate of the month," said one angry Mahan prison officer who asked not to be identified. "And the inmate of the month ends up being a cop-killer who gets a big hug from the warden. It's disgraceful." Nelson, who works in the prison law library as a paralegal, was given the award for tutoring other inmates on literacy, according to Department of Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman. "The idea there is to have restorative justice, to try to get programs that encourage inmates to behave the right way or to make amends for the behavior that got them into prison in the first place," Schuman said. "A teacher or a supervisor nominates the inmates, and people aren't judged before they are given the certificate on the crime they committed." Schuman said over the course of a year, about 10 percent of the women in lockup, or around 120 inmates, will receive an inmate worker or inmate student of the month at the prison that houses 1,086 convicts. Last Thursday, the award winners were treated to their annual luncheon that included a menu of wrapped turkey, tuna, or vegetarian sandwiches, choice of a jelly or glazed donut, and soda, Schuman said. But law enforcement groups from around the state reacted with disgust yesterday. "I think it's outrageous. It's insulting to every cop that gave his or her life in the service," said Joseph Carmen, an attorney for the Fraternal Order of Police Local 200, which represents approximately 7,000 corrections officers statewide. Jeff Smith, president of another FOP officers union, called Nelson's award "a slap in the face." "We think it's ludicrous because regardless of (Nelson's) record while she has been incarcerated, it doesn't negate the fact that she killed two officers in cold blood," Smith said. "This is a heinous, heinous crime. Two people are dead and dozens of family members will be affected for rest of their lives, and this guy is getting recognition. It's almost like among his peers, he's a shining star." Haddon Heights police chief Ronald Shute could barely bring himself to speak. "If I had a comment, you wouldn't be able to print it," Shute said. The Camden County Prosecutor's Office declined to comment, citing rules regarding pre-trial publicity, according to spokesman Bill Shralow. Shute and others said news of the award was especially hard to swallow because it comes just a few months before jury selection in another Nelson trial. In June 2006, she will head to court for a third time so a jury can decide her penalty. Nelson was twice sentenced to death for the slayings, but the state Supreme Court overturned the second death sentence in 2002 in a ruling that stated the jury could have been confused by the judge's instructions. The Attorney General's Office is seeking the death penalty again, while Nelson has said she wants a life term. |
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