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A New York man convicted of killing two police officers received a death sentence for a capital offense this week, making him the first person in the state to get the death penalty in a federal case in over 50 years.

Twenty-four-year-old Ronell Wilson was convicted last month of two counts of murder including carjacking, robbery, and firearms charges. After one day of deliberation, the jury sentenced him to death by lethal injection.

The last time someone received a death penalty sentence in New York was in 1954. A bank robber was executed after murdering an FBI agent.

Case Details

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Wilson knew the two men he attempted to sell an illegal gun to were undercover NYPD detectives. The defendant got into the backseat of the victims’ vehicle and shot both Rodney Andrews and James Nemorin in the head.

According to the testimony of an accomplice, he and Wilson were part of a scheme by a violent gang to rob the officers of the $1,200 they were believed to be carrying to buy the guns.

However, defense lawyers contended there was no convincing proof that Wilson knew his victims were police detectives.

Kelley Sharkey, Wilson’s criminal law lawyer, urged the jurors to show mercy and warned them that they were making “the ultimate moral decision.” “You must be able to say to yourself that 24-year-old Ronell Wilson is beyond hope, is beyond redemption,” she said.

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