“What [my client] did was wrong.” … “I feel horrible for the victims in this case. There is no excuse for what he did.” … “A monster.”

Those are some of the arguments used by defense counsel in New York v. Mastromarino, an utterly ghastly criminal case which must have provided quite a challenge to the attorney in question. This sort of acknowledgement is sometimes made before pleading for mercy at capital sentencing hearings, but one rarely calls one’s client a monster for lesser offenses.

Even so, considering the defendant’s crimes, I’d say it’s a pretty mild description.

Last 5 posts by Patrick

• "There Are No Second Acts In American Lives." - February 9th, 2010
• "It Is A Barren Wasteland, Riddled With Fire, Ash, And Dust. The Very Air You Breathe Is A Poisonous Fume." - February 3rd, 2010
• Dear CNN, Reuters, New York Times, Fox, Et. Al. - January 29th, 2010
• State Of The Union - January 27th, 2010
• Read The Whole Thing - January 26th, 2010