Senator Ball Calls for Death Penalty For Cop Killers

Following last week's tragic shooting death of City of Poughkeepsie Police officer John Falcone at the hands of a suspect, New York Senator Greg Ball is renewing his calls for the death penalty for cop killers.

"I pushed for this bill even in the Assembly just a few years back and I'll be introducing it, sponsoring it on the Senate floor, to bring about the death penalty for cop killers and terrorists," said Ball.

The Senator says he realizes the death penalty may not have served as a deterrent in this instance, "But if it saves even just one life," he said, "We've gotta get it done."

In 2004, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the procedure for imposing the death penalty in New York violated the State Constitution. Then-Governor George Pataki criticized the ruling and promised to amend the wording, but that never came to pass.

Ball says he's hopeful that state lawmakers will ensure that  the wording of any future death penalty legislation stands up to judicial scrutiny, "Our law enforcement personnel fight for us every single day putting their lives on the line.Their family members don't know when they walk out the door  if they're every going to return. It's a travesty that we as a Legislature have allowed this to be held up in the courts for this long."

Officer John Falcone was the brother-in-law of Senator Ball's cousin.