NEW YORK -- A federal judge on Friday challenged U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's decision to seek the death penalty for mob boss Joseph Massino, calling the move "deeply troubling."
U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis made the comments after prosecutors told him that Ashcroft, who announced his resignation Tuesday, had authorized them to pursue the death penalty for the 1999 killing of Gerlando Sciascia, a captain in Massino's crime family.
Reading from a prepared statement, Garaufis noted that Massino already faces life in prison without parole for an earlier conviction. He also questioned the timing of Ashcroft's decision to make Massino the first Mafia kingpin in decades to face execution.
"Mr. Ashcroft's choice to make such a sobering and potentially life-ending decision now, after several delays, and only after tendering his resignation to the president ... is deeply troubling to this court," he said.
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