Delaware News

ATTORNEY GENERAL DANBERG ANNOUNCES PENALTY DECISION IN CAPANO CASE

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Monday, February 6, 2006



(Wilmington, DE): Attorney General Carl C. Danberg today announced that a second penalty phase in the case of State v. Thomas Capano would not be pursued.

Danberg said, Our primary goal was to obtain justice for Anne Marie Fahey and all of her family. That goal has been achieved now that the Delaware Supreme Court has upheld Thomas Capano’s conviction. This decision means that Thomas Capano will spend the remainder of his natural life in prison. The death penalty was never the primary goal in the prosecution of Thomas Capano. The Attorney General said that he made his decision in consultation with Colm Connolly who, as a specially sworn state Deputy Attorney General, prosecuted the Capano case with former Chief Deputy Attorney General Ferris Wharton. Danberg also consulted with senior prosecutors in his office and the Fahey family.

Every criminal case has a natural end. We have reached that point in this case. I am satisfied that justice is served by having Thomas Capano spend every day of the rest of his life in prison, said Danberg. The Fahey family remains in our prayers.

According to Danberg, in order to obtain the death penalty following a re-hearing the State would need to essentially re-try the entire case. Such a proceeding would be complicated by the death of a witness and by a change in circumstances of several of the witnesses due to the passage of time since the original conviction. Given that, we simply could not justify putting the Fahey family through that again.

Danberg thanked the Delaware Supreme Court for their careful consideration given to the State’s position in this matter and their thoughtful review of the issues created by the United States Supreme Court in Ring. We are grateful that the Delaware Supreme Court has twice affirmed Capano’s conviction, as that was clearly the most important issue before the Court, Danberg said.
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ATTORNEY GENERAL DANBERG ANNOUNCES PENALTY DECISION IN CAPANO CASE

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Monday, February 6, 2006



(Wilmington, DE): Attorney General Carl C. Danberg today announced that a second penalty phase in the case of State v. Thomas Capano would not be pursued.

Danberg said, Our primary goal was to obtain justice for Anne Marie Fahey and all of her family. That goal has been achieved now that the Delaware Supreme Court has upheld Thomas Capano’s conviction. This decision means that Thomas Capano will spend the remainder of his natural life in prison. The death penalty was never the primary goal in the prosecution of Thomas Capano. The Attorney General said that he made his decision in consultation with Colm Connolly who, as a specially sworn state Deputy Attorney General, prosecuted the Capano case with former Chief Deputy Attorney General Ferris Wharton. Danberg also consulted with senior prosecutors in his office and the Fahey family.

Every criminal case has a natural end. We have reached that point in this case. I am satisfied that justice is served by having Thomas Capano spend every day of the rest of his life in prison, said Danberg. The Fahey family remains in our prayers.

According to Danberg, in order to obtain the death penalty following a re-hearing the State would need to essentially re-try the entire case. Such a proceeding would be complicated by the death of a witness and by a change in circumstances of several of the witnesses due to the passage of time since the original conviction. Given that, we simply could not justify putting the Fahey family through that again.

Danberg thanked the Delaware Supreme Court for their careful consideration given to the State’s position in this matter and their thoughtful review of the issues created by the United States Supreme Court in Ring. We are grateful that the Delaware Supreme Court has twice affirmed Capano’s conviction, as that was clearly the most important issue before the Court, Danberg said.
###

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.