"Pardon Me?"
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Cuomo uses final days as gov to commute, pardon 10 felons
Days after giving two weeks’ notice that he would resign his office amid a serial sexual harassment scandal, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is using the unprecedented lame-duck period to grant clemency and pardons to 10 felons — including three convicts tied to killings.
Cuomo, a three-term Democrat forced to resign to avoid impeachment, said, “One of the foundational promises of New York state is that of equal justice, and equal compassion, for all under the law.”
“Today I’m proud to help fulfill government’s unique responsibility to harness the power of redemption, encourage those who have made mistakes to engage in meaningful rehabilitation, and empower everyone to work toward a better future for themselves and their families.”
Cuomo commuted the sentence of Nehru Gumbs, 36, who was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon and assault in 2005 — crimes committed when he was 18.
Gumbs was fingered for the brutal shooting death of an innocent bystander heading to his Canarsie home from a midnight church service on New Year’s Eve 2004.
Gumbs has served 17½ years of a 25-year sentence. He has served as the youth counselor at Sing Sing prison and earned an associate’s degree from Mercy College and is pursuing a job as a plumber.
Cuomo also granted clemency to Jon-Adrian Velasquez, 45, who was convicted of second-degree murder, attempted murder and three counts of robbery in 1999.
Velazquez was sentenced in the shooting death of retired police officer Albert Ward at an illegal gambling hall in Harlem in 1998.
Velazquez claimed he was wrongfully convicted.
