Maximum Sentence

Cesar Rodriguez has received a maximum sentence for the manslaughter of seven-year-old stepdaughter Nixzmary Brown. Nxzmary died of child abuse syndrome, specifically from blunt impact to the head with subdural hematoma. It followed years of abuse at the hands of her stepfather who beat her, starved her (she weighed 36lbs), tied her to chairs, apparently left her naked during/after beatings (i.e. almost certainly committed some form of sexual abuse), and forced her to urinate in a litter box. After a very ugly and disturbing trial, the judge did the right thing. Emphasis mine:

As he faced the judge about to sentence him for causing his 7-year-old stepdaughter’s death, Cesar Rodriguez said he was sorry. He said he loved his stepdaughter, Nixzmary Brown. He said he would serve his time. Still, Mr. Rodriguez said Thursday before a packed courtroom in Brooklyn, “I can honestly say that I’m being accused of something I did not do.”

Mr. Rodriguez’s assertion carried little weight with Justice L. Priscilla Hall of State Supreme Court. She sentenced him to the maximum term — 26 1/3 to 29 years in prison — for his role in the beating death of Nixzmary in 2006. The minimum was 15 years.

Mr. Rodriguez, 29, who was convicted last month of first-degree manslaughter and unlawful imprisonment, will be in his 50s before he is eligible for parole.

The sentence brought some comfort to prosecutors; they had charged Mr. Rodriguez with second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, but had to settle for the manslaughter conviction. Several members of the deeply divided jury have said that although they deplored Mr. Rodriguez’s conduct — he admitted beating Nixzmary daily in the final weeks of her life — they could not agree that he had shown “depraved indifference,” the standard for second-degree murder, in causing her death.

[. . .]

In her plea for the maximum sentence, Ms. Dwimoh reminded the judge that Mr. Rodriguez had a record of bad behavior. She noted that he was discharged from the Army in lieu of court-martial for sending sexual pictures of himself to a minor; that he was convicted of assaulting a relative; that he was charged with assaulting a U.P.S. driver; and, recently, indicted on charges of trying to smuggle homemade knives into his cell at Rikers Island.

“There is no end to Cesar Rodriguez’s violent ways,” she said.

Ms. Dwimoh also urged Justice Hall to consider Nixzmary’s five siblings. No sentence, she said, “could bring their sister back to them or the loss of the innocence of their childhood.” She said that Javier, Nixzmary’s older brother, had told prosecutors Wednesday that “he has prayed that when Cesar gets out of jail he is very frail and weak so that he can’t hurt any other children again.”

Rodriguez’s lawyers are still engaging in disgusting antics, including trying to have the verdict overturned, accusing the prosecution of withholding evidence (with no basis that I’ve seen reported), and outrageously claiming misconduct by the jury who somehow managed to find that this fuck did not have “a depraved indifference to life.”

I still find it utterly outrageous that Rodriguez managed to receive only a manslaughter conviction. But I do take some comfort in knowing that he will not be eligible for parole for 26 years. The sad, innocent hope of Nixzmary’s brother Javier is moving and distressing, but against the odds, I hope with him.

Tagged as: Ama Dwimoh, Cesar Rodriguez, child abuse, Jeffrey T. Schwartz, Justice L. Priscilla Hall, murder, Nixzmary Brown