Lawyer: ‘Compassion is not a zero-sum game’

Ex-Latin King convicted of 2 city slayings seeks release from prison

NEW HAVEN — Luis Noel Cruz was sentenced to life in prison in September 1995 for murdering Elm City residents Tyler White and Arosmo “Rara” Diaz as part of racketeering offenses committed while he was a member of the Latin Kings.

The pain of those acts, and the question of what represents compassion when considering them, continued to reverberate Thursday, as a hearing on two motions from Cruz seeking his release was held before Judge Janet Hall in federal court.

As White’s sister, Elizabeth White, put it, the grief has consumed her family for decades; she wishes to see through Cruz’s eyes, as they were the last to see her brother alive.

As Cruz put it, there is no way for him to change the pain of the past; he can only affect the future.

Cruz’s defense attorney, W. Theodore Koch, argued in separate motions that Cruz qualifies for release under two sections of the First Step Act, one concerning the length of the drug-related aspects of his sentence, the other allowing for compassionate release for “extraordinary and compelling reasons.”

In both motions, Koch noted Hall previously resentenced Cruz to 35 years in prison in February 2019, which would have allowed for his release in the near future.

At that time, Hall extended the Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller v. Alabama, in which the court found that imposing a life sentence to a juvenile convicted of murder violates the Eighth Amendment unless the adolescent’s crime represents “irreparable corruption,” to Cruz, who was 18 at the time of the slayings.

That ruling later was overturned by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where three judges noted that Cruz was 18, which was considered an adult in other similar cases.

Prosecutors John T. Pierpont Jr. and Patricia Stolfi Collins submitted arguments opposing both motions, saying drug-related portions of Cruz’s conviction were not affected by the First Step Act, as Koch claimed, and that, among other arguments, Cruz’s efforts to secure compassionate release were not based on “extraordinary and compelling reasons,” as required in the law.

As summarized by Hall in court Thursday, Koch argued that the risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the opportunity to care for his ailing mother, the relative harshness of his sentence, the possibility of considering his age at the time of the offense, and Cruz’s “extraordinary rehabilitation” while in prison were sufficient reasons to compel Hall to commute Cruz’s sentence and compassionately release him.

While in prison, Koch wrote in his motion for compassionate release, Cruz has never received a disciplinary ticket; he has taken a number of educational programs; he secured work as a clerk and supervisory authority; he has paid restitution to both families, although not specifically ordered to do so.

Cruz, Koch argued, had been affected by his environment in killing White and Diaz. He had been striving to leave the Latin Kings before the murders; he was ordered at gunpoint by an associate to kill the two men, the lawyer said.

“Compassion for Mr. Cruz and his family provides a compelling reason to reduce his sentence. Compassion is not a zero-sum game: Acting on compassion for Mr. Cruz and his family does not reduce compassion for the White and Diaz family,” Koch wrote. “It simply allows a man who has atoned and reformed to care for his family and continue to pay back society outside of prison.”

Koch said Cruz’s father, who had been in a nursing home, died on Wednesday. He argued that Cruz’s level of reform meant that he should not have to bear the pain of watching his loved ones die without being able to care for them.

“The punishment of watching, one by one, everyone pass ... is an extraordinarily harsh sentence,” Koch said Thursday. “And that should be reserved for people who are incorrigible.”

On Thursday, Cruz said nothing he could do could alleviate the pain suffered by the White and Diaz families. He said he wanted to do what he can, now and in the future, to do some good by working with young people, aid his mother and family, and serve as a cautionary tale for others.

“I know I have caused greater pain and sorrow to the White and Diaz families. Unfortunately, I can only make a difference now and in the future,” said Cruz. “To the White and Diaz families, I am so very sorry.”

The government rejected each of Koch’s claims behind his motion for compassionate release in their motion opposing it, including arguing that Cruz’s conduct was so “horrific that no amount of rehabilitation while incarcerated warrants a sentence other than life.”

On Thursday, Stolfi Collins read aloud statements from Nancy White, Tyler

White’s stepmother, and Elizabeth White, his sister. They both said Cruz’s efforts to get out of prison had reinforced the trauma of losing their loved one, which had stricken their family for decades.

Nancy White said Tyler White’s mother had sunk into depression and illness after his passing; his father had been “consumed by guilt and grief that has robbed him of peace.” His daughter, an infant at the time of the killing, had grown up without a father.

“(Cruz) is the direct cause of such unmitigated suffering that words continue to fall short in our attempts to explain the chaos, the heartache, and the utter anguish he has inflicted upon our family,” said Nancy White. “To think this cold-blooded murderer would have the audacity to ask the court to grant him a compassionate release is a staggering show of hubris.”

Cruz, they argued, had shown Tyler White no compassion when he shot him in the head. Cruz did not immediately take responsibility for the act at trial. Compassion, they said, would be Cruz ending his efforts to leave prison.

“This judicial process, the process of (Cruz) trying to become a free man, has victimized an entire family over and over . ... We are broken,” said Elizabeth White. “This man has shown no compassion, and in turn, deserves no compassion.”

Hall asked Thursday to review medical records pertaining to Cruz’s mother within two weeks, as she considers his future rulings on the motion.