Verdict
The Zappalorti case never went to trial, because on December 5, 1990, after extensive "plea bargaining" negotiations, both Taylor and Sarlo pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder (in New York State at the time, first-degree murder applied only if the victim was a law-enforcement officer or the killer was already serving a life sentence for a previous murder). It is reported that the district attorney's office was reluctant to go to trial because of fears the defendants might have attempted to use the gay panic defense, and may have garnered considerable sympathy from a potential jury in culturally-conservative, heavily Roman Catholic Staten Island.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, Taylor received a prison sentence of 23 years to life while Sarlo was sentenced to 18 years to life (the minimum sentence for second-degree murder in New York State is 15 years to life and the maximum is 25 years to life). On May 30, 1997, Sarlo died at the maximum-security Wende Correctional Facility outside Buffalo. Taylor is presently incarcerated at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, also a maximum-security institution. He will be eligible for parole on February 18, 2013.
Read more about this topic: James Zappalorti
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