Ronell Wilson, convicted New York cop killer, ruled fit for retrial in police deaths, judge says

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - Ronell Wilson, a convicted cop killer who impregnated a prison guard as part of a bid to spare his life, is fit to stand for a retrial, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis rejected arguments made by Wilson's lawyers that he should be spared a potential death penalty on grounds he is mentally disabled.

"The court holds that Wilson is not mentally retarded and was not mentally retarded at the time of the crime," Garaufis wrote in a 55-page opinion. "This does not mean he will receive - or deserves to receive - the death penalty, but only that any such penalty would not violate the Federal Death Penalty Act or the Eighth Amendment."

Wilson was convicted in the point-blank shootings of undercover officers James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews in a 2006 illegal gun sting gone awry. The officers were both shot in the back of the head.

Wilson was sentenced to death, but the sentence was thrown out in 2010 by an appeals court based on prosecutorial error.

On Tuesday, a federal prison guard was charged with having an illegal affair with Wilson that left her pregnant; the retrial ruling made mention of that.

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Feb. 6, 2013 - Ronell Wilson, convicted NY cop killer, impregnates prison guard in plot to save own life, report says