Turner calls for leniency in James case
By Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com ReporterNEWARK - Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) submitted a letter to the court on behalf of former Newark Mayor Sharpe James, part of which defense attorney Thomas Ashley read to U.S. District Judge William Martini.
"The events represent a brief period in a long and illustrious career," Turner wrote. "...I am convinced he is not likely to commit another offense."
The crime of fraud, said Turner, represented a departure from James’s otherwise distinguished public service as a teacher and elected official, in her view.
Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Mercer), Tuner's Republican state Senate colleague and fellow member of the Mercer County delegation, last week wrote a letter to Martini with three other GOP lawmakers, asking the judge to impose the maximum penalty.
Father of three sons, James's eldest son is currently serving in a National Guard unit in the Middle East, Ashley noted, as he continued to argue for why the judge shouldn't unduly punish James.
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