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May 26, 2006

Judge denies Journal's bid for Biechele presentence letters

PROVIDENCE –Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. today denied The Providence Journal’s request to release letters he received before the sentencing of Daniel M. Biechele, the band manager who lit off the pyrotechnics that started The Station nightclub fire.

The week before Biechele’s May 10 sentencing date, the newspaper requested that Darigan make public the “victim impact statements,” letters to the judge from relatives of many of the 100 who died in the February 2003 West Warwick nightclub fire.

Darigan rejected that request, and the newspaper then expanded its request to include all the letters the judge received regarding Biechele’s sentencing. The Journal requested, and was granted, a hearing. Darigan said that he would not rule until after Biechele’s sentencing.

Today, the judge issued a 21-page ruling denying the request, saying that much of what The Journal requested falls under the state law that bars the court from releasing information in a defendant’s presentence report. The state Corrections Department compiles presentence reports on criminals to help judges determine a sentence. The Journal’s lawyer had acknowledged before Biechele’s sentencing date that the state law bars the release of some of the requested material.

Posted by Kate Bramson  at 2:26 PM | Permalink

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