‘Wendy’s massacre’ killer spared death

The man who directed the Wendy’s massacre in 2000 - and who had been the only person on death row in New York State - will be resentenced to life in prison without parole instead.
The state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, decided on Tuesday, October 23, that John Taylor, 43, could not be executed.
Taylor and a co-worker, Craig Godineaux, held up the fast food restaurant on Main Street, Flushing - where the former had been employed - on May 24, 2000. According to trial testimony, Taylor fatally shot store manager Jean Auguste in the head before killing Anita Smith, and ordered Godineaux to “finish them” [the other five victims].
Of the seven Wendy’s employees shot, only two survived.
Taylor was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to death by lethal injection. Godineaux, who is mildly retarded, was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Two years later, the Court of Appeals ruled the state’s death penalty law unconstitutional.
When Taylor’s case went before the high court this year, they found his sentence to be “coerced,” and the death penalty ruling was overturned.
Kevin Doyle, head of the Capitol Defenders Office, who personally represented Taylor, said his client is aware of the decision and is “grateful for being spared.” Doyle said Taylor will now spend the rest of his life in jail without the possibility of parole.
He added that Taylor’s four children would not have to see him executed and that he will die in prison “remorseful for his crime.”
The defense was confident in their appeal, but was still relieved when the court’s decision was reached, Doyle said.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said the ruling closes the prosecution of one of the most brutal crimes the city has ever seen. Brown added that he hoped the appellate court’s decision brought closure to the families affected by the incident.
“Craig Godineaux was heretofore sentenced to spend the rest of his natural life behind bars. John Taylor will now join him,” Brown said in a statement. “Neither will ever again see the light of day.”