USA - Federal. A jury sentenced Ronell Wilson, 31, Black, to death for the second time

A jury in New York sentenced Ronell Wilson, 31, Black, to death for killing 2 undercover police officers in 2003, setting up what would be the 1st federal execution of a New York defendant in 6 decades. The jury's verdict in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn is the second capital sentence for Wilson, 31, who originally was sentenced to death in 2007 for murdering 2 officers posing as gun buyers during an attempted sting operation in Staten Island. That sentence was thrown out by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2010 due to prosecutorial errors, although Wilson's conviction was upheld. The case has seen a number of dramatic twists since Wilson was granted a new sentencing proceeding. Last year, after a hearing that lasted several weeks, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis ruled that Wilson was not mentally retarded and was therefore eligible for the death penalty. In February, federal authorities arrested a female corrections officer from the Brooklyn detention center where Wilson was being held and charged her with having sex with him. She gave birth to their son in March and pleaded guilty earlier this month. New York's highest state court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in 2004. Despite the state ban on capital punishment, federal prosecutors are still permitted to seek executions for federal cases. The last time a federal defendant was executed in New York state was in 1954. The United States has executed 3 federal prisoners since the death penalty was reinstated in 1988, including Timothy McVeigh, the man responsible for the 1995 bombing of an Oklahoma City federal building that killed 168 people. Wilson will be the 61st inmate on federal death row.