Supreme’s Victims Mothers Oppose Death, Attorney Says Conviction An ‘Injustice’

Attorneys for Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff have asked the Department of Justice to reconsider punishing the convicted drug lord with the death penalty, after the mothers of his two victims said they would be adversely affected by a death verdict. McGriff’s attorney David Ruhnke sent the "urgent request for reconsideration" to Washington, D.C. on Feb. 1, […]

Attorneys for Kenneth

"Supreme" McGriff have asked the Department of Justice to reconsider

punishing the convicted drug lord with the death penalty, after the mothers of

his two victims said they would be adversely affected by a death verdict. McGriff’s

attorney David Ruhnke sent the "urgent request for reconsideration"

to Washington, D.C. on Feb. 1, the day McGriff was convicted of paying $50,000

to gun down rivals Troy Singleton and Eric "E Money Bags" Smith.Troy

Singleton’s mother Bessie stated she didn’t want anyone’s "death on her hands,"

while Smith’s mother told reporters that there has "already been enough death."McGriff

allegedly ordered the hit on Singleton, who was shot four times in the body and

head outside a sports bar in Queens, NY in 2001. Eric

"E Money Bags" Smith, a drug dealer and part-time rapper, was shot 10

times and killed in 2001 while sitting in his SUV on a Queens street. The

government also accused McGriff of several other shootings, including that of

superstar Queens rapper, 50 Cent, who fictionalized McGriff as the character "Majestic"

in his 2005 movie, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. Federal

authorities also maintained that McGriff was actively dealing drugs and had also

ordered several other hits, including a drug-related double homicide outside of

an apartment complex in Owings Mills, MD.McGriff

was the head of the notorious "Supreme Team," a Queens based drug-dealing

crew. He was convicted of drug dealing in the 1980’s and served a 12-year sentence

in prison.McGriff

and his attorneys maintain that he went legit after being released.His

former attorney Robert Simels did not agree with the verdict and accused the government

of going to any length to convict McGriff."I

am saddened that another injustice has occurred with the conviction of Mr. McGriff,"

Simels told AllHipHop.com. "That the prosecution had a clear intent to convict

Mr. McGriff at all costs, has been obvious for the past 5 years."Simels,

who represented McGriff until 2005, has also done defense work for Irv Gotti’s

Murder Inc. label. McGriff

became the center piece of a federal investigation into Murder Inc. for corruption

and drug dealing in 2002, during an infamous feud between Irv "Gotti"

Lorenzo, rapper Ja Rule and 50 Cent, who all hail from Queens. His

association with Gotti’s Murder Inc. record label led to the company being indicted

on federal money laundering charges. Authorities

accused McGriff of secretly owning Murder Inc. and using the company to launder

millions in drug proceeds. After

a high profile trial in 2005, both Gotti and his brother Christopher Lorenzo were

acquitted of all charges. McGriff,

however was indicted for multiple murders, including the brazen shootings of Singleton

and Smith.

"In the current case, they made deals with anyone and everyone if only they

were willing to say Mr. McGriff was involved with them in criminal acts,"

Simels said of the prosecution. "The worst of those witnesses, had committed

multiple murders but will get reduced sentences for having "cooperated"

with the prosecution."Simels

said that he believed McGriff was not guilty of the charges. If

McGriff could have afforded better counsel, perhaps he may not have been convicted

of the charges, Simels said. In

a conversation in Apr. 2005 recorded from the Brooklyn prison that housed McGriff,

McGriff stated that he was going to attempt to reach out to top name rap celebrities

to help fund his defense. "Had

he had sufficient funds to hire counsel of his choice and fight the charges he

would have not been convicted," Simels told AllHipHop.com. "I remain

hopeful the jury will not agree to recommend the death penalty."At

press time, Ruhnke’s request is being reviewed by federal officials in Washington,

D.C.