Last Wednesday morning, family members of the late Charles Campbell held a candlelight vigil outside of the Westchester County courthouse before attending a hearing with Judge Barbara Zambelli.
It looks like their prayers were answered.
Richard D. DiGuglielmo, a former member of the New York Police Department, was ordered back to prison by Judge Zambelli after an Appeals Court reinstated the remainder of his 20-year murder conviction for shooting Campbell after a dispute over a parking space in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., on Oct. 3, 1996. DiGuglielmo had served 11 years of his sentence. He was freed in 2008 by a Westchester Country judge who said that a witness was pressured into giving favorable testimony for the prosecution.
According to reports and public documents, on that day, a fight erupted in the parking lot of the Venice Deli between DiGuglielmo, his father (also named Richard), the deli owner’s son-in-law (Robert Errico) and Campbell. DiGuglielmo had applied a sticker to Campbell’s Corvette, which was parked in a spaced reserved for deli patrons. Campbell was patronizing a business across the street.
All three men eventually beat Campbell to the ground with their fists. Campbell retaliated with a baseball bat and DiGuglielmo went back to the deli, returned with a gun and shot Campbell three times.
The family of Campbell released a statement expressing relief, but continued to hold a justified grudge over Campbell’s treatment during the trial.
“On October 3, 1996, Charles was murdered in the parking lot of the Venice Deli in Dobbs Ferry,” read the statement. “But equally painful for those of us who knew and loved Charles is that the taking of his life was followed by attempts to assassinate his character by those who either do not know the facts surrounding his murder or have chosen to distort them in an attempt to justify short-circuiting the demands of justice.”
According to the Appellate Court, their unanimous decision to reinstate DiGuglielmo came as a result of them recognizing the unfair fight Campbell had participated in. “Given the fact that the defendant’s gun was a far swifter, deadly instrument than the bat in Campbell’s hands,” read the court’s decision, “there was time to display the handgun and deliver a warning. In this regard, the jury was entitled to consider the defendant’s testimony as to his background and training, as police officers use deadly force as a last resort.”
Campbell’s family approved.
“We are grateful that the judges in the Appellate Court thoroughly reviewed the evidence of what really happened on that tragic day and have ordered Richard D. DiGuglielmo to serve his full sentence,” read a statement from Campbell’s family. “We are grateful to all of the witnesses who came forward and testified truthfully to what they saw.
“We are grateful for the support we have received from so many people over these past 15 years, some of whom knew and loved Charles as we did, and others who simply shared our belief that justice must be served so that he can rest in peace,” concluded the statement.