‘Son of Sam Law’ allows state to take murderer’s comp settlement

A New York appeals court on Thursday ruled a law created nearly 50 years ago to ensure a serial killer couldn’t profit from his murder spree supersedes work comp law and allows the state to take a murderer’s work comp settlement to pay victim restitution.

New York lawmakers adopted the so-called “Son of Sam Law” shortly after David Berkowitz pleaded guilty to eight shootings in New York City the late 1970s. Although the original law was struck down as an unconstitutional content-based restriction on speech, New York lawmakers in 2001 adopted a new law requiring the state to notify the Attorney General’s Office and crime victims whenever a prisoner receives $10,000 from almost any source.

While the law excludes “earned income” and child support payments from the notification requirement, the 3rd Judicial Department of the New York State Appellate Division said lawmakers did not protect workers compensation benefits.

In the matter of New York State Office of Victim Services v. Ernest Johnson states that Ernest Johnson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and ordered to serve 20 years to life in prison in 2022. While he was in county jail and before he was convicted, Johnson settled a claim for a 2018 workplace injury for $41,000. Settlement funds were deposited into his account at the county jail.

As part of the process of transferring him to state prison, the jail wrote Johnson a check returning the approximate $28,000 left in his account, of which the Department of Corrections notified the Attorney General’s office about the transfer.

The Attorney General’s Office said a victim of Johnson’s crime affirmed an intention to bring an action for restitution and requested a preliminary injunction to restrain Mr. Johnson from spending any more than $1,000 of the funds. A trial court granted the injunction.

The appellate court affirmed, writing that the first $1,000 of a prisoner’s account is shielded from recovery, “but otherwise the Legislature intended ‘to ensure that convicted persons who gain the ability to pay are held financially accountable to their victims regardless of their source of wealth.’”

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