Furor Erupts Over Killing of Witness in MS-13 Gang Case

In October 2018, Wilmer Maldonado Rodriguez stepped in to protect two boys who were being threatened by members of the MS-13 gang on Long Island, officials said. In return, the gang members stabbed Mr. Rodriguez repeatedly and hit him in the head with a bat.

Despite the vicious assault, Mr. Rodriguez agreed to testify against the gang members, who were charged with assault and witness intimidation as a result of the attack, officials said.

On Sunday, Mr. Rodriguez was found beaten to death, and by Wednesday, his killing became a flash point for opponents of a series of criminal justice changes enacted by the New York State Legislature in 2019 at the urging of progressive lawmakers.

Since the start of the year, when the changes took effect, police officials and prosecutors in New York State have mostly focused their criticism on an overhaul of the bail laws, which they said was allowing criminals to go free.

But the killing of Mr. Rodriguez, 36, turned attention to a change in the state’s so-called discovery law, which governs when prosecutors must turn over information about their investigative findings.

The murder came several weeks after a judge ordered prosecutors to disclose Mr. Rodriguez’s identity to lawyers who represented his alleged attackers, as called for by revisions to the discovery process generally requiring that such information be shared within 15 days of a first court appearance. New York previously let prosecutors wait until the eve of trial to turn over the material.

Madeline Singas, the Nassau County district attorney, said that being forced to identify Mr. Rodriguez well before trial had hampered the authorities’ ability to protect him — ultimately costing him his life.

“This courageous man was prepared to testify against alleged assailants at an upcoming trial, but he was brutally beaten to death before he could,” Ms. Singas said in a statement, adding that the case “underscores the importance of safeguarding the identities of witnesses and victims of crimes.”

Patrick Ryder, the Nassau County police commissioner, echoed that sentiment at a news conference.

“This man’s dead because we didn’t do enough,” Mr. Ryder said, according to Newsday. He added, “This law is not helping us.”

Still, one public defender pointed out that the new discovery law explicitly allows judges to shield the names of witnesses in the discovery process. The law, passed as part of last year’s budget, also says that discovery can be limited to the defendant’s lawyer or legal team, and not shared with the defendant.