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== Cancer and Death ==
== Cancer and Death ==
On October 4, 2016, Ken Thompson announced that he had recently learned he has cancer and would take a sick leave. Thompson said in a statement that his chief assistant, Eric Gonzalez, would take over as interim district attorney during “the absences occasioned” his “treatment and recovery.”<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/nyregion/ken-thompson-brooklyn-district-attorney-cancer.html</ref> On October 9 it was reported that Thompson died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.<ref>http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/472879/breaking-brooklyn-district-attorney-ken-thompson-dies-after-battle-with-cancer.html#.V_rU-46c0-c.twitter</ref><ref>http://nypost.com/2016/10/09/brooklyn-da-ken-thompson-dies-at-50-after-battle-with-cancer/</ref><ref>http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn-da-ken-thompson-ill-cancer-dies-49-article-1.2824147</ref>
On October 4, 2016, Ken Thompson announced that he had recently learned he has cancer and would take a sick leave. Thompson said in a statement that his chief assistant, Eric Gonzalez, would take over as interim district attorney during “the absences occasioned” his “treatment and recovery.”<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/nyregion/ken-thompson-brooklyn-district-attorney-cancer.html|title=Ken Thompson, Brooklyn District Attorney, Says He Has Cancer and Will Take Leave|date=5 October 2016|work=The New York Times|accessdate=10 October 2016}}</ref> On October 9 it was reported that Thompson died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/472879/breaking-brooklyn-district-attorney-ken-thompson-dies-after-battle-with-cancer.html#.V_rU-46c0-c.twitter|title=BREAKING: Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson Dies After Battle With Cancer|publisher=|accessdate=10 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nypost.com/2016/10/09/brooklyn-da-ken-thompson-dies-at-50-after-battle-with-cancer/|title=Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson dies at 50 after battle with cancer|first1=Larry|last1=Celona|first2=Jamie|last2=Schram|date=9 October 2016|publisher=|accessdate=10 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn-da-ken-thompson-ill-cancer-dies-49-article-1.2824147|title=Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson, ill with cancer, dies at 50|publisher=|accessdate=10 October 2016}}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 00:16, 10 October 2016

Kenneth P. Thompson
Kings County District Attorney
In office
January 1, 2014 – October 9, 2016
Preceded byCharles J. Hynes
Personal details
Born1966
DiedOctober 9, 2016
Alma materJohn Jay College of Criminal Justice
New York University School of Law

Kenneth P. Thompson (1966-2016) was the District Attorney of Kings County from 2014 until his death on October 9, 2016.

Education

After graduating from New York City public schools, Thompson attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where he graduated magna cum laude.[1]

He then attended the New York University School of Law, where he earned the Arthur T. Vanderbilt Medal for his outstanding contributions to the law school community.[2]

Career

Thompson began as an attorney in the United States Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., where he served as Special Assistant to former Treasury Department Undersecretary for Enforcement and now the Secretary General of Interpol, Ronald K. Noble.[3]

Thompson then became a federal prosecutor, who served in the United States Attorney's Office in Brooklyn. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Thompson was a member of the federal prosecution team. His team got former New York City Police Department Officer Justin Volpe, who sodomized Abner Louima inside a bathroom at the 70th Precinct in Brooklyn, to plead guilty during the middle of his trial.[3]

After his time as a federal prosecutor, Thompson went into private practice, first at the international law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius[3] and then at his own law firm, Thompson Wigdor LLP,[4] which he co-founded in 2003.[5] Thompson worked with Senator Charles E. Schumer, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, other elected officials, and members of the clergy to convince the United States Department of Justice to reopen the investigation into the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi.[6]

In 2011, he represented Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel housekeeper who claimed that she was sexually assaulted in a Manhattan hotel room by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund.[7] Her case was dropped by public prosecutors, who stated that they were not convinced of his culpability beyond a reasonable doubt due to serious issues in Diallo's credibility and inconclusive physical evidence, and therefore could not ask a jury to believe it.[8][9]

Election as Brooklyn District Attorney

In September 2013, Ken Thompson defeated incumbent Charles J. Hynes in the Democratic primary,[10] where he ran as a critic of the NYPD.[11] Thompson was the first challenger to defeat a sitting District Attorney in Brooklyn since 1911, and the first African-American district attorney of Kings County.[12]

Thompson took office on January 1, 2014.

Cancer and Death

On October 4, 2016, Ken Thompson announced that he had recently learned he has cancer and would take a sick leave. Thompson said in a statement that his chief assistant, Eric Gonzalez, would take over as interim district attorney during “the absences occasioned” his “treatment and recovery.”[13] On October 9 it was reported that Thompson died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.[14][15][16]

References

  1. ^ "Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson". www.brooklynda.org. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
  2. ^ "Kenneth Thompson '92 wins primary election for Brooklyn District Attorney". New York University Law School. 2013-09-12. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
  3. ^ a b c Feuer, Alan (2015-03-13). "For Brooklyn's District Attorney, Year One Is a Trial by Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-05-06.
  4. ^ "Firm Overview - Thompson Wigdor LLP". Thompsonwigdor.com. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  5. ^ "Thompson Wigdor LLP - Law Firm Thompson Wigdor LLP Overview". martindale.com. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  6. ^ Leung, Rebecca (February 11, 2009). "Justice, Delayed But Not Denied". CBS News. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  7. ^ Yee, Vivian (2013-08-20). "Candidate for Brooklyn prosecutor drew criticism for case that made his name". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Eligon, John (2011-08-23). "Judge Orders Dismissal of Charges Against Strauss-Kahn". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
  9. ^ Wall Street Journal (22 August 2011). "DA Moves to Abandon Strauss-Kahn Charges". wsj.com. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  10. ^ Mathias, Christopher (2013-09-11). "Charles Hynes Defeated By Kenneth Thompson In Brooklyn DA Primary Race". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  11. ^ Yee, Vivian (2013-09-10). "Challenger wins primary for Brooklyn district attorney". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Ramsey, Donovan X. (2013-09-19). "Kenneth Thompson: Could he become the first black district attorney of Brooklyn?". theGrio. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  13. ^ "Ken Thompson, Brooklyn District Attorney, Says He Has Cancer and Will Take Leave". The New York Times. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  14. ^ "BREAKING: Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson Dies After Battle With Cancer". Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  15. ^ Celona, Larry; Schram, Jamie (9 October 2016). "Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson dies at 50 after battle with cancer". Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson, ill with cancer, dies at 50". Retrieved 10 October 2016.
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