Gunman Faces Murder Charge as Cop Dies 41 Years Later

Deadly infection linked to shooting: prosecutor
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 5, 2007 4:29 AM CDT
Gunman Faces Murder Charge as Cop Dies 41 Years Later
In this undated photo released by the Philadelphia Police Department, shown is Walter T. Barclay, a rookie police officer who was shot while on duty Nov. 27, 1966 and left a paraplegic for four decades, until dying of his injuries Aug. 19, 2007. William Barnes, 71, was charged Monday, Sept. 3, 2007...   (Associated Press)

A 71-year-old career criminal will now be tried for murdering a police officer who has died more than four decades after being shot. Gunman William Barnes has already served 15 years for shooting and paralyzing the Philadelphia cop in 1966. The 64-year-old officer died last month from complications of a urinary tract infection which prosecutors charge is linked to the shooting, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"When you set in motion a chain of events, a perpetrator of a crime is responsible for every single thing that flows from that chain—no matter how distant—as long as we can prove the chain is unbroken," said the prosecutor. The case is expected to hinge on medical testimony presented by both sides. (More Walter T. Barclay stories.)

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