The New York State Attorney General’s Office has determined that it lacks the legal authority and jurisdiction to pursue criminal charges against federal agents involved in the death of 56-year-old Myanmar refugee Nurul Amin Shah Alam.
In an August 3rd letter addressed to Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane, Attorney General Letitia James made clear that while state-level criminal prosecutors in her office cannot act against federal officers, the local district attorney maintains full authority to move forward with criminal charges based on his office’s ongoing local probe.
Shah Alam, a severely visually impaired Rohingya refugee who spoke no English, died in February after federal border agents left him outside in sub-freezing winter temperatures wearing only thin, jail-issued paper booties instead of winter shoes. His death was officially classified as a homicide by the Erie County Medical Examiner…