Here's an interesting twist on crime and punishment.
Seeking an Alias Years After the Crime
Paroled Md. Killer Hopes to 'Better Himself' With Name Change
By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 29, 2002; Page B01
First he dodged a death sentence. Then he got out of prison. Now Kenneth James Lodowski wants to avoid the awkward silences and other embarrassments waiting in the free world for a man who has committed a double murder.
So Lodowski, who was on death row for fatally shooting an off-duty Prince George's County police officer and a Greenbelt mini-mart clerk during a robbery in 1983, has petitioned Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to change his name legally to Garrett Michael Keane.
In papers filed this month, Lodowski says he is seeking the name change because he "was involved in a notorious criminal matter twenty years ago."
The petition says Lodowski recognizes that he will always be required to reveal his criminal conviction when applying for jobs and in certain other situations, and he promises to do so.
However, the petition says Lodowski "does not desire to disclose [his] involvement in social settings. To better himself with society, this name change is necessary."
In an interview, Lodowski's attorney, William C. Brennan Jr., would say only that Lodowski is "following all the lawful, legal procedures" for a name change. Under Maryland law, anyone can change his or her name for almost any reason, unless it is fraudulent, illegal or immoral.
But Roberta Roper, founder of Maryland's largest victims' rights organization, said yesterday that her group may object to Lodowski's renaming. The deadline to do so is tomorrow.
"This is a first. I've never heard of this. I am just astounded," said Roper, director of the Stephanie Roper Foundation, named for her slain daughter. "Of course, the [criminal justice] process is over [in Lodowski's case]. But still, since this is a case of such magnitude and such a severe crime, I am concerned.
"I guess he doesn't want the consequences following him," Roper said. "But he created those consequences."
Lodowski, 41, is on parole for the murders of Carlton X. Fletcher, an off-duty Prince George's police officer, and Minh Phamdo, an assistant manager at the Goddard Mini-Mart. The two were killed about 11:45 on a June night, shortly after Fletcher had arrived at the store to accompany Phamdo to make a late-night bank deposit of $24,000.
The killers opened fire with a shotgun as Fletcher sat waiting for Phamdo in his marked police cruiser. Fletcher was hit twice in the head; Phamdo was struck in the chest.
The brazen shootings touched off a six-day manhunt that ended when Lodowski and a second man, a former employee of the mini-mart, voluntarily arrived at a police station for questioning. The sensational trial was moved to Charles County, where jurors concluded that Lodowski was the triggerman in Fletcher's slaying. He was sentenced to die by Prince George's Circuit Court Judge Jacob Levin in January 1984.
"I'm sorry for the pain I've caused," Lodowski told the court at the time. "I know now I'm a very sick person to have done all of this, and I need a lot of help."
Help quickly arrived from the Maryland Court of Appeals, which overturned Lodowski's conviction, saying police had unconstitutionally denied him a lawyer during his interrogation. Facing a new trial in 1987, Lodowski pleaded guilty and received two consecutive life terms.
Five years later, Levin reconsidered those sentences and combined them into a single 25-year term. The judge gave no reason in court records for the reduction, which sped Lodowski's eligibility for parole. He was released from prison in January 2000 after serving 16 years.
Lodowski's freedom infuriated police in Prince George's, who couldn't understand how the killer of a police officer could get out of prison so fast. His release inspired Del. Anthony G. Brown (D-Prince George's) to propose changing state law to limit the power of judges to reduce the sentences they have imposed.
Meanwhile, Lodowski moved to Crofton, got a job and went on with his life, according to court records. This month, he filed the petition seeking to change his surname to Keane, his mother's maiden name. His attorney, Brennan, was uncertain whether the rest of the new name, Garrett Michael, has any special significance.
As required by law, notice of Lodowski's request was published in the Capital, the Annapolis newspaper, on Aug. 15. So far, no one has filed an objection.
The matter next goes before a judge, who could sign papers renaming Lodowski without a hearing.
© 2002 The Washington Post Company |
