Bio 

Gerald McGivern was born on October 26, 1944, in Manhattan. He was raised in the Throgs Neck area of the Bronx by parents who had emigrated from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He attended Catholic schools and later served in the United States Navy. After returning to New York, he became involved in criminal activity.

His first known serious offense was marijuana possession. In December 1966, he and Charles Culhane committed an armed robbery at a gas station in Pelham Manor, during which two police officers were wounded.

McGivern was convicted in 1967 and sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. He was held at Sing Sing and later transferred to Auburn State Prison. While serving that sentence, he became involved in the 1968 prison transport case that led to the death of Deputy Sheriff William Fitzgerald.

Murder Story

On September 13, 1968, Gerald McGivern was being transported from Auburn State Prison to a court hearing in White Plains, New York, with prisoners Charles Culhane and Robert Bowerman. They were escorted by deputies Joseph Singer and William Fitzgerald.

While traveling through Ulster County on the New York State Thruway, an escape attempt took place inside the vehicle. During the struggle, Deputy Fitzgerald and prisoner Robert Bowerman were both shot and killed. Surviving deputy Joseph Singer stated that all three prisoners were involved and identified McGivern as the man who shot Fitzgerald. McGivern and Culhane denied this, claiming Bowerman acted alone.

McGivern and Culhane were charged with felony murder. Their first trial in 1969 ended in a hung jury. In 1970, both were convicted and sentenced to death. On October 23, 1973, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the convictions and ordered a new trial because of jury bias and concerns about the evidence.

At a third trial in March 1975, McGivern was again convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Governor Mario Cuomo granted clemency on December 31, 1985. McGivern was released on parole on March 17, 1989. He was returned to prison in 1994 for a parole violation and later died of cancer on November 19, 2001.