Why, because Bennett couldn't be convicted of it? Bennett took decades off Shumaker's life. AFAICT it's for practical reasons that he got a lesser charge, not for philosophical reasons.

https://www.swordandscale.com/murder-charges-under-the-delay...

I think that particular exception to double jeopardy is unique to New York. It’s not my area of expertise so I could be wrong but I think most of the country still uses some version of the “year and a day” rule.

> contributed to Shumaker’s early death

That sounds like murder to me. Call it what it is. A slow death committed with the intention of a fast death doesn't make it not a murder.