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Another Casey Anthony jury.
This one was too much for me and something I've been following because I once lived in this area many years ago.
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Edward Washington acquitted in Mattapan massacre; no verdict reached in murder charges against Dwayne Moore</span></span>
By Maria Cramer and Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff
A Suffolk Superior Court jury this afternoon was unable to reach verdicts on the murder charges against the alleged triggerman in the Mattapan massacre case and acquitted the man who was accused of being the killer’s getaway driver.
<span style="color: #FF0000">
The jury pondering one of the most horrific crimes in recent Boston history was unable to reach verdicts on four counts of first-degree murder and five other counts against Dwayne Moore in the September 2010 slaying of four people, including a 2-year-old boy. The jury acquitted Moore of one count of cocaine trafficking.</span>
After seven days of deliberations, the jury acquitted Edward Washington of four counts of first-degree murder and five other charges.
The courtroom briefly erupted into chaos as the clerk read the jury’s verdicts on the nine charges against Washington and some people swore out loud before being pushed out of the courtroom by court officers.
Moore, 34, and Washington, 32, were accused of robbing the home of Simba Martin, 21, then executing him, along with his girlfriend, Eyanna Flonory, 21; her son, Amanihotep Smith, 2; and Levaughn Washum-Garrison, 22, who was staying at Martin’s home that night.
A fifth person, Marcus Hurd, was shot in the head but survived and is now paralyzed. He testified during the trial, but was never able to identify his attackers.
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley met with reporters after the verdicts were announced and vowed to retry Moore.
“We always believed firmly and strongly that Dwayne Moore was the executioner here,’’ Conley said. “That’s what the evidence was before this jury. They deliberated on it carefully. They weren’t able to reach a verdict.’’
He added: “But we expect that the next jury that sits on this evidence and hears it and understands it as we do will find defendant Dwayne Moore guilty for his terrible crimes.’’
The verdicts appeared to especially upset about a dozen relatives of the boy, Amanihotep Smith, and the child’s mother.
In the hallway outside the courtroom and then outside the courthouse itself, some in the group shouted “no justice, no peace’’ while also making vague threats against Washington and Moore. One woman was so overcome with emotions that she vomited and sat listlessly in the courthouse plaza, surrounded by relatives.
Inez Smith, the toddler’s great-grandmother, who is also Flonory’s grandmother, sat at wooden bench moments after the verdict was returned and wept. And wept. And wept. A few minutes later, she had regained her composure and said she knew what her next step was going to be.
“What can we do?’’ she told a Globe reporter. “We pray.’’
In the courthouse plaza, some women were shouting. “Let them go out on the streets. Let them go free. They are going go get theirs! They are going to get theirs!”
The much-anticipated announcement came this afternoon when the panel of four men and eight women returned to Judge Christine McEvoy’s courtroom and reported through their foreman that they were unable to break the impasse they have been wrestling with since Monday.
The case hinged on the credibility of Kimani Washington, cousin of Edward Washington, who met Moore in prison.
Kimani Washington, a 36-year-old career criminal, admitted that he participated in the robbery, but said he left before the shootings began.
The defense tried to paint him as the true culprit who implicated innocent men to avoid murder charges. In exchange for his testimony, prosecutors agreed to recommend 16 to 18 years in prison for his role in the robbery, a deal a judge must approve.
Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin said that Kimani Washington’s testimony was buttressed by phone records and other witnesses.
The monthlong trial included testimony from 48 witnesses and more than 200 pieces of evidence.
The case took many twists, with witnesses contradicting each other and defense attorneys aggressively questioning Washington as well as police, who acknowledged they did not pursue other leads that could have changed the direction of the investigation.
The courtroom was usually packed with relatives of both the victims and the defendants, reporters, and high-level prosecutors and police, who understood the significance of the verdict for the Mattapan neighborhood where the shootings took place.
Prosectors had filed a total of 19 charges against the defendants. Both men faced four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of armed assault with intent to murder, one count of armed home invasion, one count of armed robbery, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. Moore was charged with one additional count of cocaine trafficking.
http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2...l?p1=News_links
This one was too much for me and something I've been following because I once lived in this area many years ago.
___<span style="font-size: 17pt">
<span style="font-weight: bold">
Edward Washington acquitted in Mattapan massacre; no verdict reached in murder charges against Dwayne Moore</span></span>
By Maria Cramer and Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff
A Suffolk Superior Court jury this afternoon was unable to reach verdicts on the murder charges against the alleged triggerman in the Mattapan massacre case and acquitted the man who was accused of being the killer’s getaway driver.
<span style="color: #FF0000">
The jury pondering one of the most horrific crimes in recent Boston history was unable to reach verdicts on four counts of first-degree murder and five other counts against Dwayne Moore in the September 2010 slaying of four people, including a 2-year-old boy. The jury acquitted Moore of one count of cocaine trafficking.</span>
After seven days of deliberations, the jury acquitted Edward Washington of four counts of first-degree murder and five other charges.
The courtroom briefly erupted into chaos as the clerk read the jury’s verdicts on the nine charges against Washington and some people swore out loud before being pushed out of the courtroom by court officers.
Moore, 34, and Washington, 32, were accused of robbing the home of Simba Martin, 21, then executing him, along with his girlfriend, Eyanna Flonory, 21; her son, Amanihotep Smith, 2; and Levaughn Washum-Garrison, 22, who was staying at Martin’s home that night.
A fifth person, Marcus Hurd, was shot in the head but survived and is now paralyzed. He testified during the trial, but was never able to identify his attackers.
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley met with reporters after the verdicts were announced and vowed to retry Moore.
“We always believed firmly and strongly that Dwayne Moore was the executioner here,’’ Conley said. “That’s what the evidence was before this jury. They deliberated on it carefully. They weren’t able to reach a verdict.’’
He added: “But we expect that the next jury that sits on this evidence and hears it and understands it as we do will find defendant Dwayne Moore guilty for his terrible crimes.’’
The verdicts appeared to especially upset about a dozen relatives of the boy, Amanihotep Smith, and the child’s mother.
In the hallway outside the courtroom and then outside the courthouse itself, some in the group shouted “no justice, no peace’’ while also making vague threats against Washington and Moore. One woman was so overcome with emotions that she vomited and sat listlessly in the courthouse plaza, surrounded by relatives.
Inez Smith, the toddler’s great-grandmother, who is also Flonory’s grandmother, sat at wooden bench moments after the verdict was returned and wept. And wept. And wept. A few minutes later, she had regained her composure and said she knew what her next step was going to be.
“What can we do?’’ she told a Globe reporter. “We pray.’’
In the courthouse plaza, some women were shouting. “Let them go out on the streets. Let them go free. They are going go get theirs! They are going to get theirs!”
The much-anticipated announcement came this afternoon when the panel of four men and eight women returned to Judge Christine McEvoy’s courtroom and reported through their foreman that they were unable to break the impasse they have been wrestling with since Monday.
The case hinged on the credibility of Kimani Washington, cousin of Edward Washington, who met Moore in prison.
Kimani Washington, a 36-year-old career criminal, admitted that he participated in the robbery, but said he left before the shootings began.
The defense tried to paint him as the true culprit who implicated innocent men to avoid murder charges. In exchange for his testimony, prosecutors agreed to recommend 16 to 18 years in prison for his role in the robbery, a deal a judge must approve.
Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin said that Kimani Washington’s testimony was buttressed by phone records and other witnesses.
The monthlong trial included testimony from 48 witnesses and more than 200 pieces of evidence.
The case took many twists, with witnesses contradicting each other and defense attorneys aggressively questioning Washington as well as police, who acknowledged they did not pursue other leads that could have changed the direction of the investigation.
The courtroom was usually packed with relatives of both the victims and the defendants, reporters, and high-level prosecutors and police, who understood the significance of the verdict for the Mattapan neighborhood where the shootings took place.
Prosectors had filed a total of 19 charges against the defendants. Both men faced four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of armed assault with intent to murder, one count of armed home invasion, one count of armed robbery, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. Moore was charged with one additional count of cocaine trafficking.
http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2...l?p1=News_links
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