Murder of A Postgraduate at Harvard

哈佛大学研究生谋杀案Jury convicts Harvard grad student of manslaughter in teen's stabbing CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A Harvard grad student was spared the possibility of life in prison without parole as a jury cleared him of first-degree murder but convicted him of voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of an 18-year-old father. Alexander Pring-Wilson, 26, appeared stricken but calm as he was sentenced to six to eight years in prison for the fatal street brawl. He could have received as many 20 years or as little as probation. Family and friends of the victim, Michael Colono, were visibly upset by the verdict and asked the judge for a stiffer sentence Thursday afternoon. "Pring-Wilson may be a smart man, but I think he made a big mistake taking a life for egotistical reasons," Colono's older sister, Damaris, told the judge. The victim's girlfriend, Cindy Guzman, said that whenever she looked at the couple's 4-year-old daughter, Leah Jade, she was reminded of the man who was "the love of my life." Prosecutors claimed Pring-Wilson stabbed Michael Colono five times, once in the heart, during a late-night street fight on April 12, 2003, because he was angry at the teen for making fun of him as he stumbled drunkenly past in flip-flops and a raincoat. But Pring-Wilson claimed he acted in self-defense after being attacked by Colono and Samuel Rodriguez, Colono's cousin. Pring-Wilson maintained he mistakenly approached their car because he thought they were hailing him for directions. He said he reached for the 4-inch Spyderco blade in his pocket after being repeatedly punched and kicked in the head by the Colono and Rodriguez. Pring-Wilson, an honor student conversant in several languages, had no prior criminal record and was planning to attend law school before he was arrested. Colono had recently achieved his GED and was a cook at a restaurant on the Charles River at the time of his death. Damaris Colono highlighted the race, educational and age differences between the two men during an irate plea to the judge. "The power that a white, smart man with money has is quite disturbing. I understand money is power, but money should not define justice," Colono said. But Pring-Wilson's lawyer, Ann Kaufman, blasted the notion that the case was a clash of cultures. "This isn't about race or class or privilege or wealth or whatever," she said. Kaufman sniffled and wiped her eyes, once comparing her client to Gandhi, while asking the judge to spare Pring-Wilson a prison sentence. The defendant's mother, Cynthia Pring, begged the judge for leniency, saying, "I am very frightened that a prison sentence would be a death sentence for him. The panel of seven men and five women deliberated 21 hours over five days before unanimously reaching their verdict at about 10:00 a.m. He said, they said During three weeks of intense testimony, jurors heard vastly different interpretations of what happened between the two men during their 70-second encounter on that rainy spring evening. Rodriguez painted the defendant as a knife-wielding aggressor who viciously murdered Colono because the teen called him "s——faced." He testified that he was unable to come to his cousin's aid until the last minute because of his car's faulty passenger-door handle. But Pring-Wilson's defense team attempted to mar Rodriguez's credibility by pointing out his three prior convictions for assault and battery, as well as Colono's prior conviction on a drug charge. The burly bouncer, who held his dying cousin in his arms minutes after they fled the scene, initially lied to police about his involvement in the fight. Possibly the most damaging blow to Rodriguez's credibility was the testimony of a former neighbor, Shawn Bates, who called police just hours before the stabbing incident after seeing Rodriguez beating up his own girlfriend in front of their apartment building. Rodriguez denied the accusations, and no charges were ever filed. Assistant State Attorney Adrienne Lynch lobbied a tough cross-examination of the defendant, who took the stand for two and a half hours in his defense. She questioned him about his initial inconsistent statements to police, in which he claimed he was simply an innocent bystander who witnessed a stabbing. She also mocked his melodramatic reenactment of being attacked — "You enjoyed acting in college, didn't you " — while pointing out his lack of visible physical injuries, other than a welt on his forehead, although he claimed to have been brutalized. District Attorney Martha Coakley said she was pleased with the jury's decision, but believed a higher sentence was justified. She also spoke briefly for the victim's family. "They were disappointed with the verdict. I'm certain they were disappointed with the sentence," Coakley said. Coakley said her decision to push for first-degree murder stemmed more from the facts of the case and the defendant's behavior after the stabbing than from race or class issues. "Based upon the medical evidence, the wound Colono suffered was a fatal wound. The defendant had to know he was inflicting fatal wounds," she said. Jurors declined comment to the media about the verdict. Pring-Wilson appeared somber and somewhat resolute as he was taken into custody. He will immediately begin serving his sentence at Massachusetts Criminal Institute - Cedar Junction, a maximum security prison. He will be eligible for parole in six years. Jury continues weighing fate of Harvard student who stabbed teen CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A question from jurors and a motion for dismissal from the defense marked the second day of deliberations deliberation(商议)in the trial of a Harvard graduate student who killed an unarmed teenager. The panel(全体陪审员)of seven men and five women deliberated about six hours Thursday before going home for the long weekend. They will start again Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. Prosecutors say that Alexander Pring-Wilson, 26, stabbed Michael Colono, 18, five times, once in the heart, during a late-night street fight on April 12, 2003, because he was angry at the teen for making fun of him as he stumbled drunkenly past in flip-flops and a raincoat. The defendant claims he acted in self-defense(正当防卫)after being attacked by Colono and Samuel Rodriguez, Colono's cousin, who had a history of convictions for assault and battery(殴打). At about 9:10 a.m., Justice Regina Quinlan received a note from jurors asking for a copy of the jury instructions. Their request was denied. Quinlan spent about an hour and a half on Thursday reading instructions to jurors. They are charged with reaching a unanimous verdict on one of four choices: acquittal, first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter(一般杀人罪). Upon reviewing the question, defense attorney Rick Levinson motioned for a mistrial, citing the complex and confusing nature of the instructions. The judge denied the motion. Jurors have 150 exhibits at their disposal, and were allowed to take notes during the nearly three-week-long trial, although the judge asked them to withhold from notetaking during opening statements and closing arguments. They may ask specific questions about the law, but have not done so yet. Pring-Wilson faces life in prison without parole if convicted of the top charge. A manslaughter verdict carries a sentence range of parole to 20 years in prison. By noon, jurors were still working, and court insiders say if they don't reach a verdict by day's end on Friday, they would likely not return until Tuesday after the long holiday weekend. Court TV is broadcasting the trial live.

陪审团定罪的哈佛大学毕业生的学生，故意杀人罪，在青少年的刺伤马萨诸塞州的剑桥-哈佛大学毕业生的学生是不遗余力的可能性终身监禁，不得假释作为一个陪审团清理他的第一一级谋杀罪被定罪，但他自愿误杀，在被刺死亡，今年1 8岁的父亲。 亚历山大pring -威尔逊， 26 ，出现了灾区，但平静，因为他被判处六年到八年在监狱中的致命街争吵。他本来可以收到许多二十年或小感化。 家人和朋友的受害人，迈克尔colono ，明显感到不快的判决，并要求法官为严厉的判刑星期四下午。 “ pring -威尔逊可能是一个聪明的男子，但我觉得他作出了一个很大的错误采取了生活egotistical原因， ” colono的姐姐， damaris ，告诉法官。 受害人的女朋友，辛迪古兹曼说，每当她期待在该对夫妇的4岁女儿， leah玉器，她提醒该名男子的谁是“我一生的挚爱” 。 检察官声称， pring -威尔逊刺伤迈克尔colono的5倍，一旦在心脏，在深夜街头的斗争就2003年4月12日，因为他是在愤怒的青少年作的乐趣他，因为他偶然drunkenly过去在触发器和雨衣。 但pring -威尔逊声称，他在采取行动自卫后，被攻击的colono和Samuel罗德里格斯， colono的堂弟。 pring -威尔逊保持他误接触他们的车，因为他认为他们欢呼他的方向。他说，他所达成的为4英寸spyderco刀片在他的口袋后，多次拳打脚踢，在头部由colono和罗德里格斯。 pring -威尔逊，一种荣誉，学生熟识，在几种语言，没有事先的刑事纪录，并计划参加法学院之前，他被警方拘捕。 colono最近达到了普通同等学历证书，是一位厨师，在一间酒楼的查尔斯河的时候，他的死因。 damaris colono强调种族，教育和年龄的差异，该两名男子在一愤怒的恳求法官。 “的权力，白色，聪明的男子用金钱已是相当令人不安。据我所知，钱是权力，但金钱不应该界定正义， ” colono说。 但pring -威尔逊的律师，人工神经网络的考夫曼，炮轰的概念，认为该案是一个文化冲突。 “这不是种族或阶层或特权或财富或什么， ”她说。考夫曼sniffled和消灭她的眼睛，一旦比较，她的客户，以圣雄甘地，而要求法官不遗余力pring -威尔逊在监狱服刑。 被告的母亲，辛西娅pring ，恳求法官宽大处理，他说： “我很害怕，一个在监狱服刑，将罪犯被判处死刑缓期他。 小组的7名男子和五名女子商议工作21小时以上的五天之前，他们一致达成的判决约上午10时00分他说，他们说， 在三周的激烈的证词，陪审团听取了截然不同的解释，到底发生了什么之间的两名男子在其70秒就认为，遇到雨季的春天傍晚。 罗德里格斯画被告作为一个持刀侵略者，谁恶毒的谋杀colono ，因为少年叫他的“ S -面对” 。他作证说，他是无法来其表弟的援助，直到最后一分钟因为他的车的故障乘客门处理。 但pring -威尔逊的辩护团试图3月，罗德里格斯的信誉，指出他的三个前被定罪的殴打，以及colono的事先定罪，药物费用。该burly bouncer ，谁举行了死亡的表姐在他的手臂分钟后，他们逃离现场，最初向警方说谎，约他参与了这场斗争。 可能是最具破坏性的打击，罗德里格斯的信誉是证词前的邻居，肖恩贝茨，谁打电话报警前几个小时被刺事件后，看到罗德里格斯打自己的女朋友在他们前面的公寓大楼。罗德里格斯否认了这些指控，并没有收费以往任何时候都存档。 州检察长助理adrienne林奇游说强硬的反诘问的被告，谁上台的立场，为两个半小时，在他的防御。她质疑，他对他的初步不一致的陈述，警方在其中他声称，他只是一个无辜的旁观者目睹了谁刺伤。 她还嘲笑他屡有发生重演被攻击-“您所享有的代理在高校，没有你” ？ -同时指出，他缺乏有形身体伤害，以外的其他世界报对他的前额，虽然他声称已摧残。 地方检察官玛莎coakley说，她很高兴与陪审团的决定，但他相信更高的一句是有道理的。她还作了简短的发言为受害者的家人。 “他们失望的判决，我很肯定他们感到失望与句， ” coakley说。 coakley说，她的决定，推动第一年学士学位课程谋杀源于更从案件事实及被告的行为后刺伤比从种族或阶层的问题。 “基于医学证据的情况下，伤口colono遭受的是致命伤。被告知道他造成了致命的伤口， ”她说。 陪审员拒绝发表任何评论向媒体有关判决。 pring -威尔逊似乎有点somber和坚决，因为他被拘留。他将立即开始在服满徒刑，在马萨诸塞州刑事技术学院-雪松交界处，一个高度设防监狱。他将有资格获得假释，在六年。 陪审团继续称重的命运，哈佛学生谁刺伤少女马萨诸塞州的剑桥-一个问题，由陪审员和一项议案，解雇从国防显着的第二天，商议商议（商议）在审判一名毕业于哈佛大学的学生谁打死了一名手无寸铁的少年。 小组（全体陪审员） 7名男子和五名女子商议约六小时前，周四是回家长周末。他们将重新开始，周二今天上午在上午九时检察官说，亚历山大pring -威尔逊， 26 ，刺伤迈克尔colono ， 18 ， 5次，一次是在心脏，在深夜街头的斗争就2003年4月12日，因为他是在愤怒的青少年作的乐趣，他作为他偶然drunkenly过去在触发器和雨衣。 被告声称，他在采取行动自卫（正当防卫）后，被攻击的colono和Samuel罗德里格斯， colono的堂弟，谁了历史上被定罪的攻击和殴打（殴打） 。 约上午09时10分，正义里贾纳昆兰收到了一份说明，从陪审员要求的副本，陪审团的指示。他们的要求被拒绝。 昆兰花了约一个半小时就周四读指示陪审员。他们被控以达成一致的裁决之一， 4选择：无罪释放，首先是一级谋杀罪，二度谋杀或误杀有关（一般杀人罪） 。 在审查的问题，辩护律师里克列文森动议为mistrial为由，复杂而混乱的性质的指示。该法官拒绝了这项议案。 陪审员有150展品及其处置，以及被允许做笔记，在近三个星期之久的审判，虽然法官要求他们扣压从笔记开放期间的发言和闭幕的论点。他们可能会问，具体问题，有关法律，但没有这样做。 pring -威尔逊面临终身监禁，不得假释，如果被定罪的最高负责。 1误杀罪的判决，带有句的范围假释至20年徒刑。 中午十二时前，陪审员仍在工作，和法院内部人士透露，如果他们不达成一项裁决一天的结束，周五，他们很可能不会返回，直到周二后，在长假期周末。 法院是广播电视的审判现场。