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Main Page Did Racism Play A Role In Worthington Murder Case?
(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)

Posted by: kwflatbed

Christopher McCowen cries as he's found guilty of the rape and murder of Christa Worthington. November 16, 2006

Christopher McCowen, and his attorney Robert George, in Barnstabel district court during the Christa Worthington murder trial. November 13, 2006

Prosecutor Robert Welsh

Christa Worthington CBS

BARNSTABLE (WBZ) ― More than a year later, jurors are returning to the courtroom in the Christa Worthington murder case.

Except this time it'll be the jurors themselves who will be testifying.

They'll be answering questions about whether racism affected their deliberations when they convicted Christopher McCowen of murdering Worthington.

In November of 2006 McCowen who is black, was found guilty of killing Worthington, a white fashion writer who lived in Truro.

Within three days after that conviction, three jurors contacted McCowen's lawyer and claimed to have heard racially biased remarks from three other jurors -- including one who allegedly referred to McCowen as "the big black guy."

McCowen is now seeking a new trial, saying he wasn't able to get a fair one the first time around.

In a hearing Thursday, the jurors will have to testify, under oath, about what exactly what was said during deliberations.

Thursday Judge Gary Nickerson told the 12 jurors it was "an extraordinarily unusual situation" for a judge to question them after they had delivered a verdict.

But Nickerson said the need to do so became apparent when three jurors filed sworn statements saying three others made racially charged remarks during deliberations.

During the first phase of the hearing in Barnstable Superior Court, Nickerson says he'll question jurors individually about what racial comments, if any, were made during deliberations.

Experts say questioning jurors in open court about their deliberations after a verdict, is considered extremely rare.

Christa Worthington was found stabbed to death in her Truro home back in 2002; while her young daughter slept nearby. McCowen was Worthington's former garbage man.

http://wbztv.com/local/Christopher.M....2.626913.html

Posted by: kwflatbed

Truro murder trial scrutinized

Photo by Ted Fitzgerald
Christopher McCowen, above, is escorted from Barnstable Superior Court after the first day of hearings on concerns that jurors’ racism may have been a factor in his rape and murder conviction in the death of Christa Worthington.

Three jurors accused in sworn statements of making racially charged remarks before convicting a black trash collector of murdering a white Cape Cod fashion writer yesterday point-blank denied making the disparaging remarks during a daylong hearing rife with contradictory testimony.
The rare judicial inquiry into the jury proceedings that convicted Christopher McCowen of raping and murdering globe-trotting fashionista Christa Worthington in January 2002 exposed starkly conflicting accounts of how race was raised during the six days of juror deliberations in November 2006.
Six jurors answered questions under oath from Barnstable Court Judge Gary Nickerson, who ordered the jury back to court after McCowen’s attorney, Robert George, submitted affidavits from three jurors who claimed race tainted the panel’s deliberations.
In one of the most dramatic statements, Roshena Bohanna, a black juror, wrote that Juror “Y,” who was identified in court as Marlo George, a white woman (no relation to Robert George), referred to McCowen as a “big black guy” when discussing how Worthington sustained bruises on her body. The two women had to be separated after a heated exchange, according to the affidavit.
Worthington was found stabbed to death in her Truro home with her 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter unharmed and clinging to her lifeless body. McCowen has maintained he had consensual sex with Worthington.
Under questioning from Nickerson yesterday, Marlo George denied referring to McCowen’s race in the discussion of how Worthington sustained bruises. The other jurors who took the stand testified that she did refer to McCowen’s race duing that exchange. George did acknowledge referring to McCowen as black while the jurors were reading the charges against him.
“I said a 200-pound black man came to her house at 2 o’clock in the morning uninvited looking for a (expletive), according to police testimony,” George said.
She described the use of the term “black” as a “descriptive element.” “I did not mean anything by that,” she said. “I was not trying to offend.”
Another juror, Carol Cahill who is white, denied referring to McCowen as black when she told jurors she believed he was staring at her in the courtroom. “I said that the defendant made me uncomfortable or intimidated,” Cahill said.
Eric Gomes, who was also singled out in the affidavit, denied making statements that he prefers white people to black people. Gomes is of Cape Verdean descent.
Rachel Huffman and Normand Audet, the other two jurors who submitted affidavits, also testified, as did the foreman, Dan Patenaude.
McCowen’s attorney, Robert George, said he believed there are legal grounds to grant a new trial. “There is no doubt in my mind that the jury deliberations have been tainted by racial bias,” he said.
The ordeal has taken a heavy toll on Bohanna who moved back to her home state of Louisiana after the verdict was delivered, said her attorney James Dilday. He said the deliberations were so excruciating that she experienced vomiting fits and headaches.
“She came back because she realized that no matter what her personal feelings are she’s upset because she allowed herself to cave in to the pressure of the 11 people in the jury room brow-beating her.”

http://bostonherald.com/news/regiona...icleid=1065884

Posted by: kwflatbed

Experts see likely appeal after ruling

Photo by Faith Ninivaggi
Christopher McCowen peers our of a prison vehicle toward his parents before he is taken back to prison at the conclusion of a hearing yesterday on potential racial bias by the jury that convicted him of murder.

The fate of a black trash hauler convicted of murdering a white fashion writer now rests with a state judge who yesterday ended juror testimony in a rare public hearing to decide whether racial bias tainted the jury’s decision.
Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary A. Nickerson is facing unchartered legal territory as he weighs whether to grant a new trial to Christopher McCowen.
Legal analysts predict the ruling will be appealed to a higher court, prolonging a sad saga that has captivated Cape Cod since Christa Worthington’s beaten body was found in her Truro home in 2002.
“If there’s even an odor of prejudice in the jury deliberations, they should get a new trial because it was a close case,” said retired Superior Court Judge Robert A. Barton.
Nickerson questioned the jurors under oath for a day and a half about instances where discussions of race entered their deliberations.
The inquiry was ordered after McCowen’s attorney, Robert George, submitted affidavits from three jurors who claimed other panelists made racial remarks.
The following episodes from the jury room emerged:
Roshena Bohanna, who is black, testified she confronted a white female juror after the juror said bruises sustained by Worthington would have been caused by “a big black guy.” The juror, Marlo George, who is white, denied using the word black on that occassion but acknowledged referring to a “200-pound black man” during a separate discussion. She said she used the term descriptively.
Rachel Huffman, who is white, testified that Eric Gomes, who is Cape Verdean, criticized Bohanna after the confrontation with Marlo George. She said Gomes told her “this is why I don’t like black people, look at what they are capable of.” Gomes denied making the statement.
During the first night the jury was sequestered, jurors played a charades game at their hotel. One juror allegedly imitated the confrontation between Bohanna and George by responding “I’m a racist” to all the scenarios. Juror Taryn O’Connell, who is white, testified that she did not remember that episode.
Carol Cahill, who is white, was accused in sworn statements of referring to McGowen as “big” and “black” when she told others that she believed he was staring at her. Cahill testified that she did not refer to McCowen as black. Her version was disputed by some jurors and confirmed by others.
Cahill said Bohanna called one juror a “Southern cracker.” Other jurors said they did not hear the term.
MCCowen’s father, Roy, traveled from Virginia with his wife and 4-year-old granddaughter for the proceeding. “He’s never given up,” Roy McCowen said of his son.

http://bostonherald.com/news/regiona...icleid=1066057

Posted by: PBC FL Cop

What doesn't involve racism nowadays?

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Posted by: kwflatbed

This just stinks of Duval Patrick's sticking his fingers in something.

Posted by: pahapoika

What doesn't involve racism nowadays?

+1

Posted by: Edmizer1

Robert George will try anything to get an NG. He defended a guy in a case I was involved in about 10 years ago. It was a minor case but the guy was rich and hired him. The thing turned into criminal complaints filed against the cops, judge appeals when the compliants against us were denied, motions, appeals, and civil suits against the cops. It was all complete BS manufactured by him. My favorite technique was when co-counsel claimed an illness just before the end of the trial (which wasn't going well for his side) to cause a mistrial. I was amazed at how unethical he was. His reputation is that if you pay his rates, he will do anything to try to get you off. He like sto take cases like Worthington once in awhile to make a name.

Posted by: 94c

I own a racist chess set.

I line up all the blacks on one side and the whites on the other.

Then they overtake each other.

Posted by: Mitpo62

Good Grief!

Posted by: chief801

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94c

I own a racist chess set.

I line up all the blacks on one side and the whites on the other.

Then they overtake each other.

You forgot to mention all the black ones were pawns and the white ones were kings and the black ones could never win because they are limited to lateral moves only and can't advance on the kings...LOL

That is the real racist chess set!

Posted by: mpd61

Quote:

Originally Posted by chief801

Sir D.,

You made me soil my armor!

Posted by: kwflatbed

Someone call Al Sharpton

Posted by: kwflatbed

No New Trial For Man Charged With Writer's Murder

BARNSTABLE (WBZ) ― The garbage man accused of killing fashion writer Christa Worthington in her Cape Cod home will not be granted a new trial.

Christopher McCowen's defense attorney claimed the jury's verdict was tainted by racism and wanted a new trial for his client.

After McCowen's conviction in 2006, jurors complained that several other jurors made disparaging racial remarks about McCowen and blacks in general during deliberations.

The judge who heard the case, Gary Nickerson, said Friday that McCowen's conviction should stand.

McCowen is accused of raping and stabbing Worthington to death back in 2002.

http://wbztv.com/local/christopher.m....2.692132.html

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