A judge on Friday declared a mistrial in the case of a former Harvard graduate student accused of stabbing a teenager to death, after a jury couldn't reach a verdict after 10 days of deliberations.
This was the second trial for Alexander Pring-Wilson, 29, who was accused in the death of 18-year-old Michael Colono.
Pring-Wilson said he was attacked by Colono and his cousin, Samuel Rodriguez, outside a Cambridge pizza parlor as he walked home from a bar on April 12, 2003.
Pring-Wilson was convicted of manslaughter in October 2004, but won a new trial eight months later when the state's highest court ruled in another case that juries should be allowed to consider a victim's violent history if it is relevant to a claim of self-defense.
By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
Former Harvard University graduate student Alexander Pring-Wilson pleaded guilty today to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to two years and one day in prison for stabbing to death a young man on a Cambridge street in 2003.
Middlesex Superior Court Judge Christopher Muse called Pring-Wilson's crime "stupid and avoidable," but he said, "The time has come to let go. The resolution ... is fair and just."
Pring-Wilson admitted to stabbing Michael Colono, 18, in a fight on a dark street during the early morning hours of April 12, 2003, but he contended he acted in self-defense after being attacked by Colono and Colono’s cousin, Samuel Rodriguez.
In sentencing Pring-Wilson, Muse gave him credit for 290 days he has already served in jail. Pring-Wilson, who arrived in the courtroom with his girlfriend, mother, and stepfather, was led away by court officers at the end of the hearing to begin completing his sentence.
Colono's older sister, Desmarias, said during a victim impact statement that she wasn't satisfied with the sentence.
"It's not fair, and it's all Alexander Pring-Wilson's fault, the man who thinks he's God," she said.
The case attracted widespread attention because it involved two men from different worlds in a deadly chance encounter. Colono was a hotel cook and a young father who lived in the area, while Pring-Wilson, who is from Colorado Springs, Colo., was studying for a master's degree in Russian and Eurasian studies.
Pring-Wilson was walking home from a nightclub where he had been partying with friends when he and Colono exchanged words. Pring-Wilson said he pulled a knife to defend himself, but prosecutors said he deliberately killed Colono.
The plea deal came as Pring-Wilson faced a third trial in Colono's death.
Pring-Wilson, 29, was originally charged with first-degree murder, but a jury in 2004 convicted him of the lesser count of manslaughter and he was sentenced to six to eight years in prison.
His conviction was tossed out when the state’s highest court ruled that jurors should have learned about Colono’s criminal background.
A second trial ended with a hung jury last month. Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. had vowed to try Pring-Wilson a third time.
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops
About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.
The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.
The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.
MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)
CBS 
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops