The Freedom Bulletin

In a surprising legal move, Alexander Pring-Wilson pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter today in the death of Michael Colono. He was going to be charged with voluntary manslaughter in his third trial. Today he was sentenced to two years in prison, but could get credit for the almost ten months he served at various times between his arrest and when the verdict in his first trial was thrown out.

“He has long ago accepted moral responsibility for his actions,” said Pring-Wilson’s lawyer, Peter Parker. “He took a life. He will live with that and he will struggle with that for the rest of his life.”

Colono’s sister called for a longer sentence, saying, “It’s not fair, and it’s all Alexander Pring-Wilson’s fault, the man who thinks he’s God.”

I agree with her that it’s not fair – not fair that a young man is going to jail for an act of self-defense. Pring-Wilson thinks he’s God for walking down the street and not wanting to get killed???

I’m disappointed that Pring-Wilson decided not to fight for his innocence in a third trial. But I guess he doesn’t want to risk a longer sentence, and perhaps he and his family are running out of money. I bet he feels terrible about what happened, and that should be punishment enough. It’s sad that he won’t ever be able to become a lawyer. I hope the other inmates don’t make his life too miserable in prison, and I hope he can live a moderately happy life once he gets out.

I wasn’t at the sentencing, so for more details, check out the AP’s article.

The jury in the trial of Alexander Pring-Wilson met with Judge Christopher Muse today, and he basically told them to keep deliberating. He reminded the panel of what constitutes reasonable doubt – they do not need to have “proof to a mathematical certainty” but merely “an abiding conviction that the charge is true.” Then he advised them to be open-minded toward each other’s opinions and told them that the court most likely will not be able to find another jury “more intelligent, more impartial, or more competent than you are.” If the jury still can’t arrive at a verdict, then a mistrial will be declared. If this happens the prosecution is likely to try Pring-Wilson a third time.

After six days of deliberations, the jury in the Pring-Wilson trial is deadlocked. The jurors announced this afternoon that they are unable to reach a consensus. Judge Christopher Muse is meeting with the jurors tomorrow to give them additional instructions, and they are expected to continue deliberating.

Closing arguments took place in the Pring-Wilson trial today, and this afternoon the jury began deliberating. I couldn’t be there, unfortunately, so I don’t have any more details than that.

I predict that the jury will take a long time to arrive at a verdict. The evidence was not clear cut enough to make it obvious one way or another. I might be wrong, though, and I would really like to be there for the verdict, so I’ll probably be calling the DA’s press office from time to time to see if a verdict is imminent.

In my opinion, the jury definitely ought to find him not guilty, and I predict that they will. To convict someone in a criminal case, the prosecution needs to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and they didn’t quite do that. From the evidence that was presented in court, Pring-Wilson’s story makes at least as much sense as the prosecution’s. I hope the jury looks objectively at the facts and makes the correct decision.

Today I got to see Alexander Pring-Wilson finish his testimony. Not surprisingy, there were numerous reporters present in the courtroom, as well as a camera crew from Channel 7.

Adrienne Lynch, the prosecutor, cross examined Pring-Wilson for over two hours. First, she made a big deal out of the fact that he said he was punched in the nose and that he covered his head with his hands while he was being beaten, yet he had no injuries to his nose, hands, or forearms. He claimed, however, that he had cuts on his nose and on his finger, but admitted that he accidentally cut his finger with his knife.

Then Lynch asked Pring-Wilson why he stabbed the person in front of him if he was so concerned about being pounded in the back of the head. “I did what I had to do to get out from that experience,” he replied.

Lynch sarcastically asked Pring-Wilson if he remembered asking her to kneel down before him yesterday, referring to his exasperated request that she demonstrate how she thought he knelt when he was being attacked. The question was objected to, and the objection was sustained.

She also questioned him extensively about his testimony in the first trial, giving him a lengthy transcript from which to read and follow along, and focusing on his lies to police. Lynch also noted that Pring-Wilson’s estimate of how many concussions he had previously suffered increased from 10 to 12 from the first trial to the second. He replied that he was “not really sure” of the exact number. Additionally, she asked if he had “accused” the state police chemist of moving his knife to make it look like he had hidden it. “I’m not sure if I accused him, but I’m pretty sure that’s what happened,” said Pring-Wilson. “There’s no other way it could have gotten there…I’m perfectly willing to believe that it was an accident and not an act of malice.”

Another point that Lynch raised was Pring-Wilson’s choice to wear his jeans and button-down shirt from the night of the fight to the police station, but not his flip flops and yellow raincoat, which she argued were more “distinctive” and therefore more recognizable. “I would also argue that raincoats are commonly worn by people when it’s raining,” he retorted.

Next, Lynch got Pring-Wilson to admit that he had carried a knife since the age of 12 but decided not to bring the knife to the police station. He explained that he didn’t bring the knife “for the same reason I think it’s inappropriate to take it to airports.”

After being asked about the forensic tests performed on his hands, Pring-Wilson replied that “Everything’s so jumbled after going through this whole process twice.” Lynch theorized that Pring-Wilson’s left hand appeared dirtier than his right in a police photograph because Rodriguez knocked him to the ground after he stabbed Colono, and he broke his fall with his left hand while holding the knife in his right. “I don’t ever recall falling with my knife in my hand,” he replied.

Next, Lynch called attention to a piece of Pring-Wilson’s testimony in the first trial when he describes how he felt after the fight and begins to say the word “hangover” but quickly changes it to “headache.” He tried really hard to avoid the question, and then to read his complete response, but he was eventually forced to concede that he did, indeed, say that.

Later she picked on Pring-Wilson for walking home after calling the police and for calling a driveway an alley. She also asked him why he swore at Colono if he wasn’t angry (all he said was that he wasn’t angry before he heard Colono’s insults; he very well could have been angry afterward) and asked him who was in the driver’s seat of the car. Pring-Wilson responded that he didn’t remember very well because “He came out of the car very quickly. He hit me…I fell to the ground.”

Then, Lynch attacked Pring-Wilson for using a weapon on two unarmed men, repeatedly asking if either Rodriguez or Colono had a weapon, to which he replied that, no, he did not see any weapons on them. “They were kicking at me, and they were punching me, and there were two of them, and I was on the ground,” Pring-Wilson shot back. Lynch suggested that no one kicked Pring-Wilson, but that instead his feet were cut up because he was wearing flip flops in the middle of a city, and he answered that “They were cut up because I was attacked by two men in the middle of that city.” Next she raised the point that Pring-Wilson never called for help and that he says he was on his knees yet was still able to stab Colono four to five times, twice in the chest.

At 11:00 there was a break, after which Lynch completed her questions by showing the jury a picture of Pring-Wilson on the morning of April 12, in which he does not appear to have any serious injuries. Then Peter Parker, the defense attorney, did a re-direct that lasted about a half an hour. He had Pring-Wilson point out the pocket in his jeans where he always carried his knife and then showed the jury a picture where a cut on Pring-Wilson’s nose is visible and a picture of his hands in which they appear to be the same color. Pring-Wilson also was able to read his complete response to the question where he almost said “hangover.” Finally he described his state of mind during the attack: “I…saying afraid isn’t quite right. I was more afraid than I’ve ever been in my whole life…It puts you in a horible place.”

Throughout his testimony, Pring-Wilson remained calm, never becoming angry or losing his composure. He seemed well-prepared, making sure he had Lynch’s questions right and remaining silent until she actually asked something in question form. He often answered questions by saying things like “you can see it there” or “that’s what the records say, and I have no reason to doubt them” instead of saying yes or no. Lynch, on the other hand, was rather belligerent, repeating questions over and over and seeming to become angry at Pring-Wilson when he answered indirectly or attempted to elaborate. Both appeared confident and articulate – it’s difficult to tell which way the jury will lean. Personally, I think Pring-Wilson did a great job and definitely placed a reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s claims.

Pring-Wilson wasn’t the only witness today – his girlfriend, Janice Olmstead, testified next, describing how his voice sounded normal when she talked to him before the fight but that he sounded “floaty, unconnected, just different” when he called her from the police station after the incident. She was followed by Edmundo Martinez, a close friend of Pring-Wilson’s who testified about his “reputation for peacefulness.” Last was Dr. Jeremy Schmahmann, a neurologist who described the symptoms of concussions – which do not necessarily include external injuries and are not detectable by most tests performed in doctors’ offices – and gave the opinion that Pring-Wilson suffered a grade 2 concussion, the second most severe classification. He was excellent on cross examination, sticking firmly to his opinions. When Lynch hinted that it would be unwise to trust Pring-Wilson’s description of his symptoms, he answered that “a physician in the emergency room who disbelieves his patient should not be a physician.” He even called one of her questions “nonsense.”

Wow, what a long post! Well, there are three more witnesses scheduled for tomorrow, and closings will take place then or Monday.

Alexander Pring-Wilson testified in his own defense today, but, most unfortunately, I can’t give a very good description of what he said because I was unable to be there! I had a big test smack in the middle of the day. Plus, thanks to the wonderful news media, I didn’t even know he would be testifying. Clearly they knew he’d be testifying – there are video clips and pictures of Pring-Wilson from today, but there haven’t been camera crews or a large media presence on most days of the trial. But how did they find out? And why on earth didn’t they publicize it ahead of time?

From what I’ve read and watched online, Pring-Wilson was more subdued than at his first trial. His direct examination lasted 45 minutes, and his lawyer told him not to get down from the stand and act out the fight like he did last time.

The only good news is that he didn’t finish his testimony, so I will get to see the end of the cross examination tomorrow. Closing arguments might be scheduled for Monday.

Sources:
TheBostonChannel.com
WHDH
Boston Globe
My Fox Boston

Today the prosecution finished calling witnesses against Alexander Pring-Wilson. The first witness of the day was Harjeet Singh, the manager of Pizza Ring, the restaurant near which the fatal fight between Pring-Wilson and Michael Colono occurred. Next up were Colono’s mother, girlfriend, and sister, who described his background and interests. Wanda Rivera, Colono’s oldest sister, said that he was interested in “getting a career and furthering his education” and was a lifelong baseball fan. Cindy Guzman, Colono’s girlfriend, was the only one of these three witnesses to be cross examined. She admitted that she told Colono the day before the fight that she wanted to break up with him – which may have put him in an angry mood and made him more likely to attack Pring-Wilson – and that Samuel Rodriguez told her he was in the driver’s seat of the car – the opposite of what the prosecution claims. Finally, the prosecution called James Connolly, a captain with the state police, to the stand and played clips of Pring-Wilson’s testimony in the first trial.

The defense called its first witness today. Jennifer Lipman – a doctor, certified forensic pathologist, consultant, and professional expert witness – gave her opinion on Colono’s wounds. She said that two of his five stab wounds were medical incisions, meaning that Pring-Wilson stabbed him only three times. The wound on Colono’s wrist, she testified, was the right location, shape, size, and orientation to be made during a “cut-down” – when medical personnel make a cut in a patient’s skin to find a vein. Also, the wound was too neat and clean to have been inflicted during a fight, and was located in the wrong place to be a defensive wound. One of the two wounds to Colono’s lower abdomen was also made by medical personnel, said Dr. Lipman. The cut was the perfect size and location for a diagnostic peritoneal lavage – a procedure that doctors perform to tell if a patient has internal bleeding. Prosecutor Adrienne Lynch began cross examining Dr. Lipman but will finish tomorrow morning.

I also managed to catch the second half of yesterday’s proceedings; sorry for not posting about it! I was there for the testimony of Dr. Faryl Sandler, the medical examiner who examined Colono’s body. She described his five wounds, said that the one that punctured his heart was the cause of death, and said that the one on his wrist was consistent with being a defensive wound. I thought Peter Parker, Pring-Wilson’s defense lawyer, did a good job on cross examination. He cast doubt on the claim that the wrist wound and one of the abdomen wounds were made by Pring-Wilson and made it seem like the other wounds didn’t require a huge amount of force to inflict if the knife was sharp, long, and moving at a high velocity, and if the victim was moving toward the knife. He also mentioned that Dr. Sandler was not a board-certified pathologist and made a big deal of the fact that Dr. Sandler did an internal examination of Colono’s head even though there were no outward signs of head injuries – hinting that people (such as Pring-Wilson) commonly have brain injuries that don’t necessarily cause external symptoms.

I wasn’t there for yesterday morning’s events, but the Crimson reports that John Soares, a chemist, finished his testimony, and the prosecution entered Colono’s bloody clothing into evidence. Check out their article for the full story.