jwg

Today I spend a few hours at the Middlesex County Courthouse in Cambridge waiting to see if I would be called to a jury. I wasn't (there were two sets of people that were) and most of us went home at 1:30. Since Massachusetts has a one-day/one-trial system that suffices to meet my obligation for a while.

A few years ago I was on the one-trial side of it and today's work prompts me to post about it which I will do in several posts.

Late at night on January 25, 1990, Jesse McKie, a 21 year old young man was walking down Windsor St in Cambridge by the Newtowne Court housing project. He was accosted by a bunch of guys who demanded his leather jacket. They took it from him and then beat him and stabbed him to death. While this was going on, Rigoberto Carrion, a slightly older man, came by (or maybe he was with Jesse) and he too was stabbed and killed.

There were witnesses that weren't too close to be in harm, one of them in his Newtowne Court apartment called 911 and the police and ambulances showed up. It was too late to save Jesse; Rigoberto died a few days later. The police picked up two or three of these guys and brought him to the Central Square police station and jail. Several hours later, a car with driver and passenger were driving the wrong way up a one-way street to the Police station to see what happened to their friends. They were also picked up. The murder weapon was never found.

One of the six became a state's witness and in February of 1992 a homicide trial was about to begin. It was to be a joint trial and four were accused of 1st degree murder, and one was an accessory. One of accused's trial was separated. I was one of the 16 chosen to be on this jury which was forecast to take 4-6 weeks.

(to be continued)