Victims' Families, Mattapan Residents Outraged By Massacre Trial Verdict
BOSTON (CBS) - Two women who disrupted the Mattapan Massacre trial on Thursday had to be escorted out of the courtroom due to their loud, emotional reactions to the partial verdict being read in court.
The jury found Edward Washington not guilty on all charges, while a mistrial was declared in the case of Dwayne Moore. Both men were accused of gunning down four people during a drug robbery in Mattapan back in September 2010.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mark Katic reports.
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The same raw emotion seen in the courtroom carried on outside as relatives of the four victims cried for justice.
"They deserved to be marched out that courtroom, with a gun to their head, and shot in their head," said Ebony Flonory, the sister of victim Eyanna Flonory.
Eyanna Flonory, her 2-year-old son Amani Smith, Levaughn Washum-Garrison and Simba Martin were all killed in the shootings.
Watch raw video of the court outbursts:
"Long as we waited to get justice, and it didn't happen," said Eyanna's grandmother, Delores. "I feel just like I was raped."
The victims' families then marched from the courthouse to the State House. Governor Deval Patrick says he has followed the trial and feels bad for the families.
"I hope to see them, if they want to see me I hope to sit with them and do what I can to help them heal," said Governor Patrick. "As I said, they have to feel the loss in a fresh way, having gone through this trial and then not being the outcome I know the DA was planning on."
On Woolson Street in Mattapan street workers went door to door offering support services on a day when anger was simmering in the neighborhood over the verdict in the trial.
Boston Police stepped up their presence while a group of local ministers joined them in walking the neighborhood in a show of support. "After the cameras are gone we have to figure out how to help," said the Rev. Eugene Rivers.
Throughout the day victims' family members returned to the scene of one of the city's most horrific crimes, including the cousin of Eyanna Flonory.
"It almost brought tears in my eyes to see...they're really just about to walk away?" said Aqeem Hodge, one of the victim's cousins. "Someone has to take the fall! Someone."
"If you're really gonna sit there and arrest the people, then convict their behinds. Don't sit there and let them walk away. That's not fair!" said Myriam Pierre, a resident. "And you're trying to tell me that it's OK for these people to walk away. It's not OK. I'm sorry, it is not OK. They need to come out here, and sit there, and recap everything and see how it felt, because that was horrible."
"We're here to support the family, all the victims' families, and the community," said Rev. Hughes LaFond.
Karen Washington, meanwhile, was in the minority in that crowded courtroom that boiled with anger. She was relieved to hear her son, Edward, was found not guilty.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens spoke to Washington's mother:
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"I'm glad that my son was vindicated on this. I mean, the jury did what they felt they should do," said Karen Washington.
Ed Washington's cousin, Kimani, was a key prosecution witness, and the verdict is proof that the jury wasn't buying what he was selling.
"You know, they didn't believe Kimani, that was the evidence," said Karen Washington.
While Karen Washington was relieved by the verdict, she said she still feels for the relatives of the victims.
"As a mother, you have to feel for that. You have to. If you have any kind of heart, regardless of how it turned out for my son, I still feel bad for them," said Karen Washington.
The jury's verdict compounded the tragedy felt on the street.
If a second trial for defendant Dwayne Moore moves forward, Commissioner Davis says they'll need even more help from the neighborhood. "We're thankful for the witnesses that came forward. We're hoping more people cooperate down the road," he said.
WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson and Beth Germano contributed to this report.
