Court orders new review to confirm inmate isn't debilitated enough to warrant medical parole for fatally shooting Back Bay restaurant manager between the eyes

The Supreme Judicial Court acknowledged today that the state corrections commissioner made a very good case that Martin McCauley, 66, locked up for the way he murdered Carlos Madariaga in an alley off Gloucester Street in the Back Bay in 1981, isn't incapacitated enough by serious mobility issues and constant, severe back and nerve pain to warrant medical parole.

But the state's highest court today ordered Corrections Commissioner Carol Mici to re-review McCauley's parole request, this time using a "standardized risk for violence assessment" (for example) as required by state regulations on medical parole. It's something she did not do earlier because McCauley is serving a life sentence without parole for the way he shot Mardariaga between the eyes from just two inches away during a robbery of the Casa Romero restaurant, 30 Gloucester St., on June 27, 1981.

Under Massachusetts law, even inmates serving life without parole can, in fact, be granted parole if they are on the verge of death or are so incapacitated they could not possibly pose a threat to the public.

Mici concluded that with his use of a rollator and leg brace to compensate for both a leg problem and nerve and back issues caused by three failed spinal surgeries and his constant doses of potent painkillers, McCauley was not so incapacitated that he would not pose any risk to the public, especially given that he had a fairly extensive record of prison violations related to both drugs and violence - on top of the fact he is in prison for a brutal murder. She noted that during a statement police after the Back Bay shooting, McCauley himself said he shot his victim - by mistake, he claimed - with what he called his "paralyzed" left hand.

The SJC said that the prison violations mostly ceased after McCauley began high doses of prescribed oxycodone and morphine for back pain, but said it could agree with Mici that McCauley should not be released - except that she needs to complete that formal standardized assessment first.

Even though his medical condition likely would make it much more difficult to commit a crime of this nature, it is not such that it would render him incapable of using a firearm to kill another, or incapable of committing various other crimes.

The plaintiff also points to the fact that, since he has been prescribed oxycodone and morphine, he has not had any disciplinary reports for illicit drug use. That the plaintiff no longer is consuming unprescribed medication does not alleviate completely the danger of his drug dependence. It is fair to assume that if he is granted medical parole, his consumption of pain medication will not be as restricted as in a prison setting. This is particularly of concern where the record indicates discipline for "accumulating meds." ...

Although he is permanently incapacitated from a medical perspective, he is able to perform nearly all daily living activities with accommodations. The above factors support the commissioner's decision that he would be unable to remain at liberty without violating the law and that his release would be incompatible with the welfare of society, and are proper to be considered on remand along with the risk for violence assessment.

In a 1984 ruling confirming his life sentence, the SJC summarized what happened at Casa Romero:

On June 27, 1981, at approximately 1:30 A.M., two masked men entered the Casa Romero Restaurant in the Back Bay section of Boston from the Gloucester Street entrance. The restaurant was closed. Upon entering the first dining room, the masked men, brandishing guns, ordered a cook, Antonio Datri, and a dishwasher, Jose "Freddy" Perez, to lie face down on the floor.

As one of the gunmen proceeded into the second dining room, he encountered the victim, a comanager of the restaurant. The victim had entered the second dining room from the office after he and his wife, Laura Madariaga, heard a scream. Laura Madariaga remained hidden behind the office door. The gunman asked the victim where the woman was. The victim stated that the woman had left for the evening. On the gunman's third command, the victim lay on the floor face down. As the victim did so, he yelled "Laura, run," in Spanish and then in English. Laura locked the office door, escaped through an office window, and started ringing doorbells and screaming for help. One gunman then directed the three restaurant employees to move together on the floor. At that time, he seized their wallets and the cash receipts.

The three employees were then directed out a side door leading to an alley. Datri testified that, in the alley, one gunman said to the victim, "I like you. You think you're smart." As he said this, he raised the revolver in his right hand and shot the victim between the eyes from a distance of less than one inch. Perez's testimony partially corroborated Datri's testimony. He stated that the gunman said something to the victim in English, raised his revolver with his right hand, and shot the victim between the eyes from a distance of approximately two inches. Dr. Leonard Atkins, associate medical examiner for Suffolk County, testified that the discharge pattern around the victim's wound indicated that the gun had been fired from within six inches of the victim's forehead.