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Bella's memorial
By adamg on Tue, 06/06/2017 - 11:02am
Maria M. walked around Deer Island this past weekend and paused at the Bella Bond memorial, paid for by workers at the MWRA plant and placed near where the little girl's body washed up in 2015.
The plaque reads:
For reasons we may never know
An angel came to our shores
Causing us to shed a collective tear
May she rest in peace and
Never be forgotten.
Her mother, who pleaded guilty to her role in hiding the 2 1/2-year old's death, continues her testimony today in the trial of her boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, charged with Bella's murder.
Photo copyright Maria M. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.
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Comments
My heart breaks every time I
My heart breaks every time I think about the horror that tiny girl faced. This is a touching tribute.
Same
I cannot follow the trial.. the story just makes me weep. Poor little girl.
About three months ago, I
About three months ago, I received a notice in the mail, as I do every four years, telling me I had to report for Jury Duty a couple of weeks ago. I arrived on time, waited in the waiting room, and then....when I had to walk into the courtroom I became nauseous and almost passed out because I had no idea that that MURDERER would be standing two rows in front of me as I would wait. I very kind court officer escorted me out because I was crying and very sick. They helped me sit down in the hallway, but I had to gather my strength to run out of that courtroom and far away. Obviously, I was not picked. From there, I could not go straight back to work in my frame of mind. I had to stop in at nearby St. Joseph's church next to Mass General to say a prayer for that little girl and that the jury would do the right thing. I will never forget that profound experience for the rest of my life. God bless that jury for having the strength that I did not.
I am not trying to diminish
I am not trying to diminish your traumatic experience, but they just let you walk away without questioning you at all? As someone who gets called to jury duty with great frequency (like clockwork every three years and even inbetween those periods in which case I have to contact them to inform them I am not required to serve) I have never seen them let someone just walk without asking the requisite questions.
As I understand it
during the empanelment process, both the prosecution and the defense attorney have the right to dismiss a certain number of prospective jurors "without cause" (i.e. at their discretion without questioning beforehand).
I learned about this procedure several years ago when I reported for jury duty and was nearly empaneled on a jury for an OUI/driving to endanger case. After questioning several of the other prospective jurors, the bailiff announced that I was excused. Some time after that, a lawyer friend of mine told me about the "dismiss without cause" provision and speculated that the defense attorney didn't want me on the jury because of my occupation.
Sorry for not adding that the
Sorry for not adding that the court offucer did in fact ask me for my badge number while I waited outside. I gave it to him, told me to wait, he went back inside the courtroom, and then came out to tell me I was excused by the jury selection. However they said I may get another request in the mail togoto a different court or different case in the near future.
Certain cases are different
I was called for jury duty a few years ago along with at least 150 others. We filed into to the court room and the judge explained the charges. It was a child rape case and the girl was now an adult. There was a collective gasp and many people started crying.
It was the second day of selection and three jurors were empaneled the previous day out of 50. One by one the judge called us up and asked if we could be impartial. I was about 25th and everyone ahead of me had been released by the judge, not the attorneys. He asked me if I could be impartial? I said yes. He then asked would I believe the victim if she testified? I said yes. Even if she had reason to lie? Again yes. You may leave.
Impartiality in theses cases is a very high bar because of the stakes - someone's freedom or risk of injustice. The judge was releasing people by the dozen. I'd love to know how long it took to empanel the jury.
I hope the jury in the Bella Bond case will eventually be at peace with the things they hear and see during the trial and the outcome. It will undoubtedly be something they ponder and think about for the rest of their lives.
The last time I reported for jury duty
(which was well after the time I mentioned in my prior post), I was part of the group called in for possible empanelment. Before the process began, the judge explained the case to us and then asked if any of us had any reason to believe that we could not be totally impartial in evaluating the evidence. Those of us who raised our hands and had our number called (we were given numbers of 1 to 30) were called for a sidebar with the judge, attorneys, and bailiff.
In this case (no pun intended), my number wasn't called for this trial (ironically, it was another OUI charge), but was for the next trial assembled that afternoon. As this second trial was a former tenant suing his landlord, I was one of the jurors empaneled, as I believed I could be totally impartial and there were no legitimate grounds for any of the parties rejecting me.
Court System
Our system of justice is dependent upon common people hearing testimony and making important decisions. It's good you didn't get picked if you felt you couldn't serve. However, he's entitled to a fair trial and a impartial jury which will base their decision upon the evidence presented, not their feelings formed from the media. The accused has a right to defend himself and the state must still make a compelling case.
I don't think he's innocent but historically there have been similar high profile murders in which the wrong person was convicted in part because the jury decided before entering the courtroom. That's not how it should work.
MWRA workers, too
I work for the MWRA, but in Chelsea, not Deer Island. A coworker got called in around the same time that you did. The legal staff looked through the questionnaires, called him up, and dismissed him.
Terrible story
After being opposed to the death penalty for pretty much my entire life, this particular case has caused me to reconsider and reflect on this position.
Couldn't agree more. Can not
Couldn't agree more. Can not believe the mother isn't being charged.
Ehh
Being opposed to the death penalty isn't about these open and shut cases. It's about the ones where they might get it wrong and send the innocent to death.
Monsters can be locked away. The innocent can't be brought back from the dead.
I'm pretty liberal, and
I'm pretty liberal, and generally in favor of expanding government power when there's a compelling reason to do so, but I draw the line at giving the government the authority to kill its citizens.
Life without parole works for me, and eliminates the ability of the government to execute an innocent person. As long as he goes into prison alive, and comes out dead, I see no reason to insist that the timespan involved be artificially compressed.
Thank you.
No matter how angry or sad or upset we might get at cases like this one, there's never a justification for the death penalty. Responding to violence with more violence is not the answer.
Difference?
Do you feel this murder is worse then if a junky killed a store clerk or someone snapped and killed their boss?
It's a horrible tragedy but a murder is a murder. One shouldn't be considered worse then another, IMHO.
Grade A horseshit. The
Grade A horseshit. The judicial system has multiple levels of murder for a reason. Yes, taking the life of an innocent, defenseless 2-year-old who doesn't know better (especially for what, refusing to go to bed?) is very very different from snapping at the boss. If you can't see that, then I pity you.
Yeah, I can't see the difference.
Hate to break it to you but it's first degree murder if you planned to kill the person, irrespective of their age or cuteness. The justice system specifically doesn't differentiate.
Circumstances count
In states that have the death penalty, there are often a number of aggravating circumstances that are required either for the death penalty to be on the table at all, or for a jury to weigh when considering whether to sentence the accused to death or to some lesser penalty. Among them are things like whether the murder was committed in furtherance of some other crime like robbery, whether there were multiple people killed, whether the killer committed the murder(s) in an unusually cruel manner (such as torturing the victims), and, often, the age of the victim(s)--over some age (55/60/65) that makes them "elderly", or beneath some age that makes them "a child" (18 or 16 or something like that).
To answer your question
Any taking of human life is bad. However, unlike your hypothetical scenarios, this case is particularly heinous because the victim was a totally innocent 2 year old girl who was far to young to defend herself against her attackers.
But not too young
To try in a criminal court?
A 6 year old who swipes a candy bar from the local store
No. An 11 year old who robs somebody at knifepoint - absolutely.
And a 2 or 3 year old should never be brought to trial for one basic reason - inability to effectively assist counsel.
That's the rub
No denying the girl was innocent but, sadly, many people are also killed without a way of fighting back. I guess I don't see how the life of the girl is different from the life of the middle aged clerk. The girl made no mistakes in her short life but she hasn't accomplished anything either. At least an adult has given back to the community and their family. (Potentially.)
Perhaps if society was as outraged when anyone is killed instead of saving the horror for when the deceased is a cute little girl we'd all be better off.
That said
I've been reading about the work of the Innocence Project. This is the kind of case where emotions could send an innocent person to prison or worse (if we had the death penalty here.)
I am hoping for justice for this girl.
Off topic
And my apologies but why isn't Adam covering the suicide case going on? I'm curious to know what the Uhub community thinks of that case.
Not Boston
It's well covered by other outlets and Plainville isn't nearby?
Gotcha.
Thanks
Praise MWRA workers
Mother couldn't remember the day she died.
I very, very rarely cry
My dad's death
My mom's death
Children's births
This picture brought tears to my eyes. The only other times something on uhub did the same were the images of little Martin Richard waiting at the marathon finish line, a story about the brother of little Jeffery Curley, who was kidnapped and murdered by two pedophile predators in Cambridge. Jeffery's picture standing in his baseball uniform, would bring tears to a stone. This image of Bella's memorial would bring tears to a stone.
smh.