Hearing recesses in Cape Cod jury bias probe

January 11, 2008 11:54 AM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

A judge who is probing whether racism played a role in a Cape Cod jury's murder verdict finished questioning the 12 jurors today about their deliberations.

Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary A. Nickerson is holding an extraordinary hearing to determine if something was amiss when jurors convicted Christopher McCowen, a black trash collector, of the 2002 rape and murder of Christa Worthington, a white fashion writer who lived on his route in Truro.

On the first day of the hearing yesterday, jurors hurled allegations of racism and inappropriate behavior. A picture emerged of a jury riven by racially tainted strife.

Nickerson finished questioning the five remaining jurors today. A week from today, the hearing will resume when two expert witnesses will testify on the role race can play in jury deliberations.

Nickerson acknowledged to jurors, some of whom had come from out of state, that he had inconvenienced them and said he had appreciated their service.

But he said, “I do not, in any way, apologize for this inconvenience. What is at stake is enormously important to all involved. ... The issues at stake are literally enormous."

Worthington, 46, was found stabbed to death in January 2002 with her 2-year-old daughter clutching her body, smeared with blood but unhurt. McCowen was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.