Judge rejects new trial for man convicted in Cape Cod killing

(Globe file photo)

A judge rejected a bid for a new trial by Christopher M. McCowen, who is shown above at his conviction in November 2006.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

A trash collector convicted of a notorious Cape Cod murder does not deserve a new trial even though a white juror referred to the defendant as a "big black man'' during deliberations, spurring a confrontation in the jury room, a state judge ruled today.

Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary A. Nickerson said that the juror, Marlo George, used the term innocently while deliberating in November 2006 to describe Christopher M. McCowen, who was convicted of raping and fatally stabbing a white fashion writer, Christa Worthington, in her Truro house in 2002.

"Set in this context, the words 'big black man' are descriptive, identifying who inflicted the injuries and the size of the assailant,''' Nickerson, the trial judge, wrote in his 40-page decision, adding that the phrase "did not constitute racial bias.''

Nickerson, who held an extraordinary two-day public hearing in January during which he interviewed a dozen jurors about several allegations of racial bias, said he did believe the other claims. He said three jurors who complained of bias after the verdict had faulty memory or hidden agendas and might have been swayed by widespread news reports about the case.

Robert A. George, the Boston lawyer who defended McCowen and filed the motion for a new, promptly condemned the ruling and vowed to appeal it to the state Supreme Judicial Court and, if necessary, the US District Court in Boston.

"I am not surprised that the court that oversaw the conduct of this case has endorsed the behavior of the offending jurors,'' he said. "The opinion picks and chooses who the court believes, disbelieves, and who it's going to cast aspersions on and who it's going to endorse as outstanding citizens.''

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe, who had contended that the phrase "big black man'' was merely a casual description, praised Nickerson for a "very thoughtful and comprehensive opinion which, in my view, is entirely consistent with the evidence.''

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