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No prison, but deportation ahead for man convicted in 1979 Dorchester slaying

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 25, 2009 02:19 PM

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A Suffolk Superior Court judge today sentenced a man who shot another man to death in Dorchester 30 years ago to the years he had already served in jail, but the man will now be turned over to immigration officials, who plan to deport him to his native Jamaica.

Richard Franklin, 47, formerly of Brockton, was convicted Tuesday of manslaughter in the slaying of Gregory McDavid on Greenbrier Street on May 13, 1979. The case was unsolved until Franklin confessed in 1995. He was jailed but wasn’t tried until this year because he wasn't competent to stand trial.

Judge Judith Fabricant sentenced him today to 15 to 20 years in prison on the manslaughter charge and another year for a gun charge, but said he had already served his sentence. Franklin didn't walk free, however, because US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had lodged a warrant seeking his detention.

Defense attorney James Coviello said his client was mentally ill, a paranoid schizophrenic who had gotten his condition under control with treatment and new medication in the past three to four years. He said deportation was the "worst possible outcome" because his client will have to return to a country where he hasn’t been for years and won't be able to get treatment there.

Dawn McDavid-Bauman, McDavid's daughter, spoke of the family's loss in a victim impact statement.

"You changed us, Mr. Franklin. You robbed us of our innocence, you robbed us of our peace of mind, but most importantly, you robbed us of our father," she said.

After the hearing was over, Franklin's two brothers embraced McDavid-Bauman. "All I can say is, I'm very sorry for Mrs. McDavid-Bauman's loss and that, you know, I don't know what to say," said Vernel Williams, one of Franklin's brothers.