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World watches Web for au pair decision

Woodward

Ruling on reducing murder verdict could come Monday

November 9, 1997
Web posted at: 6:50 p.m. EST (2350 GMT)

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (CNN) -- For English au pair Louise Woodward, for her supporters -- and for the parents of the 8-month-old baby she was convicted of murdering -- the latest wait for judgment begins in earnest Monday.

Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Hiller B. Zobel must decide whether to let her conviction by a jury for second-degree murder stand. He said last week that he would release his decision via the Internet -- and that it would come Monday or later.

Woodward, 19, who was in the United States working as an au pair for a Massachusetts family, was convicted of shaking to death a child in her care, Matthew Eappen, who died in February. Her case has drawn widespread media attention in both the United States and her native Britain, where there have been strong protestations of her innocence.

After her conviction, Woodward was sentenced to life in prison, which was mandatory under Massachusetts law. She would have to serve at least 15 years in prison before she would be eligible for parole.

vxtreme CNN's Gary Tuchman

But in court arguments last week, Woodward's attorneys asked Zobel to either overturn the verdict or reduce it to manslaughter, saying there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's murder verdict.

Because of the intense public interest in the case, the judge plans to issue his opinion by posting it on a Web site operated by the newspaper Lawyer's Weekly, as well as sending it to a number of major news organizations -- including CNN -- for posting on their Web sites.

Zobel is considering four options:

  • Let the verdict stand as is.

  • Reduce the verdict from second-degree murder to manslaughter, which would reduce the prison sentence.

  • Order a new trial.

  • Dismiss the charges entirely.

Regardless of what the judge decides, the defense can appeal to a higher court. If he reduces the jury's verdict, the prosecution, too, could ask an appeals court to review Zobel's action.

Elton verdict

The parents of Matthew Eappen say they want the verdict and sentence to stand as they were rendered by the jury that heard the evidence.

"I hope the judge stands by what the jury has decided," the father, Sunil Eappen, said in an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live." "I mean, that's the way our system is supposed to work."

Prosecutors, too, say Woodward had a fair trial and that the judge should not substitute his judgment for that of a jury. They say they might consider supporting a reduction in the charge if Woodward would admit some responsibility for Eappen's death. But the au pair continues to maintain that she did not inflict any injuries on the child.

In Woodward's native village of Elton, England, friends and supporters who have rallied around her are hoping for a different outcome. They have posted yellow ribbons in support of Woodward and have collected more than 250,000 pounds ($422,500) to help pay the family's expenses while they are in Cambridge fighting the charges.

"We are going to get her home because she doesn't belong in America, she didn't do anything wrong," said her mother, Sue Woodward, in an interview beamed back home by Britain's Sky TV.

Supporters in Elton plan to gather Monday at their unofficial headquarters, The Rigger pub, where computer equipment has been set up to instantly access Zobel's decision.

In another unusual twist to this case, Woodward's attorneys have challenged the prosecutors to publicly debate the evidence before an independent panel. Much of the evidence consisted of conflicting expert medical testimony about the child's injuries.

"Let that panel decide which side has presented junk science and which side has presented hard science," said defense attorney Harvey Silverglate.

Prosecutors, however, say both sides already had that debate -- in front of a jury that found Woodward guilty.

Correspondent Gary Tuchman contributed to this report.

 
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