Boston:
A judge ruled on Tuesday that jurors can be shown video of an 8-year-old boy accidentally shooting himself in the head with a submachine gun at a gun show, setting up an unusually grisly courtroom scene in the manslaughter trial of a former police chief who organized the event.
Judge Peter A. Velis of Hampden Superior Court in Springfield, Mass., is still deciding whether audio from after the shooting -- in which the boy can be heard screaming and his father praying -- will be played for the jury. The video will be played in its entirety, but little is visible after the boy, Christopher Bizilj of Manchester, Conn., shot himself.
Judge Velis said he must ensure that the chief, Edward Fleury, receives a fair trial. The video "would shock the conscience of any reasonable human being," Judge Velis said in court Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.
"The greatest risk in this case is invoking any sympathy," Judge Velis said.
Douglas L. Keene, a trial consultant in Austin, Tex., said more video -- including at times extremely graphic footage -- is bound to end up in courtrooms as cities install surveillance cameras and amateurs shoot video with cellphones.
"It obviously doesn't happen in your average case, but with the advancements in surveillance and technology it's inevitably going to be more common," Mr. Keene said. "Fortunately for justice these videos are available, and unfortunately for jurors they're going to have to weigh the importance of them as evidence."
Mr. Fleury, 53, was taken out of court by ambulance after the ruling Tuesday when he said he did not feel well, said Kevin Claffey, a first assistant clerk at the courthouse. Jury selection is expected to resume on Wednesday, Mr. Claffey said.
The authorities say that Christopher shot himself in the head while firing a 9-millimeter Micro Uzi at the October 2008 Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo in Westfield, Mass. He was accompanied by his father, an emergency room doctor.
William M. Bennett, the Hampden County district attorney, said the father had chosen the gun for his son to fire because it was smaller -- something that actually made it more dangerous and harder to control.
Under Massachusetts law, children under 18 can fire most guns with parental consent, but not machine guns. "There is no exception that would allow a machine gun to be furnished to an 8-year-old, with or without parental consent," Mr. Bennett said in 2008.
The gun show was co-sponsored by COP Firearms and Training, which was owned by Mr. Fleury, then also the police chief in Pelham, a western Massachusetts town about 30 miles from Westfield. He did not return to the department after being charged in December 2008.
Mr. Fleury is charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of furnishing a firearm to a minor. His lawyer did not return a phone call Tuesday. Two Connecticut men and the gun club were also charged in the case.