Dead man summoned for jury duty for 5 years

GEORGETOWN, Mass. - A Massachusetts man facing a criminal complaint for failing to appear for jury duty apparently had a good excuse.

He's been dead for five years.

State Deputy Jury Commissioner John Cavanaugh said last week that the state will not proceed with serving a criminal complaint against Michael Wylie, the North Andover, Mass., Eagle-Tribune reports.

The late Georgetown resident was issued a notice to serve on jury duty five years ago but at the time he was in hospice care and had terminal cancer. He died a few months later but the commission continued to send letters about his failure to report.

Wylie's family says they tried to tell authorities that he had died but officials say the family never sent a death certificate.