Boy Scout's Family Outraged After Sentencing Delay In Deadly Drunk Driving Crash: 'Let Andrew Rest In Peace'
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Sentencing was abruptly postponed Wednesday for a man convicted of driving drunk and killing a 12-year-old Boy Scout on Long Island.
As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported, it was a startling turn of events, filled with passion and tears, amid allegations of juror misconduct and possible new evidence. Was it a delay tactic by the defense?
"I have nothing else left. This is completely outrageous, and to put a victim's family through this is unconscionable," the victim's mother, Alisa McMorris, said outside the courthouse.
"This is justice delayed and it's being delayed by a defense that continued to play their games for almost two years to keep this man out of jail," McMorris family civil attorney Chris McGrath added.
It was a crushing blow for the parents of Boy Scout Andrew McMorris. They expected to finally close a chapter and begin healing.
"It has been 700 days since Andrew passed, and we still can't get justice," said Andrew's father, John McMorris. "This is cruel and unusual and despicable what they're doing to us."
Defendant Thomas Murphy was found guilty in December of multiple charges.
Prosecutors said he spent hours at a golf course drinking vodka before getting into his car and swerving into McMorris and Boy Scout Troop 161 as they hiked along a Manorville road.
Murphy's defense attorney now claims two witnesses have come forward claiming the Scouts were walking haphazardly, and that four of the jurors signed affidavits claiming other jurors were discussing the case among themselves multiple times daily.
There are allegations that two jurors and two alternates talked about the case prior to deliberations, read newspaper accounts, and overheard the victim's family's private conversations.
"So if the judge hears the evidence the way I think it's going to come out, I believe the judge will grant my motion to set aside the verdict, and then hopefully Tom can get a fair trial," defense attorney Steven Politi said.
"It's mean, it's just mean. Take your sentence," said Alisa McMorris. "Give some honor back to your family. Let Andrew rest in peace."
Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini agreed to a new hearing on possible new evidence for Sept. 16, but prosecutors believe in the verdict and, ultimately, the maximum sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
"We are confident that the motion will be denied and the defendant will be sentenced. We will be seeking the maximum sentence," Sini said.
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