Colin Ferguson

For the Canadian actor, see Colin Ferguson (actor)

Colin Ferguson (born January 14, 1958, Kingston, Jamaica) was convicted of murdering six people and injuring nineteen others on the Long Island Rail Road in Nassau County, New York on December 7, 1993. As the train pulled into the Merillon Avenue Station, Ferguson pulled out his gun and started firing at white passengers. Ferguson's trial was notable for a number of unusual developments, including his firing of his defense counsel and insisting on representing himself and examining himself as a live witness. Image File history File links ColinFerguson. ... Image File history File links ColinFerguson. ... Colin Ferguson is a Canadian actor. ... January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The location of Kingston Kingston (population 652,000) is the capital of Jamaica. ... The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR (often referred to as the L-I-double-R) is a railroad that serves the length of Long Island, New York. ... Nassau County is a suburban county in the New York Metropolitan Area east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... In most litigation under the common law adversarial system the defendant, perhaps with the assistance of counsel, may allege or present defenses (or defences) in order to avoid liability, civil or criminal. ... English barrister 16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. ... This article is about witnesses in law courts. ...

Trial

Ferguson's defense team had proposed an innovative defense that he had been driven to temporary insanity by black rage, and that he should not be held criminally liable, even though he had committed the killings. However, Ferguson insisted that he had not committed the shootings and chose to represent himself. Ferguson's attorney was quoted in the Associated Press (August 12, 1994) as saying, Innovative defenses (the invention of which is sometimes called creative lawyering) are relatively new and untried defenses for having committed a criminal act. ... In a criminal trial, the insanity defenses are possible defenses by excuse, via which defendants may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were mentally ill at the time of their allegedly criminal actions. ... In the USA, Black rage refers to the innovative defense proposed, but not used, for the Colin Ferguson mass murder trial. ... For other uses, see Crime (disambiguation). ... In the most general sense, a liability is anything that is a hindrance, or puts one at a disadvantage. ... English barrister 16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. ... Associated Press logo Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...

"Without a psychiatric defense, Ferguson has no defense. There was no doubt that he was there, that he fired the weapon, that he would have fired it more if he had not been wrestled to the ground. There is no doubt that Colin Ferguson, if sane, was guilty."

Before the trial, William M. Kunstler and Ronald L. Kuby attempted to argue that Ferguson was driven to mental illness through years of living in an oppressive and racist society. They argued that Ferguson's insistence on representing himself and not pleading insanity demonstrated his psychological incompetence to stand trial. This position was rejected by the presiding judge Donald E. Belfi. Ferguson was found competent to stand trial at the Nassau County Court, and allowed to represent himself. Psychiatry is a medical speciality whose primary goal is to improve peoples mental well-being. ... William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 - September 4, 1995) was a U.S. lawyer and civil rights activist. ... Ronald L. Kuby is a renowned criminal defense and civil rights attorney. ... Mental illness (or emotional disability, cognitive dysfunction) is a broad generic label for a category of illnesses that may include affective or emotional instability, behavioral dysregulation, and/or cognitive dysfunction or impairment. ... An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water cooler at a racially segregated street car terminal in the United States in 1939. ... Human relationships within an ethnically diverse society. ... In a criminal trial, the insanity defenses are possible defenses by excuse, via which defendants may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were mentally ill at the time of their allegedly criminal actions. ... Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind, brain and behaviour. ... Donald E. Belfi is a graduate of Georgetown University (1957) and Fordham University School of Law (1960). ... Nassau County is a suburban county in the New York Metropolitan Area east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York. ...

Ferguson's trial proved to be bizarre as he would be cross examining the police that arrested him and victims he shot. It was broadcast live by local media and Court TV, but was constantly overshadowed by the O.J. Simpson trial going on simotaneously on the west coast.

Ferguson argued that the 93 counts he was charged with were related to the year 1993, and had it been 1925 he would've been charged with only 25 counts. In an ironic twist, he may have actually been correct, although not due to any consipacy against him. Due to the varying degrees of murder and attempted murder on the books in 1993, by pure coincidence, he faced 93 counts for the 25 people he shot (six died and 19 survived). Since jurors had to choose which degree of murder and attempted murder he committed, he could not be convicted of all 93 counts. In 1925, without those laws on the books, he would've simply been charged with shooting 25 people, (six murders and 19 attempted murders). He admitted bringing the gun onto the train, but claimed that he fell asleep, and another man grabbed his gun and began firing. He also accused a mysterious man named Mr. Su had infomation on a consipracy against him. He also found another man who was willing to testify that the government implanted a computer chip in Ferguson's brain, but at the last minute decided not to call him to the stand. His cross examination questions mostly started with "Is it your testimony"... and would simply force the witness to repeat testimony already given. When a witness either refused to answer to question to his satisfaction he would often ask the judge to "admonish the witness to answer the question". Reporters described these moments of Ferguson's defense as "bizarre" and "surreal"^{[citation needed]}. Legal experts pointed out that Ferguson's questions were pointless are were not geared towards rebutting testimony. By not recognizing when to object to testimony and closing arguements, he would lose his right to appeal on those grounds. Among the defense witnesses Ferguson requested was President Bill Clinton. After his conviction, he was put in the unenviable position to argue in appealate briefs that he had imcompetent counsel (himself). 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Order: 42nd President Vice President: Al Gore Term of office: January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 Preceded by: George H. W. Bush Succeeded by: George W. Bush Date of birth: August 19, 1946 Place of birth: Hope, Arkansas First Lady: Hillary Rodham Clinton Political party: Democratic William Jefferson Clinton (born...

Ferguson was convicted on February 17, 1995 of murder for the death of the six passengers who died of their injuries (Denis McCarthy, James Gorycki, Amy LoCicero, Theresa Magtoto, Richard Nettleton and Mikyung Kim) and additional charges for the nineteen who were wounded during the mass murder. He received six consecutive life imprisonment life sentences, along with the judge's promise that "Colin Ferguson will never return to society, and will spend the rest of his natural life in prison." At the sentencing, Judge Donald E. Belfi called Ferguson a "selfish, self-righteous coward." February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article deals with mass killings which are not considered genocide. ... Life imprisonment is a term used for a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment. ... Life imprisonment is a term used for a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment. ... Donald E. Belfi is a graduate of Georgetown University (1957) and Fordham University School of Law (1960). ...

Ferguson is currently serving his sentence at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York. The Attica Correctional Facility is one of the most well known prisons in the United States, second possibly to Alcatraz. ...

Aftermath

Carolyn McCarthy, whose husband Denis McCarthy was killed by Ferguson, and whose son, Kevin McCarthy, was severely injured, was subsequently elected to the United States Congress on a platform of gun control. She was motivated to run for Congress after the representative in her district Dan Frisa voted against an assault weapons bill. She had huge name recognition and was able to overcome the stigma of being a "one issue candidate" in part due to Fris's uninspired campiegn which consisted almost exclusively of bulk mailings to his district. Some of Ferguson's other victims and their family members have also become involved in gun control efforts. Carolyn McCarthy Carolyn McCarthy (born January 5, 1944), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing the Fourth Congressional District of New York (map), since 1997. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Gun politics. ... Daniel Frisa was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1997. ...

Gun rights advocates frequently cite the Ferguson attack on the commuter train as an example of the danger of disarming the population, arguing that Ferguson was able to shoot as many victims as he did because no other person on the train was able to return fire.

Most of the regular commuters who used the 5:33 Hicksville Local returned to the train the day after the shootings. Interviewed by the media, a number cited the need to face their fears and the trauma created by the crimes rather than avoid riding their regular train. Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event. ...

The railroad did not discontinue the scheduled train or alter its schedule after the shootings, and the 5:33 Hicksville Local continues to operate as of April 2006. The car (M3 9891) in which the shootings occurred was refurbished, but was renumbered (to 9945) along with its mate (9946). The M1 and M3 are two identical series of electric multiple unit rail cars made by the Budd Company for the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro North Railroad and the latters predecessors, Penn Central (which also operated the LIRR) and Conrail. ...

Ferguson was the subject of a Saturday Night Live comedy sketch where he, portrayed by Tim Meadows, declared "I did not shoot them, they shot me" and asked witnesses questions about shooting him while they were on the stand. It has been suggested that Operaman be merged into this article or section. ... Tim Meadows (born February 5, 1961 in Highland Park, Michigan) is an American actor. ...

During the 1993 summer excursion season the LIRR presented a dinner theater mystery, Murder on the Montauk Express, on its premier Friday evening train to the resorts of the Hamptons and Montauk. The play was not renewed after the Ferguson murders. Dinner theater is an entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play. ... Mystery fiction is a distinct subgenre of detective fiction that entails the occurrence of an unknown event which requires the protagonist to make known (or solve). ... Resorts combine a hotel and a variety of recreations, such as swimming pools A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation. ... The Hamptons, shown highlighted The Hamptons refers to a number of places near the East End of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York that is a well-known summer colony. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Quotes

• "I hope somewhere down the road I will be forgotten...that I will just be able to live the life I had before, a quiet life unknown to the world." -- Colin Ferguson, after his conviction