Teacher’s family says “evil” Philip Chism can’t be rehabilitated amid appeal for new murder trial
By Neal Riley
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BOSTON (WBZ) — The family of Colleen Ritzer is speaking out as her convicted killer appeals his case to the highest court in Massachusetts. Philip Chism, who was found guilty of rape and first-degree murder in the killing of the 24-year-old Danvers High School math teacher in 2013, is asking the Supreme Judicial Court to vacate his murder conviction and order a new trial.
Chism was 14 years old when investigators said he raped and killed Ritzer in a school bathroom before dumping her body in a recycling barrel and taking it to the woods. His attorney Michael Schneider told the high court Wednesday that “there was no question that the defendant was the one that killed the victim.”
“What occurred was obviously a senseless and horrific act,” Schneider said, before making his case to the justices that there is a question about whether Chism “was able to mount a full and fair insanity defense.”
The defense argues that evidence leading to the rape and robbery convictions were “legally insufficient,” and that the judge in the case was wrong to exclude expert testimony on brain scans that would’ve shown that Chism was suffering from mental illness.
Ritzer’s family issued a statement on Wednesday, saying they will continue to fight Chism’s appeals.
“It is clear and agreed to by a trial and jury of his peers that the convict’s actions were premeditated, calculated, and committed of pure evil based upon overwhelming evidence,” they said. “Without any admission of remorse, this evil individual cannot be rehabilitated.”
The family said it is “unthinkable” that Chism could be eligible for parole at 39 years old if his sentence is reduced.
“Colleen and our family will not be afforded a second chance. If we live in a just society, neither should he,” they said. “That we, her family, and friends must even consider the possibility of reducing this convicted murderer’s sentence is unbelievable.”
Chism was in court earlier this year to change his plea to guilty for an attack on a female detention center worker a year after Ritzer’s murder. The victim in that case called Chism “a monster” who intended to kill her. A judge sentenced him to 17 to 20 years in state prison in a sentence that would run concurrent with his punishment for Ritzer’s murder.
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