Au Pair Murder Case Plays Role in Defeating Death Penalty Bill

A Massachusetts capital punishment bill spurred by a series of grisly slayings fell one vote short when a Democrat switched his vote, in part because he felt a jury erred in convicting British au pair Louise Woodward.

“I don’t want to be the one lying in bed some night wondering if the wrong person is being put to death,” said state Rep. John Slattery.

“What happens to these people that we’re not sure?” he asked. “What happens to the Louise Woodwards of the world?”

He said his Thursday decision came after long talks with people in his district, respected judges, lawyers and even a neighbor.

Slattery, a second-term representative who previously supported the death penalty, turned an 81-79 vote into an 80-80 tie, blocking one of America’s most liberal states from joining 38 others that endorse capital punishment for murder.

The change of heart prompted police officers to stand guard outside Slattery’s Peabody house in case of a backlash.

Conservative talk show hosts immediately took to the airwaves to rip his flip-flop. Howie Carr, a columnist at the Boston Herald and a radio host, gave listeners Slattery’s home phone number.

Woodward was convicted of second-degree murder last week for fatally shaking and slamming a baby in her care. Judge Hiller Zobel could decide as early as Monday whether to uphold the verdict.

A wave of public outrage over particularly horrific crimes had fueled the latest push for the death penalty bill.

The most prominent case was that of a 10-year-old Cambridge boy who was lured into a car with the promise of a new bike. He was smothered with a gasoline-soaked rag, and his body was stuffed in a concrete-filled container and dumped in a river.