Newspaper Article

A DAY OF TEARS AND ANGER IN R.I. COURT ; FAMILIES ASSAIL JUDGE AT STATION FIRE SENTENCING

Jonathan Saltzman and Megan Tench, GLOBE STAFF

2006

Overview

Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. imposed the sentences on brothers [Michael Derderian] and Jeffrey Derderian, as part of a controversial plea bargain. More than two- dozen relatives of those killed assailed the sentences in court as insults to the memories of their loved ones and to the criminal justice system. At the start of the proceedings, Darigan had specified that comments be limited to how the deaths of loved ones had changed the witnesses' lives. All comments were to be addressed to him, not to the defendants. And he prohibited criticism of the Derderians or the way the plea deal was fashioned. \"This isn't a public hearing; this isn't a rally,\" he told one witness whom he cut off. Darigan said he had seen \"horrifying and gruesome\" photographs of victims and an \"extremely disturbing\" 20-minute video tape from the night of the fire that could further traumatize the public. Other factors he cited were uncertain prospects for convictions, the Derderians' clean criminal records, and the difficulty of selecting an impartial jury in a state where most people know someone touched by the disaster.

• Publisher: Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC
• Subject: Court hearings & proceedings / Criminal sentences / Derderian, Jeffrey / Derderian, Michael / Families & family life / Fires / Victims of crime