A prosecutor did not unfairly sway a jury by calling the defendant a “green-eyed monster” during a 2016 murder trial, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously ruled Thursday.
Justin Pillsbury, 42, of Augusta was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the Nov. 15, 2013, fatal stabbing of his girlfriend, Jillian Jones, 24, in the apartment they shared. The prosecution maintained he repeatedly stabbed Jones after he learned she’d been talking on the phone with another man. Pillsbury testified that he acted in self-defense.
Attorney Caleb Gannon of Augusta, argued that Assistant Attorney General Donald Macomber’s reference to a “green-eyed monster” that was “uncaged,” in his opening statement on March 14, 2016 prejudiced the jury and amounted to prosecutorial misconduct.
“On its face, that panders to any prejudice or bias jurors may have,” Gannon said. “It says to the jury: ‘This guy’s a monster. Lock him up.’”
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Gannon argued that using the reference from William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello,” “could only serve to inflame the passion and bias of the jury” because the play is about an African man who kills his white wife, and Pillsbury is an African-American who was charged with slaying a white woman.
Justices, who heard oral arguments in Pillsbury’s appeal last month, rejected that argument.
“A prosecutor may use ‘wit, satire, invective and imaginative illustration in arguing the state’s case,’ and may present an analysis of the evidence in opening or closing statements ‘with vigor and zeal’ as long as those statements do not invite the jury to make its decision based on something other than the evidence,” Justice Donald Alexander said in the ruling, quoting a 1955 decision. “No such invitation was made here, and the interests of justice do not require us to vacate Pillsbury’s conviction, especially given the substantial evidence against him that was presented to the jury.”
The justices also rejected Gannon’s argument that evidence of alleged prior fights with Jones should not have been admitted. Gannon criticized that decision.
“It is unfortunate that the law court has continued to affirm a line of cases which allow the state to use old, and in our view, unreliable, information to prejudice the jury against citizens facing trial,” Smith said Thursday in an email.
Macomber praised the court’s decision, adding that “our hearts go out to the family of Jillian Jones. There is never an excuse for domestic violence.”
Pillsbury is incarcerated at the Maine State Prison in Warren. His earliest possible release date is June 2059.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TRS 800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.