The Law: Justice in New Haven

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Through it all, the jurors remained calm and open-minded, particularly toward McLucas' own testimony. One juror told a reporter for the Hartford Courant: "It was McLucas' testimony that freed him, not his defense. He was a gentle man. He was as honest as the FBI and the New Haven police." During the long deliberations, what many had believed to be a small minority holding out for leniency turned out to have been the majority. Judge Mulvey's "dynamite charge" to the jurors after their fifth day of indecision, requesting the minority to reconsider the equally thoughtful views of the majority, was, according to one, the straw "that broke the camel's back."

For McLucas, 24, whose conviction will now be appealed, the judicial system worked as it should have. It treated him as an individual rather than a symbol of a radical movement. But the jury's verdict did not resolve some issues. Who was ultimately responsible for killing Alex Rackley? Was the Panther hierarchy culpable? State Prosecutor Arnold Markle has his own plans to find out. Seven more Panthers, including Party Chairman Bobby Scale, still await trial in the case.