Philip Chism, who is 24 years old at present, is incarcerated at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley on a 40-year to life sentence in connection with the rape, robbery, and murder of Ritzer, a resident of Andover.
Ritzer, a mathematics instructor, was brutally assassinated in a restroom at Danvers High School on October 22, 2013. She was a second-year educator and 24 years old at the time.
Chism was fourteen years old and a freshman in Ritzer’s mathematics course at the time.
Advocates Michael Schneider and Benjamin Brooks petition the state supreme court to mandate that judges, upon petition, permit juries to consider the latest theories concerning the maturation of the adolescent brain to ascertain whether a juvenile defendant was afflicted with a mental defect or illness.
The attorneys argue that by denying the jurors this option, they were unable to give Chism’s claim of insanity even a passing consideration, thus violating his right to due process and swaying the jury against him.
The attorneys involved in this case were required to seek authorization from the SJC before submitting their incredibly lengthy brief.
Furthermore, the official appeal filed by Chism’s attorneys was postponed until 2021, in part due to the protracted process of obtaining and reviewing transcripts about the pretrial motions, trial, and sentencing.
The SJC has granted the Essex District Attorney’s office until the conclusion of May to present its brief regarding this issue. After the Chism team has submitted the brief, they may then attempt to respond to it.
As soon as every brief has been submitted, the court will arrange an argument in the case.
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