I write in response to a writer’s letter (“Disturbed by Rintala case after ‘Dateline’ report,” July 17) questioning the integrity of Cara Rintala’s first-degree murder conviction for strangling her wife, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, in their Granby home in March 2010.
Before directly addressing the writer’s criticisms, it’s worth noting that her position is apparently based upon watching just a portion of the recently-aired “Dateline NBC” episode, which itself was a highly condensed summary of the 6½ years of painstaking investigation and hard-fought litigation that went into this case. Notwithstanding this limited understanding of the case, she believes she “saw enough” of the “Dateline NBC” episode to confidently declare that Cara Rintala was “wrongfully convicted” based upon a biased and incompetent investigation.
In contrast to the writer, 16 men and women chosen from our community, who collectively formed a jury of Rintala’s peers, spent more than a month away from their families and occupations listening to the entirety of the evidence gathered in this case. They heard the great lengths to which our local and state police went in ruling out any other potential suspects, and how the evidence established that Rintala was the only person with the means, the motive and the opportunity to commit this crime. The 12 jurors who ultimately decided the case deliberated for nearly 40 hours before finding Rintala guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, despite the formidable and tenacious defense mounted on her behalf by one of the most highly regarded and skilled attorneys in the region.
By no means was this prosecution a “win-at-all-costs” affair. There were two guiding principles behind the countless hours devoted to this case: follow the evidence (wherever it may lead) and seek justice. For as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has often stated, “The duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict.” Similarly, District Attorney David Sullivan’s guiding principle literally hangs on his office wall for anyone to read: “Do the right thing.”
Although the path to justice in this case may have been long and tortuous, justice was finally achieved. But more importantly, it was achieved the right way, and for the right reasons.
Steven Gagne
Northampton
The writer is first assistant Northwestern district attorney.