In March of 2019, Mark Cardilli Jr. shot and killed Isahak Muse. The Somali community was upset it took almost one week for an arrest to be made. After a bench trial, Cardilli was found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting of his younger sister's boyfriend in their parents' home; and he was sentenced to 7.5 years on December 27, 2019.
State of Maine v. Mark Cardilli Jr.
But did Cardilli act in self-defense... afraid he and his family would be harmed by a man who was intoxicated, refusing to leave, and who was not supposed to be in the Cardilli home in the first place?
The presiding judge was Justice Nancy Mills, who is the governor's sister. Cardilli appealed, and after a post-conviction review, including testimony from experts on self-defense, Superior Court Justice John O'Neil ordered a new trial for Cardilli, who hadn't had effective counsel.
8-22-23 Order on Post-Conviction Review
However, the State of Maine appealed that decision to the Maine Supreme Court, which vacated the judgement!
4-11-24 Mark Cardilli Jr. v. State of Maine
You might recognize the name of one of Cardilli's attorneys: Sarah Churchhill. She was later appointed to be a judge in Androscoggin County Superior Court, and realeased a dangerous man on $1500 bail. He ended up in a stand off in Auburn on Father's Day weekend and was shot and killed. Two homes were burned and inside one, a body was found.
Governor Mills didn't agree with Churchhill's release of Leein Hinckley. From this Sun Journal story:
“In my view, given the severity of the charges, the defendant’s criminal history and the serious danger he posed, these important, competing interests were not properly balanced in this case,” Mills wrote.
The governor said the judge could've appointed an attorney to Leein Hinkley. Doesn't Governor Mills know there's a lack of attorney's in Maine? The ACLU filed a lawsuit 2.5 years ago against the MCILS (Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services):
Maine's attorney general, Aaron Frey, was added as a defendant, but recently dismissed from the lawsuit. However, the State of Maine was added as a defendant; so exactly what is going on? The name of the Commission has been changed to MCPDS (Maine Commission on Public Defense Services). Oh geez, I just looked at the list of the Commission members, and former members at their website...and one of them was Sarah Churchhill.
Maine Commission on Public Defense Services
