Interest Wanes in Pring-Wilson Trial

The second trial of the Harvard graduate student charged with manslaughter ended quietly in a mistrial last month, marking another turn in a case that now appears headed for a third trial. As the legal saga nears its fifth year, few professors and classmates of Alexander Pring-Wilson remain on campus—but those who knew him at the time recall an affable and intelligent student thrust into a tragic situation.

Pring-Wilson, now 29 years old, fatally stabbed 18-year-old Michael D. Colono outside of a Western Avenue pizzeria on April 12, 2003, in what he claimed was an act of self-defense. After being found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in October 2004, a second trial was granted when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that evidence about the victim’s violent past could be considered.

National media attention in the first trial focused on the class difference between Pring-Wilson and Colono, highlighting the contrast between Harvard’s student body and the residents of the surrounding town. Pring-Wilson was a graduate student at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, part of the Graduate School for Arts and Sciences, and had been accepted to law school in his native Colorado.

But while the first trial garnered much attention—including regular coverage from outlets including CourtTV and The New York Times—media coverage during the recent second trial was conspicuously absent. Even Pring-Wilson’s name recognition among members of the Harvard community—and even former professors and administrators around at the time—has faded substantially, according to more than a dozen interviews conducted by The Crimson over the past several weeks.

Those who did recall Pring-Wilson had fond memories of the Slavic studies grad student.

“He’s very intellectual, an unusually deep person for his age; he was reading a lot...and reflecting and thinking,” recalls Natalia Pokrovsky, a preceptor in Slavic Languages and Literatures, whose seminar Pring-Wilson took during the time of the stabbing. “I’ve been teaching at Harvard for 22 years by now...I really singled him out.”

‘A DISTANT BELL RINGING’

Despite the unusual nature of a Harvard student on trial for manslaughter connected with a murder, many professors contacted say there is little interest among the current Davis Center community in the trial.

Loren Graham, an associate at the Davis Center, says that he hasn’t followed the trial.

“Don’t know a thing about it,” Graham says. “I can hear a distant bell ringing, but it’s very distant.”

Marshall I. Goldman, a senior scholar at the Davis Center, was on the faculty at Wellesley College during the stabbing. He says that while he is following the trial, the portion of those still interested in the retrial is a “narrow subset” who are more closely linked to Pring-Wilson.

The assistant director of the Davis Center, Lisbeth L. Tarlow, says the short duration of the master’s program could explain why the trial is not more widely discussed. The master’s program takes two years to complete, enrolling about ten students per year for an interdisciplinary, individualized course of study, according to the Davis Center Web site.

Bob Mathers, who shared classes with Pring-Wilson as a student in Russian studies, says he was “naturally” shocked when he found out the news. But Mathers says that during recent reunions with former classmates, the topic hasn’t come up. He says the case did not affect his Harvard experience.

“To me, it seemed peripheral,” he said.

Timothy J. Colton, director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian studies, declined to comment on the case.

‘NOT A DERELICT’

Still, those who did know Pring-Wilson and who have followed the trial say that there remains continued interest in his well-being and high regard for his character.

Tarlow was at Harvard during the incident and says that she followed the first trial closely.

“Among we who administer the program, we certainly talk a lot about it and wish him the best,” Tarlow says. “He was a bright young man, we were so fond of him.”

And Pokrovsky, who taught Pring-Wilson, remains vested in the case. She recalls an “unusually deep” and “very mature young man” who enjoyed reading and reflecting.

“I hate to see this young man—talented, hardworking, with real values in life—ruined because of this,” she says.

Pokrovsky recalls a time when Pring-Wilson discussed in class his difficulty with watching coverage of the Iraq War. She says that he described himself as “so much against it,” and that he said he just couldn’t “watch this violence.”

“It was very emotional,” she adds.

Pokrovsky volunteered to be a character witness for both the first and second trials, but did not testify. She also has sustained personal contact with Pring-Wilson after the trial, she says.

An April 2003 Crimson article published just days after the incident quoted Stefani L. Bell, a classmate of Pring-Wilson, saying at the time that she couldn’t imagine him committing a violent act.

“When I think of Sander, the words that come to mind would be lighthearted and good natured,” Bell said at the time, referring to Pring-Wilson by a nickname. She said that other students in their 15-person master’s program were in “utter disbelief.”

“We indicated we’ve been willing to do anything to vouch for his character or do whatever is needed,” she was quoted as saying.

“This is not a derelict,” says Pokrovsky of Pring-Wilson. “He’s ready to take all the moral responsibility for taking somebody’s life. This is a punishment sufficient.”

—Staff writer Lingbo Li can be reached at lingboli@fas.harvard.edu.