Charlestown Man's First-Degree Murder Conviction Upheld

A man who murdered an off-duty corrections officer outside of a Charlestown bar in 2005 will not receive a new trial, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conely announced Friday.

On Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the first-degree murder conviction of Francis Lang, 41, in the stabbing death of 35-year-old Richard Dever.

“This was first-degree murder – nothing less,” Conley said. “The defendant received a fair trial with the benefit of experienced counsel and there was no legal or factual basis to disturb the jury’s verdict.”

In his appeal, Lang repeated many of the same claims he argued in two previous attempts for a new trial, both of which were denied by Superior Court judges.

The justices found that Lang’s right to a public trial was not violated when his sister and others were asked to step out of the courtroom in order to make room for prospective jurors during the jury selection process, Conley’s office announced. They likewise rejected Lang’s claim that his highly-experienced trial attorney was ineffective for failing to pursue an insanity defense.

According to Conley’s office, during a two-week trial in 2006, prosecutors presented evidence and testimony to prove that Lang had previously been banned from Sullivan’s when he appeared at the bar just 22 days after his release from federal prison in an unrelated case.

Devers, who was present at the bar, was among the patrons and employees who attempted to remove Lang from the establishment after he caused a disturbance and threw a beer can at several people inside. Once outside, the evidence showed, Lang fatally stabbed Devers four times in the chest and slashed his face.

We were extremely relieved to hear that this defendant’s conviction was affirmed,” Dever’s family said in a statement. “The SJC made the right decision.