other similar venues for mass transit. The murders also led
to a highly publicized and uncanny trial in which Ferguson
insisted on representing himself.
On the early evening of December 7, 1993, a com-
muter train left New York’s Penn Station for
Hicksville, New York. While the train was pulling
into a neighboring station, Colin Ferguson, an Afri-
can American man, calmly stood up and began to
walk down the aisle, methodically shooting the pas-
sengers whom he passed, killing six people and in-
juring nineteen. As he stopped to reload his 9 milli-
meter pistol, he was overtaken by three of the train’s
passengers.
At the scene, police found several more ammuni-
tion clips with nearly one hundred rounds. They
also found notes on Ferguson that suggested that his
motive for the murders was a perception of racism
that had been directed toward him. He also stated in
the note that he had not undertaken the attacks
in New York City and had chosen Nassau County
instead out of respect for then governor David
Dinkins, New York’s first African American mayor.
During pretrial arguments, Ferguson’s attorneys
contended that he was insane and thus could not be
held criminally liable. Ferguson rejected this idea,
however, and opted to maintain his innocence and
represent himself at trial. This resulted in a highly
unusual trial whereby Ferguson cross-examined the
victims whom he was accused of shooting. A number
of legal analysts have contended that Ferguson’s
strange behavior in bringing up conspiracies dem-
onstrated a lack of competency that would be neces-
sary to represent himself at trial. Accordingly, Fergu-
son’s defense was of very little legal value, and he
diminished his ability to bring up issues on ap-
peal. He was found guilty and received six consecu-
tive life sentences amounting to about two hundred
years.
Impact The Ferguson mass murders had several
immediate impacts on policy in and around New
York and the United States as a whole. For instance,
the concept of “black rage” was brought to the fore-
front as a legal defense, with the idea that such rage
could result from mental illness caused by living in a
racially oppressive society. A debate also centered on
increasing security on trains and subway systems,
yet the expense to provide legitimate protection
against guns and other weapons in such venues of
mass transportation proved economically unrealis-
tic. Finally, a gun debate ensued following the mur-
ders, with much pressure placed on Congress to pass
gun control legislation.Further Reading
Bardwell, Mark C., and Bruce A. Arrigo.Criminal
Competency on Trial: The Case of Colin Ferguson. Dur-
ham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2002.
Fox, James Alan, and Jack Levin.Extreme Killing: Un-
derstanding Serial and Mass Murder. Thousand
Oaks, Calif.: Sage, 2005.
Seidemann, Joel J.In the Interest of Justice: Great Open-
ings and Closing Arguments of the Last One Hundred
Years. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
Brion SeverSee also African Americans; Crime; Dahmer,
Jeffrey; Dinkins, David; Gun control; Hate crimes;
Race relations; Reséndiz, Ángel Maturino.The Nineties in America Ferguson, Colin 329
Convicted gunman Colin Ferguson is led from the Nassau County
Courthouse in Mineola, New York, after he received six consecutive
life sentences on March 22, 1995. (AP/Wide World Photos)