SPRINGFIELD - A Hampden Superior Court jury deliberated six hours before finding Edward B. Fleury innocent of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself at a machine gun expo in Westfield organized by the former Pelham police chief.



Fleury could have faced up to 20 years in prison on the manslaughter charge if convicted.



"I want to thank God for giving me my life back," Fleury said outside the courtroom after the verdict.



Fleury, 53, was found innocent of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of furnishing a machine gun to a minor in the Oct. 26, 2008, death of Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., at a gun show at the Westfield Sportsman's Club.



After the verdict Fleury, flanked by his lawyer Rosemary Curran Scapicchio, spoke to a large contingent of media that has followed the two-week trial, which has received national coverage. He said he will never be involved in a machine gun show again.



Fleury also expressed sympathy for the Bizilj family.



Christopher's mother, relatives and friends have been in court each day of the trial and quickly left after the verdict was read to go into the Hampden district attorney's office with victim witness advocates. Christopher's father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, now divorced from the child's mother, testified during the trial last week, and was not present Friday as the verdict was read.



Fleury was charged with involuntary manslaughter by wanton and reckless conduct. Fleury owned the company that organized and ran the event, which was co-sponsored by the club.

More on the trial

Christopher died after accidentally shooting himself in the head with a Micro Uzi machine gun while he was being supervised by a 15-year-old who did not have a machine gun license and was not a certified instructor.



After the verdict, special prosecutor William M. Bennett said, "I still think it was important that we brought the charge. At the very least, we shut down machine gun shows. Although I am disappointed in the verdict, I would certainly do it again."



The maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter is 20 years in state prison. The maximum penalty for furnishing a machine gun to a minor is 10 years. If convicted, Fleury could have faced a sentence as minor as probation or as great as 20 years on the manslaughter charge.



Also charged with involuntary manslaughter in the boy's death are two Connecticut men, Domenico Spano, of New Milford, and Carl Guiffre, of Hartford. The two men were subcontracted by Fleury to bring the automatic weapons used at the gun show.



Their separate trials are set to follow Fleury's trial. They are not charged with furnishing machine guns.



During the trial Scapicchio argued Fleury should not be made a scapegoat for actions of others, such as Spano and Guiffre. She argued that Charles Bizilj signed a waiver for Christopher, and his older brother, Colin, 11, to shoot the weapons that day, so he should bear some responsibility.



Bennett argued it was Fleury, who he termed the man in control of the whole event, who should be held responsible.



Bennett said after the verdict that he accepted the jury's decision, and realizes that public sentiment found Charles Bizilj at fault. Bennett, who was district attorney at the time of the shooting and chose not to seek criminal charges against Charles Bizilj, said he felt that Christopher's father had suffered enough.



He plans to continue prosecution of Spano and Guiffre.



Last year, the Sportsman's Club settled criminal allegations by agreeing to pay a $1,000 fine and donate $10,000 to children's charities.

Staff reporter Jack Flynn contributed to this story