Edward Constant II

Edward Constant II (born 1942/43) is a former Professor of History at Carnegie Mellon University, and convicted of aggravated assault and attempted homicide.

He earned his doctorate from Northwestern University in 1977, and since 1976 had been a member of the Carnegie Mellon history department. He was noted for his publications on the evolution and impact of technology. In 1982 he was awarded the Dexter Prize of the Society for the History of Technology for his book titled, "The Origins of the Turbojet Revolution".

In 2004 was convicted by an Allegheny County jury trial of attempted homicide and aggravated assault. On May 26, 2002, a police officer came to the Constants' home on a domestic disturbance call. The officer was shot in the chest by a .44 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, but survived the attack because he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. Constant's attorney used the defense that the professor and his wife were drunk when he committed the shooting. He was sentenced to 14½ to 29 years in jail. At the time of his sentence, Constant was 61 years old, and described as being in failing health.

While on bail in 2003, Constant was involved in a car accident with a van transporting children for the Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind.

The first trial was overturned after a juror came forward to report that Judge David Cashman's tipstaff, Mary Feeney, made inappropriate comments that could have swayed the panel. At a hearing before the administrative judge 10 jurors confirmed this and the administrative judge ordered a new trial for Constant in July 2004.

Bibliography

* "The Evolution of War and Technology"
* "The Origins of the Turbojet Revolution", Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976.
* "Reliable Knowledge and Unreliable Stuff: On the Practical Role of Rational Beliefs", "Technology and Culture" 40, 2000.
* "The Cult of Mer: or Why There Is a Collective in Your Consciousness", "Business and Economic History", 22, 1993.

External links

* [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04094/295568.stm Ex-professor guilty of shooting at Mt. Lebanon police]

* [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04203/349408.stm Tipstaff's error leads to new trial]

* [http://kdka.com/local/local_story_101180539.html Driver Out on Bail at time of Crash (KDKA)]