Offline
12-15-2015 The jury sent a note to the judge stating they were deadlocked? The judge had the jury charge read to
them again and sent them back to the jury room. They called it a night at 1730 and will be back this morning @ 0830 to try again.
Freddie Gray Trial VERDICT WATCH: Jury Reports It Is Hung
Jury tells Judge Williams they cannot arrive at a verdict;
Judge sends them back to try again.
UPDATE (5:37PM, 12/15/15): That’s it for today, folks. No verdict, and jury sent home for the night. Deliberations start up again in the morning.
UPDATE (4:01PM, 12/15/15): In a shocking statement, trial Judge William Barry told the hung jury to “Compromise if you can do so without violence to your own moral judgement,” according to reporting by ABC News.
Such a statement coming from a trial judge is shocking because “compromise verdicts” in criminal cases are anathema to American concepts of jurisprudence and due process.Each juror is sworn to vote for a guilty verdict on a charge only if they honestly believe that each and every element of that charge has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
If they do not so honestly believe this to be the case for a given charge, they are sworn to vote not guilty on that charge. Period.This lies at the core of the legal mandate that the defendant has the presumption of innocence.There is no proper room for compromise in such a judicial framework.While it is true that criminal trial jurors do from time to time arrive at so-called compromise verdicts, such instances are considered defects in the judicial system, not legitimate outcomes.If ever there were grounds for reversal of any conviction, this is it.
Offline
Mistrial declared.
Let's home the peace remains in Baltimore this evening.
Offline
It is very difficult to win a conviction against a police officer.
I always thought that more attention should have been given to the driver's behavior. I think his trial comes up in January.
Offline
It was great to get up this morning and discover Baltimore was not burning.
Offline
I second that flowergirl, there were protests that were uneventful!
Good to see people vent with no destruction! There will be many more before all the trials are concluded.
Offline
Porter retrial scheduled for June 13; Goodson's trial unchanged, to begin Jan. 6
Last edited by Common Sense (12/23/2015 12:22 pm)