The Jury is Deadlocked in the Daniel Penny Soros Prosecution

Deadlocked.

UPDATE: Jurors are instructed to continue deliberating under an Allen charge, after the defense asked for a mistrial, saying such would be "coercive." The judge disagreed, sending the jury back to deliberations. Advertisement

Afterward, another note came in. Jurors are seeking clarification in determining whether a person reasonably believes physical force is necessary: "We'd like to better understand the term 'reasonable person.' Can the judge elaborate?"

"Ultimately, what a reasonable person is is up to you to decide," the judge told jurors. He suggested a two-part test: Did Penny actually believe Neely would use deadly force? Would a reasonable person in Penny's position have the same beliefs?

***Original story***

Jurors are deadlocked in Daniel Penny's trial over the death of Jordan Neely.

Following days of deliberation since they started debating the case Tuesday afternoon, the jury told the judge presiding over the proceedings that they're struggling to come to an agreement on a verdict concerning the top charge of second-degree manslaughter.

As they were mulling over the former U.S. Marine's fate, the 12-person panel sent a note Friday morning saying they could not reach a consensus on whether or not to convict Penny of "recklessly" causing Neely's death.

"We the jury request instructions from Judge [Maxwell] Wiley. At this time, we are unable to come to a unanimous vote on Count 1 -- manslaughter in the second degree," read the note, sent around 11 a.m.

If the jury is unable to reach a decision, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley reportedly would be required to hand them what's known as an "Allen charge," i.e. instructions urging jurors to agree on a unanimous verdict.

The name is derived from an 1896 Supreme Court decision in Allen v. United States.

It's considered controversial, and critics warn that such instructions could push jurors to switch up under peer pressure.

"In this case, I think that they can't move on to Count 2 unless they find the defendant not guilty of Count 1," Wiley told both sides despite protests from the prosecution. "I have to at least try to ask the jury to find a verdict on Count 1."

The latest development on the fact-finding body being deadlocked heightens speculations that the trial will result in a hung jury, meaning a retrial.

...

Legal analyst Jonathan Turley noted that the question now is whether the judge will instruct the jury to consider the second charge of criminal negligence. Wiley did express doubt over whether, in the absence of a unanimous verdict on the manslaughter charge, he could tell them to move on to the criminally negligent charge.

Even if the jury rejected the top charge, the prosecution was hoping they'd compromise on the lower one. That could still be the case, depending on what the court instructs.

"Many of us cannot see how this case could have produced a conviction with the layers of reasonable doubt in the evidence," Turley tweeted. "The absence of clear causation makes a conviction difficult to justify in such a case."

Perfect.

Prepare for all white men to be "deadlocked" in their decision-making about intervening to save anyone else in NYC, forever.

Start carrying guns, lefties. Because you demanded that cops stop policing, and you want to hang civilians who step into the breach.

So you c*nts are on your own now.

posted by Ace at 02:00 PM

| Access Comments