Mistrial: Jury Deadlocked
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams declared a mistrial Wednesday in the case of Baltimore police Officer William Porter after jurors said they were deadlocked.
Porter was one of six officers charged in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, who died after sustaining a neck injury while in police custody. Prosecutors have decided to retry the case, but we all can clearly see getting a conviction, will be an uphill battle.
It is rare that a police officer is charged in the death of a suspect. Many, who watched the case of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, quickly learned how infrequently a grand jury votes to indict members of law enforcement. The fact that six were indicted and set for trial in Baltimore was shocking. However, getting a conviction in all but the most exceptional cases is pretty tough.
Marilyn Mosby, the state’s attorney for Baltimore, had to understand the inherent difficulty of prosecuting members of law enforcement. But to our delight, she moved forward anyway. And in many ways, that was a huge victory in my opinion. Holding the officers accountable was what I asked for, now let the evidence speak and the jurors rule on it.
On the surface, yes, a deadlock jury is not good. But this is case one of six. We don't know what the jury is hung up on. Maybe they feel others were more cope-able than Porter. Who knows.
Officer Porter faced a slew of charges, including involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office. That's a lot in my opinion. So maybe the jury was split on what exactly he was guilty of. I don't know, but that seems plausible to me.
Either way, the Mosby clearly was unable to convince the entire jury that Porter was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, deadlock is where we are. Will a new jury be able to be unbiased in Baltimore City, especially given the fact that everyone knows what may happen if the Officers walk? I don't know. Either way, this is only step one in a long process and so far, its not looking good for the State's case.
Porter was one of six officers charged in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, who died after sustaining a neck injury while in police custody. Prosecutors have decided to retry the case, but we all can clearly see getting a conviction, will be an uphill battle.
It is rare that a police officer is charged in the death of a suspect. Many, who watched the case of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, quickly learned how infrequently a grand jury votes to indict members of law enforcement. The fact that six were indicted and set for trial in Baltimore was shocking. However, getting a conviction in all but the most exceptional cases is pretty tough.
Marilyn Mosby, the state’s attorney for Baltimore, had to understand the inherent difficulty of prosecuting members of law enforcement. But to our delight, she moved forward anyway. And in many ways, that was a huge victory in my opinion. Holding the officers accountable was what I asked for, now let the evidence speak and the jurors rule on it.
On the surface, yes, a deadlock jury is not good. But this is case one of six. We don't know what the jury is hung up on. Maybe they feel others were more cope-able than Porter. Who knows.
Officer Porter faced a slew of charges, including involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office. That's a lot in my opinion. So maybe the jury was split on what exactly he was guilty of. I don't know, but that seems plausible to me.
Either way, the Mosby clearly was unable to convince the entire jury that Porter was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, deadlock is where we are. Will a new jury be able to be unbiased in Baltimore City, especially given the fact that everyone knows what may happen if the Officers walk? I don't know. Either way, this is only step one in a long process and so far, its not looking good for the State's case.