BOSTON — The Massachusetts decide overseeing the Karen Learn homicide trial declared a mistrial Monday after jurors reached an deadlock.
Earlier, the decide learn jurors a so-called “dynamite cost” Monday morning, directing them to proceed their deliberations after they indicated for a second time they may not attain a unanimous verdict.
The Tuey-Rodriguez cost instructed jurors to rethink their positions whereas taking into account the opinions of panelists with whom they don’t agree.
Norfolk County Superior Court docket Decide Beverly Cannone learn the cost after jurors despatched a observe saying, “Regardless of our dedication to the obligation entrusted to us, we discover ourselves deeply divided by elementary variations in our opinions and frame of mind.”
“The divergence in our views are usually not rooted in a lack of awareness or effort,” the observe stated, “however deeply held convictions that every of us carry, finally main to some extent the place consensus in unattainable.”
Jurors had resumed deliberations Monday morning on the decide’s path, after first saying on Friday they may not attain a unanimous choice within the trial of Learn, who’s accused of drunkenly driving into her police officer boyfriend and leaving him to die in January 2022.
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On Friday, after listening to arguments from the prosecution and protection, Cannone requested the jury to proceed to deliberate, which it did till shortly after 4 p.m. Friday. Deliberations resumed at 9 a.m.
The jury of six males and 6 girls has been deliberating Learn’s destiny since noon final Tuesday. The case has featured accusations of an enormous police cover-up in addition to improper conduct and sexist textual content messages from a lead investigator.
Learn, 45, pleaded not responsible to costs of second-degree homicide, vehicular manslaughter whereas intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision leading to demise. If discovered responsible of second-degree homicide, Learn faces a most sentence of life in jail, in keeping with Massachusetts legislation.
The physique of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, was discovered bruised and battered within the snow on January 29, 2022, exterior the house of a fellow Boston police officer in Canton, Massachusetts.
The prosecution and protection each weighed in on the jury’s observe Friday, asking the decide to think about totally different outcomes in her choice on what to inform the jury.
“It’s far, far, far too early of their deliberative course of to even take into account giving them any form of Tuey-Rodriguez instruction or something near that,” Norfolk County Assistant District Legal professional Adam Lally stated, referring to a particular set of Massachusetts directions which are learn to a jury when jurors are unable to agree on a verdict. “The observe would not actually point out affirmatively that they cannot come to a conclusion, it simply says they have not come to a conclusion via their deliberative course of right now.”
Alternately, protection lawyer David Yanetti argued the jury ought to be learn the Tuey-Rodriguez felony mannequin directions, indicating they want the courtroom to proceed towards having a hung jury.
Dan Abrams weighs in on Karen Learn trial and jury deliberations
The decide advised jurors in Karen Learn homicide trial to maintain deliberating after impasse alert Friday
“The phrase exhaustive is the phrase I feel that is operative right here,” he advised the decide. “They’re speaking to the courtroom that they’ve exhausted all method of compromise, all method of persuasion, they usually’re at an deadlock.”
The decide stated she weighed each counsels’ views in deciding to ship the jury again to deliberate a verdict within the controversial case. The Tuey-Rodriguez directions weren’t learn to the jury Friday. Case legislation cautions in opposition to studying the instruction prematurely.
Learn confronted as much as life in jail
Prosecutors have alleged Learn and O’Keefe, who had an at-times tumultuous relationship, obtained into an argument that night time, and that she drunkenly backed into him and fled the scene, leaving him to die within the chilly.
“What the constellation of the information and the proof ineluctably display right here is that the defendant drove her automobile in reverse at 24.2 miles per hour for 62.5 ft, struck Mr. O’Keefe, inflicting these catastrophic head accidents, leaving him incapacitated and freezing him to demise,” prosecutor Adam Lally stated in closing arguments Tuesday.
In distinction, Learn’s protection has accused off-duty police inside that Canton dwelling of fatally beating O’Keefe, dumping his physique on the garden after which conspiring via fabricated proof and false testimony to border Learn.
“Girls and gents, there was a cover-up on this case, plain and easy,” protection lawyer Alan Jackson stated. “You will absolutely say to your self, ‘I do not wish to imagine it, I do not wish to imagine that would occur in our neighborhood,’ however sadly over these previous eight weeks you’ve got seen it proper earlier than your eyes.”
The closing arguments represented the top of a homicide trial that has garnered curiosity each native and widespread, together with accusations of witness tampering, a federal probe into the investigation, and teams of pink-wearing supporters chanting to “Free Karen Learn.”
RELATED: Decide scolds Karen Learn as jurors shut out 2nd day of deliberations with out verdict in Boston trial
The prosecution’s case additionally has been hampered by a collection of missteps and strange investigative practices. Most notably, a lead investigator within the case, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, admitted that he despatched a collection of sexist and offensive texts about Learn in a personal group chat, calling her a “whack job,” mocking her medical points and commenting to coworkers that he had discovered “no nudes” whereas looking her cellphone for proof, CNN affiliate WCVB reported.
Proctor apologized for the “unprofessional” feedback on the stand, however the vulgar texts have been sharply criticized out and in of courtroom, together with from the governor.
“It is utterly unprofessional,” Gov. Maura Healey advised WCVB of the texts. “It does hurt, frankly, to the dignity and the integrity of the work of women and men throughout the state police and legislation enforcement. In order a former lawyer normal and as governor, I’m disgusted by that.
ABC Information contributed to this report.
It is a growing story; test again for updates.
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