DEDHAM – The jury in the murder trial of Karen Read will return to work Monday after failing to reach a verdict after nearly 22 hours of deliberation last week.
Karen Read Jury
The jury of six women and six men told Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone on Friday that stuck and were “unable to reach a unanimous verdict.” After a ten-week trial, the judge told the jurors to keep trying.
Read has pleaded not guilty to three charges in connection with the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. January 29, 2022 in Canton, Massachusetts.
The jury is considering charges of second-degree murder, intoxicated manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crime involving personal injury and death.
Before jurors can discuss the charges, they must first agree that Read did indeed hit O’Keefe with her SUV that night. If they agree, they must then determine what, if any, is the appropriate charge to convict her of.
What happens if the jury cannot reach a verdict?
There are three possible outcomes for the jury. They can render a verdict. They can come back and say they’re deadlocked again and get a special instruction from the judge and continue deliberating. But if they come back deadlocked a third time, that could be a mistrial.
It is up to the judge to decide when to declare a mistrial based on a jury that cannot decide. Legal expert Phil Tracy said he saw a jury that cannot decide Karen Read coming because the facts of the case are so polarizing. He thinks there will be results before July 4.
“I think she’ll have them back on Monday, maybe Tuesday, but on Wednesday it’s over for both sides, it’s a hung jury. Everyone predicted she would be found not guilty,” Tracy told WBZ-TV.
“Defense attorney (Alan) Jackson has been somewhat cavalier about the outcome of this case. He often said to the press, to you, ‘It’s going our way, their case is falling apart.’ These are exact quotes. I would never do that, because I know juries are unpredictable.”
What happens in the event of a mistrial?
If the jury cannot reach a decision and the case is dismissed, it is up to the prosecutors to decide whether to retry the case.
“The government would certainly try again because someone is dead. You have to, for the good of his family, for the good of his mother, for the good of his children, you have to go back and try again,” Tracy said.
