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Karen Read jury tells judge they haven’t been able to reach unanimous verdict despite ‘exhaustive review of the evidence’
In response, Judge Beverly Cannone instructed the jury to continue their deliberations.
Update: Jurors were unable to reach a verdict Friday and went home for the weekend at about 4:20 p.m. Shortly after 3:30 p.m., they told Judge Beverly Cannone that they wanted to continue deliberating until 4:15 p.m. instead of calling it a day. They will resume their deliberations Monday morning.
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Midway through their fourth day of deliberations, jurors in the Karen Read murder trial say they have been unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Judge Beverly Cannone read aloud a note from the jury’s foreperson: “Dear Judge Cannone, I am writing to inform you on behalf of the jury that despite our exhaustive review of the evidence and our diligent consideration of all disputed evidence, we have been unable to reach a unanimous verdict.”
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In a brief hearing shortly after noon, Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally pushed for continued deliberations, arguing, “This simply hasn’t been sufficient time yet.”
Defense attorney David Yannetti, however, asserted the jury has had more than enough time to review the evidence and weigh the facts.
“We believe that there has been sufficient time,” he said.
Any conviction or acquittal must be unanimous among all 12 deliberative jurors. In the event of a hung jury, Cannone may declare a mistrial, and the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office could opt to retry the case.
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Lally said it is “far, far, far too early in their deliberative process to even consider giving them any kind of Tuey-Rodriguez instruction or anything close to that,” referring to a charge often read to deadlocked juries to encourage them to work toward unanimity.
Yannetti disagreed, noting the jury has been “working essentially nonstop over the last three or four days.”
“They’re communicating to the court that they’ve exhausted all manner of compromise, all manner of persuasion, and they’re at an impasse,” he said.
Cannone noted that while Friday technically marks the fourth day of deliberations, jurors only discussed the case for a couple hours on Tuesday and left court early on Wednesday afternoon due to a juror’s longstanding appointment.
“We heard from 74 witnesses. There are 657 exhibits. Very complex issues in this case,” she said. “I’m not prepared to find that there have been due and thorough deliberations at this point.”
She brought jurors back into the courtroom briefly to address their concerns directly.
“We all know how hard you’ve been working,” Cannone said. “Lunch will be arriving shortly. When it comes, I’d ask you to clear your heads, have lunch, and begin your deliberations again — or continue your deliberations.”
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After the jury filed back out of the courtroom, Cannone had some parting words for the prosecution and defense.
“We’ll see you all either at 3:30 or when you get a phone call,” she said.
Watch the brief hearing, via WCVB:
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