The jury in the Arthur Davies case is “hopelessly deadlocked” and the trial has ended with a not-guilty verdict on one charge, and a mistrial on all lesser charges. The case will now be retried, according to State Attorney Charles Tsuei.
On the count of Murder in the 1st degree – the jury returned a “not guilty” verdict. However – lesser charges of Involuntary Manslaughter and Felony Assault on a Child Causing Death were deadlocked, with a final vote of 10 – 2 in favor of conviction on both counts. All 12 jurors must unanimously agree on a verdict.
Judge Christopher Pallone declared a mistrial on the lesser charges and the jury was dismissed after 4 weeks of serving.
The jury heard a second round of closing arguments on Tuesday morning after they appeared deadlocked on Thursday, August 31st. They were adjourned for Labor Day weekend with the hope that further closing arguments would help nudge the jury toward a unanimous decision.
After the lunch break on Tuesday and before the verdict was read, Judge Pallone addressed members of the courtroom audience who had heckled Defense Lawyer Zulu Ali as he left the courtroom after closing arguments on Tuesday morning. In the hallway outside the courtroom, one or more audience member appeared to sarcastically applaud and make comments toward the counsel as he exited.
Courtroom M2 was noticeably busier as a verdict was expected in the over 5 year old case.
September 23rd has been set as the first pretrial date. We’ll have more on this story as as things develop on this over 5 year old case heading back to trial for a second time.
