A shocking new revelation from Karen Read’s legal team alleges that the jury had unanimously decided to acquit her of two of the most serious charges she was facing before a mistrial was declared.
Read was accused of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence, and fleeing the scene of an accident that resulted in injury or death. Her trial lasted over a month, with the jury deliberating for more than 24 hours across five days before Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial on July 1. Subsequently, Read’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss two of the charges.
In the motion, attorneys Alan Jackson and David Yanneti stated that prior to announcing a deadlock, the jury had unanimously agreed to exonerate Read on two of the charges, including second-degree murder. They received communications from three of the twelve jurors confirming a 12-0 agreement that Read was not guilty of those two charges, including second-degree murder. The jury also reportedly found her not guilty of leaving the scene of the fatal crash.
Due to the absence of a public poll of the jury when the mistrial was declared, there is no official record to indicate whether the jury had indeed reached a unanimous decision on any charges.
Related: Hung jury leads to mistrial in Karen Read’s high-profile murder trial
The motion raises concerns that the mistrial was declared abruptly without allowing the defense to present their arguments or clarifying if the jury was deadlocked on specific charges. It also argues that Read should not be retried for the charges the jury deemed her innocent of, citing protection under the double jeopardy clause in the U.S. Constitution.
If the court refuses to dismiss the two charges, the motion requests a voir dire of the jury or an evidentiary hearing to validate the acquittal.
This article was first published by Lauren Silver on Court TV.
