Deliberations will continue today as Judge Barry Williams has ordered jurors to work on getting a unanimous decision in the guilt or innocence of Officer William Porter for the death of 25 year old Baltimore man Freddie Gray.
After 10 hours of deliberations on Monday, jurors sent a note to Judge Williams on Tuesday stating thsat they were deadlocked. The jury, which consists of three black men, four black women, three white women and two white men, began deliberation twelve days after the trial began for Porter, who’s been charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. Porter faces up to 10 years total if convicted of the first three charges, but there is no minimum for misconduct in office.
If the trial ends in a hung jury, it could mean a location change for the trial and ultimately affecting the outcome of the trial of the other five officers awaiting trial for the death of Gray.
Freddie Gray died from a broken neck and a severed spine; injuries which were a result of not being in a seatbelt while in a Baltimore Police transport vehicle on April 12. He was arrested for resisting arrest and possession of a weapon, which was a pocket knife that is legal according to Maryland state law.
City officials are asking residents and potential protesters to be “respectful” in response to the verdict reading, however, the city has prepared for more unrest as was seen after Gray’s funeral and a mistrial could make those tensions worsen.
