The Bill Cosby Jury Is Deadlocked

Judge instructs them to 'keep trying'
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 15, 2017 10:45 AM CDT
Updated Jun 15, 2017 11:17 AM CDT
The Bill Cosby Jury Is Deadlocked
Bill Cosby arrives at the Montgomery County Courthouse during his sexual assault trial Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Norristown, Pa.   (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The jury in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial is deadlocked, the AP reports. After 30 hours of deliberation over four days, jurors told Judge Steven O'Neill they could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the three counts of aggravated indecent assault. O'Neill instructed them to keep trying and sent them back to the jury room, where they have been working late into the night while sequestered. Reuters reports they worked 12-hour days Tuesday and Wednesday since getting the case late Monday. Upon hearing the jury's note to the judge, Cosby's lawyers requested a mistrial, but O'Neill said that request was premature.

Jurors have requested to revisit key evidence multiple times, which at times has seemed to "vex" O'Neill, per the AP (one batch of testimony jurors wanted to review had not been transcribed yet, for example), but on Wednesday he praised the jury for having "taken your task so seriously." The jurors, too, have seemed "angry and frustrated" at times over the course of deliberations, per the AP. According to BuzzFeed, Cosby "grinned" as the judge read the jury's note and announced jurors were deadlocked. At least one of Cosby's other accusers cried after the note was read. (More Bill Cosby stories.)

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