Karen Read’s Defense Claims Jury Agreed to Acquit on Two Charges Before Mistrial

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In a bombshell development, Karen Read’s defense team has filed a motion asserting that the jury unanimously agreed to acquit her of two of the most serious charges before a mistrial was declared. Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm, was charged with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury or death.
After a month-long trial, the jury deliberated for more than 24 hours over five days before Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial on July 1. Yesterday, Read’s attorneys, Alan Jackson and David Yannetti, filed a motion to dismiss two of the three charges.
The motion, reviewed by Court TV, claims that the jury had unanimously voted to acquit Read on two charges, including second-degree murder, before telling the judge they were deadlocked. According to the motion, the defense attorneys “began receiving unsolicited communications from three of the twelve deliberating jurors indicating in no uncertain terms that the jury had a firm 12-0 agreement that Ms. Read was not guilty of two of the three charges against her, including the charge of murder in the second degree.” The jury also allegedly agreed to find Read not guilty of leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
Despite this, when Judge Cannone declared the mistrial, there was no public polling of the jury, so no court record exists to confirm whether the jury had unanimously agreed on any charges. One of the issues raised in the motion is that after receiving a note from the jury on July 1 stating they were unable to reach a verdict, the court declared a mistrial “without providing any opportunity for defense counsel to be heard.” The judge also failed to ask the jury whether it was deadlocked on one, two, or all three of the charges in the indictment.
The defense motion argues that Read cannot face retrial for the two charges on which the jury would have found her innocent, saying she is protected by the Double Jeopardy clause in the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits anyone from being prosecuted twice for the same crime after a verdict is reached.
“If the judge is unwilling to dismiss the two charges against Ms. Read, the motion alternatively requests that the court conduct a voir dire of the jury and/or an evidentiary hearing to substantiate the existence of an acquittal,” the motion states.
This motion adds another layer of complexity to an already high-profile case, as the defense seeks to ensure that Read is not retried for charges the jury allegedly acquitted her of in their private deliberations. The court’s response to this motion will be closely watched, as it could have significant implications for the case and the application of the Double Jeopardy clause in future trials.
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