Jurors evenly split on Buju's fate

[Gamma]

thanks...so much i have forgotten in 14 short years ... hey....i think i shall write a poem about that!

[Baddaz]

if it must be unanimous for a conviction only then the would have been a verdict. to require unanimity for an acquittal seems to be too much of a burden on the defence and would seem to fly in the face of a presumption of innocence until PROVEN guilty.

perhaps you could make a submission to a law journal about the burden of the defense in the requirement of unanimity in jury verdicts for federal felony cases... i agree that it does not support the principle of a presumption of innocence until proven guilty...

[Gamma]

i have a few, one day when i get some time. one is to review the punishment for someone who FALSELY accuses another person of rape.

i feel that whatever penalties were available for a conviction of rape, must be visited on such a false accuser. there are so many false accusations these days, in an effort to extort or otherwise, that this should seriously be considered. the accused in effect becomes the victim!

a simple perjury charge should not be enough. those false accusations can wreck a persons life and in many instances that is why it is being done.

[Don1]

if it must be unanimous for a conviction only then the would have been a verdict. to require unanimity for an acquittal seems to be too much of a burden on the defence and would seem to fly in the face of a presumption of innocence until PROVEN guilty.

A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.[1]
Contents [hide]
1 United States
2 United Kingdom
2.1 England and Wales
2.2 Scotland
3 References
[edit]United States

In the United States, the result is a mistrial, and the case may be retried. Some jurisdictions permit the court to give the jury a so-called Allen charge, inviting the dissenting jurors to re-examine their opinions, as a last ditch effort to prevent the jury from hanging. The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure state, "The verdict must be unanimous...If there are multiple defendants, the jury may return a verdict at any time during its deliberations as to any defendant about whom it has agreed...If the jury cannot agree on all counts as to any defendant, the jury may return a verdict on those counts on which it has agreed...If the jury cannot agree on a verdict on one or more counts, the court may declare a mistrial on those counts. A hung jury does not imply either the defendant's guilt or innocence. The government may retry any defendant on any count on which the jury could not agree."[2]
Juries in criminal cases are generally, as a rule, required to reach a unanimous verdict, while juries in civil cases typically have to reach a majority on some level. In jurisdictions giving those involved in the case a choice of jury size (such as between a six-person and twelve-person jury), defense counsel in both civil and criminal cases frequently opt for the larger number of jurors. A common axiom in criminal cases is that "it takes only one to hang," referring to the fact that, in some cases, a single juror can defeat the required unanimity.
If a defendant has been found guilty of a capital offense (one that, because of aggravating factors like rape during a premeditated murder, could result in the death penalty if the person is eligible- over 18 at the time of the offense and not Intellectually disabled), then the opinion of the jury must be unanimous if the defendant is to be sentenced to death.
One proposal for dealing with the difficulties associated with hung juries has been to introduce supermajority verdicts. This measure would allow juries to convict defendants without unanimous agreements amongst the jurors. Hence, a 12-member jury that would otherwise be deadlocked at 11 for conviction and 1 against, would be recorded as a guilty verdict for the defendant. The rationale for majority verdicts usually includes arguments involving so-called 'rogue jurors' who unreasonably impede the course of justice. Opponents of majority verdicts argue that it undermines public confidence in criminal justice systems and results in a higher number of individuals convicted of crimes they did not commit. Currently two states, Oregon and Louisiana, do not require unanimous verdicts in criminal cases.
The Los Angeles County Public Defender's office estimates that 55 percent of all hung juries in that county are split 6-6, 7-5, 8-4, or 9-3.[3]
[edit]

[Baddaz]

i suppose that poem will be filled with plenty of blank spaces... nuh watch nutten mi barrista...

[Gamma]

damnit!!! somebody beat me to it! http://www.poetry-archive.com/m/flame-heart.html

who IS this claude mckay guy any way!!!

[Baddaz]

yuh tink a now jamaica a produce greatness... mi favorite apple is otaete apple... mi think dat is what claude mckay was referring inna de poem...

[Exile]

Clarendon man...Job's Hill, above Trout Hall....

[Exile]

Yu nevva learn Spanish Needle a school?? "Lovely dainty spanish needle, with your yellow flower and white"....cho go google it...

[Peter R]

First saw that movie (12 angry men) in University (a business course I believe it was).... at a critical point they stopped the movie then we had to decide in groups which of the jurors in what order would change their minds... can't remember how we did. None of my group had seen the movie before.

[Gamma]

cho man .... unnuh could a REALLY believe seh mi nuh know about claude mckay, his poetry and his role in the harlem renaissance?!! PEOPLE unnuh duh mi a disservice!!!