The jury deliberating the case of a Detroit police officer in the death of a 7-year-old girl told a judge today they were hopelessly deadlocked and she declared a mistrial, for the second time. Joseph Weekley, 38, was charged with careless discharge of a firearm causing death, a misdemeanor, in the death of Aiyana Stanley-Jones. All 12 jurors, who asked for their names not to be used, stayed after the trial was over to talk with the media about their decision. This was an emotional case, the jury foreman said. There were tears in this room. In the end, the panel was spilt 7 to 5, with five people saying Weekley was guilty of the charge and seven others voting not guilty. A round from Weekleys gun struck Aiyana in the head as police executed a search warrant for a murder suspect at a home on Lillibridge May 16, 2010. A TV crew embedded with police captured the scene outside the home on Detroits east side. Aiyana, who was sleeping on the couch, was shot inside the home. It really came down to defining negligence, the foreman said. Some jurors said they felt because the gun went off and he had been trained not to have that happen, he was guilty. Others had doubt because they dont know what happened in the situation causing the gun to go off, the foreman said. Throughout the trial, Steve Fishman, Weekleys attorney, told jurors that Aiyanas grandmother, Mertilla Jones, had contact with Weekleys gun and it discharged. Jones denied that. There was no arguing during the four days of deliberations and the jurors said they became friends. Race, the jurors said, never played a role in the case. The multicultural jury was made up of eight women and four men, four of whom were African Americans. After Wayne County Circuit Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway announced the mistrial, Aiyanas mother, Dominika Stanley, stayed in the courtroom with her head in her hands and shook her head no while holding a tissue. Weekley released a statement to the Free Press before the mistrial was declared. No matter the outcome of any jurys decision, I have already been devastated and my life has been ruined irreparably by the events that occurred on May 16, 2010. There has not been one single day that has gone by since that day where I have not thought about the loss of Aiyana and I will be haunted by this tragedy for the rest of my life, his statement said in part. Aiyanas great uncle, Londell Fields, said outside the courtroom, that he thinks Weekley should apologize and say he made a mistake. Its sad that it came down to this again, he said. Fields said Dominika Stanley doesnt not want to go through this again. Ron Scott, spokesman for the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, said he doesnt think justice was rendered. Theres a little girl dead, and somebody pulled the trigger and there should be responsibility for that, he said. Shortly after noon today the jury sent out a note reiterating what they said Wednesday: they couldnt reach a verdict. We have discussed this from every possible angle and are unable to come to a unanimous decision, the note said. A short time later, Hathaway declared a mistrial in the case. Larry Dubin, a University of Detroit Mercy law professor, said Wednesday several things could happen with another mistrial: Weekley may be retried for a third time, the prosecution could decide not to try the case again or a plea might be reached. The decision regarding how the prosecution will proceed will be placed on the record at the next court date, Maria Miller, spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutors Office said. Hathaway set a new hearing date of Nov. 21 in the case. This case has now been before two juries, once on a felony charge and once on a misdemeanor charge, and neither of them have been able to reach a verdict, Fishman said in an email. In my opinion, twice is enough; the case should be dismissed. Last week, Hathaway dismissed a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter against Weekley, citing a lack of evidence. Prosecutors accused Weekley of being negligent, careless and reckless in the execution of a search warrant. The defense said the shooting was a tragic accident. Weekleys first trial ended in a hung jury in June 2013. Hathaway declared a mistrial in that case after nearly three days of deliberations. (freep)
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 21:16:10 +0000