TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The day after a jury spared the life of the Parkland shooter, there are shocking allegations. Prosecutors say a crime may have been committed in the jury room.
The state is asking to interview a juror who claimed in a filing that “during deliberations she received what she perceived to be a threat from a fellow juror.”
Some legal experts on Friday questioned if the state was potentially trying to challenge the verdict. They did cite a case that does that in the motion.
But during a brief hearing Friday, Prosecutor Carolyn McCann said that’s not what’s happening.
“We are not seeking to set aside the verdict, this motion was filed for safety reasons,” said Ms. McCann.
There have been other allegations of juror misconduct.
On the day of the verdict, a different juror sent a note to the judge defending her vote for life and denying she intended to vote that way, all along. The juror stated she was “fair and unbiased” and kept her “oath to the court.”
The question now – is there any way the prosecution could get a new trial?
8 On Your Side asked two experienced criminal law attorneys.
“It stands, that’s it. Double jeopardy has attached,” said Bryant R. Camareno. “I’ve never seen it done, I don’t think there’s any case law that supports that.”
Attorney Peter Tragos agreed.
“The chances are slim to none,” said Tragos.
Mr. Tragos says for the prosecution to successfully challenge the verdict, they must prove a juror’s vote is due to an external influence and it impacted the outcome of the case.
“If somebody went in there and threatened a bunch of people, a couple people flipped to the non-death penalty and that’s what happened, then potentially that could be the case,” said Tragos.
So what crime was allegedly committed in the jury room? Legal experts say we need to know more about the exact threat but the crime would likely be assault.
