Mistrial For Man Accused Of Threatening O'Malley
TOWSON, Md. (AP) -- A Baltimore County judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a Parkville man prosecutors say threatened Gov. Martin O'Malley in an e-mail.
Walter Abbott's mistrial came Wednesday. It was his second trial in the case in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
He was convicted in 2008 of sending a threatening e-mail and received a suspended sentence of six months in prison and two years of probation. In the e-mail, Abbott, 47, threatened to "strangle the life" from O'Malley.
However, last year, Maryland's second-highest court threw out the conviction, ruling that the Baltimore County judge failed to define "threat" for the jury or to tell jurors how to determine if the e-mail constituted a threat.
Prosecutors say no decision has been made about whether to retry Abbott a third time.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
