How does length of Karen Read murder trial jury deliberations compare to other prominent cases?
DEDHAM – Jury deliberations are set to continue on Monday in Karen Read's Massachusetts murder trial. Jurors have been deliberating for about 22 hours and have indicated they have been unable to reach a unanimous verdict. So how does the length of deliberations compare to other high-profile cases?
Read is on trial in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe. She is charged with second degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene where there has been personal injury and death.
How long has the Karen Read trial jury been deliberating?
The jury in Read's murder trial got the case and began deliberating on Tuesday afternoon. They continued deliberating for full days Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Early Friday afternoon, the jury sent Judge Beverly Cannone a note.
"Despite our exhaustive review of the evidence and our diligent consideration of all disputed evidence, we have been unable to reach a unanimous verdict," the note said.
Cannone responded that given how much evidence was presented during the 10-week trial, she would like jurors to continue attempting to reach a verdict.
Later in the day, jurors asked to deliberate for an extra half hour, prompting some hope that a decision could be close. Instead, the day ended without a verdict and jurors were sent home for the weekend.
Karen Read deliberations compared to other high-profile trials
The O.J. Simpson trial lasted eight months, but jury deliberations took just four hours before Simpson, who died earlier this year, was acquitted.
The Casey Anthony trial captured national headlines in 2011. Anthony was charged first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter in the death of her daughter. After deliberating for 10 hours, the jury found her not guilty.
Facing charges in the murder of Odin Lloyd, Aaron Hernandez was on trial for nearly three months in 2015. After deliberating for 36 hours over seven days, jurors found Hernandez guilty.
Whitey Bulger's 2013 trial in Boston lasted two months, with 32 hours of jury deliberations over five days ending with a guilty verdict.
Cannone served as the judge in 2023 when a jury could not reach a verdict in the trial of Emanuel Lopes.
Lopes was charged with killing Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna and innocent bystander Vera Adams in 2018. Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision if Lopes was a murderer or mentally ill, prompting Cannone to declare a mistrial.
In February 2024, Lopes was found guilty following a second trial.
What happens if jurors can't reach a verdict?
If jurors in Read's trial cannot reach a unanimous verdict, Cannone could declare a mistrial. That would leave it up to the state to decide if it would start the process over again.
Legal expert Phil Tracy predicted that prosecutors would be likely to try Read again, but said it would not be easy.
"To get jurors that haven't made an opinion yet is going to be brutal," Tracy said.
Tracy estimated that if there is no verdict on Wednesday, Cannone would declare a mistrial.
