Justice for Jonathan Ferrell – Jury Deadlocked

Aug 21

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A mistrial has been declared in the trial of Randall Kerrick, who was tried for voluntary manslaughter in the killing of unarmed Jonathan Ferrell.

Today was the fourth day of jury deliberations.  The jury earlier told the judge that they were deadlocked, but that discussions after lunch had been productive.

At about 4:15 EST, the jury reported that it was still deadlocked at 8-4, and Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin declared a mistrial.

It is not yet known whether prosecutors will seek to try the case again nor how many jurors voted guilty or not guilty.

This is a developing story and we will keep it updated in the comment section.

As a side note, Adobe Flash continues to crash on my computer freezing it, and I’m experiencing where typing a sentence results in letters not where I typed them.  I’m going to try to work these problems out so I can get back to doing what I love — writing for the blog.

Die - in

Protesters hold a die-in after the announcement that the jury is deadlocked resulting in a mistrial.

Posted on 08/21/2015, in Cases, Jonathan Ferrell and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 42 Comments.

    • Bill Taylor | 08/21/2015 at 4:10 pm

      why cant news anchors get the well known FACTS right? she clearly said then “THEY” opened fire….ONE officer did all the shooting, the others did NOT even draw their guns…..and the autopsy in no way backed the officer, in fact it did the opposite showing 2 fatal shots(either one would be fatal in 30 to 60 seconds) happened while the victim was upright, which means he suffered wounds at the beginning and they rendered him incapable of fighting, running, or anything other than falling forward and dying.

      Liked by 5 people

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      • Xena | 08/21/2015 at 4:28 pm

        Bill, most of them these days get a one minute summary from some assistant along with some flashcards or notes. They wouldn’t know if it’s raining outside unless an assistant told them.

        Liked by 6 people

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        • Bill Taylor | 08/21/2015 at 4:33 pm

          i worked in broadcast tv for a little over a year as a weekend sports anchor, and indeed most of the people in the newsroom are there ONLY because of looks and that they can read a teleprompter and make it sound natural……

          Liked by 6 people

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          • Xena | 08/21/2015 at 5:05 pm

            Bill, there ya go. 🙂 TV journalists haven’t performed their own research since the 60’s. They started sending people “on-site” to get information and they try to pack too much info into a minute so they can get 20 minutes of advertisements into a 30 minute program.

            Liked by 4 people

      • shannoninmiami | 08/21/2015 at 5:00 pm

        Yeah and she says ‘the officer faced very serious charges’ as if killing a man shouldn’t bring serious charges?? wtf??

        no this wasn’t a difficult case. it was simple. either you believe it’s not excessive when a cop shoots at an unarmed injured man 12 times & you don’t mind that he lied about being in “the fight for his life”
        OR you believe when a cops lies about the reason he did something, it ACTUALLY MEANS THE TRUTH IS NOT A DEFENSE to his actions so his lies nullify his defense. thus he’s a murderer.

        Liked by 4 people

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  2. Xena | 08/21/2015 at 4:05 pm

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  3. shannoninmiami | 08/21/2015 at 4:20 pm

    Umm, whadda ya wanna bet that 4 black ppl on the jury voted to convict & the white ppl wouldn’t?
    We NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE Jury says about this!! I don’t know about SC but i’ve seen other jurors talk about what happened in when there’s been a hung jury so hopefully they’re allowed to.

    I HOPE, I mean i truly HOPE i’m wrong about the jury’s racial division because if i’m not wrong, its proof once again of the huge problem with jury selection.
    And that is apparently there’s a way they can literally pick out the white ppl and put them on a jury, who they know simply will not convict a cop for killing a black person no matter what.
    And that somehow they’re allowed to do this over & over & nobody can do anything about it.

    Liked by 6 people

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  4. yahtzeebutterfly | 08/21/2015 at 4:22 pm

    Prayers for Jonathan’s loved ones at this time.

    Liked by 2 people

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  5. Xena | 08/21/2015 at 4:38 pm

    The vote was split 8-4 for a not guilty verdict. If 8 jurors were for not guilty, chances are that the State will not re-try. That means Kerrick walks.

    http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/jury-enters-day-four-deliberations-kerrick-trial/nnNwZ/

    Jonathan’s parents are suppose to hold a press conference.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • shannoninmiami | 08/21/2015 at 5:05 pm

      maybe they’ll learn a better strategy now that kerrick testified. maybe they’ll do better forensics & get the cops who lied for him to stop.

      i just want to hope. cuz a retrial is usually better for the state.

      Liked by 2 people

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      • roderick2012 | 08/21/2015 at 5:18 pm

        Shannon, do you really believe the prosecution wants to convict a cop?

        Liked by 3 people

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        • Bill Taylor | 08/21/2015 at 5:25 pm

          they certainly did not act as if they desired a conviction at this trial…….obvious huge LIES in the officers statements, did the prosecution present an expert to discuss the trajectory of the shots? did they hammer home the point that 2 shots hitting while he was upright would either one kill him in less than a minute and possibly as quickly as 30 seconds?…..the “fight of my life” claim was accepted i guess rather than point out you have no marks on you from any fight? mud on the back of you uniform only shows a lack of coordination on your part……a busted lip shows you likely hit yourself with the gun either while firing or falling.

          Liked by 2 people

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          • Xena | 08/21/2015 at 11:10 pm

            Bill, I really wish that the entire trial had been live streamed instead of us getting bits and pieces of it via Twitter. At today’s press conference, the attorney for Jonathan’s family said that the prosecutor did not present all evidence to the jury. I wonder if there was testimony about bullet projection; the lack of time for Jonathan for “get on the ground” before Kerrick fired his weapon, and why neither of the other two officers felt it necessary to use any force IF Jonathan was still “attacking” Kerrick after the first volley of shots? Did they ever say the possibilities for why Jonathan did not have on his shoes, such as, did they find them on the scene filled with glass from kicking out the back window of his car?

            Another thing is, since the prosecution was going on a “reasonable personal” standard to oppose Kerrick’s claim of self-defense, why did they think it necessary to give all that time at trial to talk about his police training? In other words, they sent a double-message to the jury; i.e., decide based on a reasonable person standard AND decide based on a standard used by a police officer based on his training or lack thereof.

            I totally agree with you about the busted lip.

            Liked by 1 person

          • roderick2012 | 08/24/2015 at 8:31 am

            ‘did the prosecution present an expert to discuss the trajectory of the shots?’

            This is pretty much like the State’s case in the George Zimmerman trial.

            I keep going over in my mind the impossibility of trajectory of the bullet passing through Trayvon’s chest at a right angle (basically parallel to the ground) AND Trayvon pinning George to the ground ( required for simple self-defense claim—couldn’t retreat) and George holding the gun with his elbow on the ground when he fired.

            All of those couldn’t be true simultaneously plus the holes in the hoodie and undershirt were displaced the same distance from entry wound in Trayvon’s chest and they are in straight lines which weren’t created by the clothes ‘sagging’.

            Even during O’Mara’s re-enactment he had Trayvon around George’s right upper thigh because he had to compensate for George’s lie that both he and Trayvon saw the gun at the same time. Of course that position meant that George wasn’t pinned ( no simple self-defense) and there’s no way that George could have reached and grabbed the gun before Trayvon unless George was the Flash but the State didn’t refute it and the idiot jury bought it.

            Sadly the State didn’t even offer a plausible scenario as to how George accosted Trayvon, held him at gun point and when he realized that Trayvon wasn’t a burglar had to kill him before the police arrived.

            Liked by 1 person

    • mindyme62 | 08/22/2015 at 7:22 am

      no way no way no way… ARGGGHHH

      Liked by 1 person

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  7. Xena | 08/21/2015 at 4:42 pm

    Liked by 2 people

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  8. Mr. Militant Negro | 08/21/2015 at 4:44 pm

    Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.

    Liked by 3 people

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  10. roderick2012 | 08/21/2015 at 5:14 pm

    He’ll never be convicted so I wonder if the prosecution will retry him or just drop the charges or offer him a a plea deal.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Xena | 08/21/2015 at 5:28 pm

      Hey Roderick! Jonathan’s family would like a retrial.

      A hung jury is not good for Kerrick. He is a public servant and if allowed to return to duty, the thought that he was tried and not convicted nor acquitted will forever haunt him and cause public distrust.

      Liked by 3 people

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  11. yahtzeebutterfly | 08/21/2015 at 5:20 pm

    So sad and horrifying that Jonathan, who was only seeking help after his car crash, ended up gunned down by Kerrick’s 10 bullets and that his loving family had to say goodbye to their precious son and brother.

    http://cmsimg.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=CD&Date=20130928&Category=PHOTOS03&ArtNo=309280804&Ref=PH&Item=1&Maxw=620&Maxh=465&q=90

    Liked by 2 people

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  12. Two sides to a story | 08/21/2015 at 11:11 pm

    It’s step forward. I don’t think you could have gotten an 8-4 hung jury a year ago. People are beginning to wake up. Prosecutors in some places may be forced by the public to prosecute cops more aggressively too.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Xena | 08/22/2015 at 2:17 am

      Two sides, I hope you’re right. We have a national problem and when tried for homicide, no consideration is given to how the victim acted reasonably while in pain and dying.

      Liked by 1 person

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  13. shyloh | 08/22/2015 at 11:29 am

    OHMYSWEETLORD, I fear this may cause so much damage. I just don’t get how people THINK> Or NOT THINK! I just have no more >> I don’t know what to say actually.

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. yahtzeebutterfly | 08/22/2015 at 8:05 pm

    One juror has now spoken about his decision of finding Kerrick guilty:

    “First Kerrick juror speaks after mistrial”

    http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article31912080.html

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    • Xena | 08/22/2015 at 9:31 pm

      Wilson said the jury agreed that Kerrick’s actions were intentional and unlawful and caused Ferrell’s death. But they disagreed on whether his actions constituted excessive force.

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      • yahtzeebutterfly | 08/22/2015 at 10:45 pm

        I just keep reading that quote and can’t believe it. So his actions were unlawful which, to me, means Kerrick should not have shot at Jonathan. Therefore, in my mind, if it was unlawful, it was excessive.

        Liked by 1 person

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        • shyloh | 08/23/2015 at 6:41 am

          ME too. Over and over. I agree with you. WOW!

          Liked by 1 person

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          • Bill Taylor | 08/23/2015 at 3:32 pm

            if i may interpret this for you, the phrase clearly says they agreed he acted OUTSIDE the law, which means the whites on the jury said we dont care about the LAW, we are simply NOT going to find an policeman guilty no matter what the facts and evidence show.

            Liked by 1 person

          • yahtzeebutterfly | 08/24/2015 at 11:09 am

            Wilson said the jury agreed that Kerrick’s actions were intentional and unlawful and caused Ferrell’s death.

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  15. Dara | 08/22/2015 at 8:38 pm

    There is really no words to describe this tragedy. No matter what happens, no one is a winner here. This is going to haunted Kerrick for the rest of his life. The mistrial is no surprise here. Jonathan Ferrell is gone forever. Its pretty much Kerrick’s story against somebody who’s not here anymore. I read the article of one of the Kerrick jurors speaking out. He was right. Just like with Trayvon Martin, Jonathan Ferrell was one on trial here. Those eight jurors who voted to acquit believe the defense’s theory that Jonathan cause his own demise. It is so farther from the truth. Somehow I feel the prosecutors in this case may not retrial Kerrick. I hope I am wrong, but if not, he will have to watch his back for the rest of his life. My prayers are with Jonathan’s family’s especially his mother. It is irreplaceable loss of a child that no parent should ever have to endure.

    Liked by 1 person

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  16. yahtzeebutterfly | 08/28/2015 at 10:50 am

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  17. yahtzeebutterfly | 09/16/2015 at 6:58 am

    On the second anniversary of Jonathan’s death, Georgia and Willie Ferrell for the first time visited the site where he was gunned down and placed a wreath in his memory.

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