Jury Hangs In The Retrial of Ray Tensing

Ray Tensing, the former University of Cincinnati police officer who fatally shot 43-year-old Sam DuBose in July 15, 2015, first went to trial for voluntary manslaughter and murder in 2016. That jury hung.  We followed that trial and you can read it here and here.

Tensing’s retrial began June 8, 2017.   The jury deliberated for more than 25 hours.  Today, the judge declared a mistrial.

Joe Deters, Hamilton County Prosecutor, said he will not comment until next week.

Jurors had questions during deliberations.  I am looking for those questions and if I locate them, I’ll post them in the comment section.

 

The DuBose family said in a statement through an attorney, “We are outraged that a second jury has now failed to convict Ray Tensing for the murder of our beloved Sam DuBose.” The family is demanding another retrial, the statement said.

The family of Sam Dubose was represented in a civil case by attorney Mark O’Mara.  You might remember his name as one of the defense attorneys for George Zimmerman who killed 17-year old, unarmed Trayvon Martin.  In January 2016, O’Mara announced the settlement in the civil case for DuBose’s family, and he stated;

“Tensing, a white officer, wrote 81% of his traffic tickets to African Americans, who make up 45% of the Cincinnati population.”

“But when a reporter asked me if the family was happy with the settlement, I said “no.” The family is not and should not be happy with a settlement — not at $5 million, and not at $50 million. There is no happy ending here, as no sum can bring back Sam.”

“At this point, it’s not about being happy; it is about using Sam’s legacy to make sure this type of violence doesn’t happen to someone else. It is about sending a message that institutions that permit racial bias to infect their ranks do so at great financial risk. From that perspective, this settlement is an important victory.”

“Nonetheless, there is more work to do.”

“As a criminal defense attorney, over the last 30-plus years, I’ve seen the criminal justice system work disproportionately against Black defendants. In the last few years, due to cell phone videos and body cam videos, it has become increasingly clear to all of us that the bias in the justice system is the same bias that is still deeply rooted in our entire society. I hope the silver lining of all of these tragedies is that we are finally forced to address the problems, rather than ignore them.”

“I’ve been honored that the families of Sam DuBose, Mathew Ajibade, and Sean Grant have come to me to take on their fight. When I started my career as criminal defense attorney, I had no idea that it would lead to the opportunity to be a civil rights lawyer as well. But now that it has happened, it seems like it is what I’ve always been meant to do.”