Breaking: Jury in the Murder Trial of Former Cop Ray Tensing Deadlock, Judge Tells Them to Try Again

    0
    39

    Live reporting by:

    10:15 a.m. The jury said that they could not reach a unanimous verdict and Judge Leslie Ghiz sent them back to deliberate

    The jury has deliberated for more than 27 hours.

    Jury deliberations in Ohio’s second murder trial of a white former police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist have gone on longer than in his first trial that ended with a hung jury.

    Jurors in former University of Cincinnati officer Ray Tensing’s retrial resumed deliberations Friday, their fifth day. They’ve deliberated nearly 26 hours.


    The 27-year-old Tensing is charged with voluntary manslaughter in the July 2015 shooting of 43-year-old Sam DuBose. Tensing said he feared for his life when DuBose tried to drive away from a traffic stop over a missing front license plate.

    Prosecutors say his body-camera video and other evidence doesn’t support his decision to shoot DuBose in the head at close range.

    Jurors in the Tensing case began deliberations Monday afternoon. They submitted a question Tuesday about the location of a piece of evidence. At the end of the day, they came into the courtroom where the judge praised their work and encouraged them to “hang in there.”

    A key piece of evidence from the prosecutor  for jurors to consider is Tensing’s body-camera footage. Tensing claimed that he was in fear for his life and thats why he shot Dubose, but his body cam video proved other wise.
    During closing arguments, prosecutor Seth Tieger urged jurors to rely heavily on Tensing’s body-cam footage when deliberating.
    “Ray Tensing lied to Cincinnati police that day on the 21st and he lied to you when he testified to save himself, but in a very ironic twist, his own body-worn camera exposed him as a liar,” Tieger said. “There was no danger to Ray Tensing when he made the decision to go for his gun.”
    Tieger said there was also no remorse for shooting DuBose.
    The Dubose family hopes that video brings justice for Sam.

    If convicted of murder, Tensing faces a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison; voluntary manslaughter carries a possible sentence of three to 11 years.

    Leave a reply

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.