On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a retrial can be held for a defendant facing murder charges. The reason for the retrial is that the jury said it could not reach a decision and was deadlocked even though previously it told the judge that the jury voted against guilt on some of the more serious charges in the case. One of those charges in the case carries the death penalty.
The Supreme Court voted for a retrial by a vote of 6-3 by claiming that the constitutional protection of being tried two times for the same crime does not apply in this case. The reason for this is the fact that no official verdict had been declared in the case by the jury. The person on trial is Alex Blueford, who faces murder charges in Arkansas.
The forewoman for the jury had told the judge that they voted against capital murder and first-degree murder in the case. The forewoman then said that the jury could not reach a decision on the charge of manslaughter, which they voted 9-3 on to convict the defendant and did not vote on the charge of negligent homicide. The jury forewoman told the judge the jury voted unanimously against capital murder and first-degree murder. The jury was told to continue deliberating by the judge but after doing so they still could not come to a final decision, which led the judge to declare a mistrial in the case.
When the mistrial was declared, Blueford said that the statement from the forewoman meant he was acquitted on the murder charges. Prosecutors working on the case disagreed with his insight, saying that the jury did not deliver a verdict in the case. The prosecutors were backed by the Arkansas Supreme Court, saying Blueford can be tried again for the murder charge that comes from the death of his girlfriend’s 20-month-old daughter back in 2007.