YNW Melly‘s dual murder trial has assumed yet another fascinating turn as it’s now been asserted that it’s concluded in a mistrial.
The mistrial was announced as of 2:12 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 22, and Law & Crime was on the bunch to announce Judge John Murphy’s shocking decision.
According to the outlet, the jury contemplated until 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday (June 21) before breaking for the evening. They resumed deliberations on Saturday (June 22) at 8:52 a.m. ET.
Despite this constant deliberation, however, the jury could not reach a plurality ruling.
A deadlocked jury cannot reach a judgment by the required voting margin — in this case, with eight or more jurors deciding on the verdict — despite their fairest efforts.
According to the Cornell University School of Law, judges will make every endeavour to evade a deadlocked jury, usually proceeding so far as to demand what’s known as a “dynamite charge” to compel the jury to arrive at a verdict. There is no boundary to how long a jury can deliberate in any state of the union, but a mistrial will be announced at some juncture if all efforts to reach a decision are futile.
It is crucial to note, however, that YNW Melly perhaps retried now that the mistrial has happened.
According to the Fully Informed Jury Association, the defendant (in this case, YNW Melly) is neither acquitted nor sentenced. Rather, in the sights of the law, the trial “never happened.” Therefore, Fifth Amendment protections — which contain the double jeopardy clause that prevents defendants from being retried for the same crime — do not apply.
“If a mistrial occurs due to a hung jury, the prosecutor may decide to retry the case. A judge may decide to disallow this in some cases, but the prosecutor is usually allowed to proceed,” reports the Fully Informed Jury Association.
While YNW Melly may walk out free as an outcome of this mistrial, it is not obvious whether his lawyer has made this type of motion to the court, as of yet.
This is an evolving story. Keep up with www.djblackgh.com for more updates.
© 2023 • Story By Edem Latsu Nukafu
Writer’s email:edemlatsu093@gmail.com
