Karen Read's retrial: Judge declines to answer 4th jury question, calls it ‘theoretical'
The judge in Karen Read's murder retrial on Tuesday afternoon declined to answer a fourth question from the jury, deeming it 'theoretical,' shortly after ruling on an additional three questions about evidence and a verdict slip.
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When the court returned from its afternoon lunch break, Cannone announced that jurors had a fourth question: 'If we find not guilty on two charges but can't agree on one charge, is it a hung jury on all three charges or just one charge?'
Cannone informed the court that she would respond to the jury and tell them that the question is 'theoretical' and not something she can answer.
'To me, it's a theoretical question, and we don't answer theoretical questions. I tell the jurors that they're not to be concerned with the consequences of their verdict, and that's exactly what they're doing here,' Cannone explained.
Read attorney Alan Jackson urged Cannone to offer clarity in a quick note to the jury, emphatically stating, 'We're going to end up in the exact same position we were in last year.'
Last year, the jury sent three notes to the judge over three days before a mistrial was declared due to a hung jury. Several jurors later came out to say that the panel had unanimously agreed that Read was not guilty of the most serious charge of second-degree murder.
Cannone called the question 'premature,' noting that it 'may be something later.'
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan endorsed Cannone's ruling.
Earlier in the day, Cannone ruled on the following three questions:
What is the timeframe for the OUI charge, 12:45 a.m. or 5 a.m.?
Are video clips of Karen Read evidence, and how do we consider them?
Does convicting guilty on a sub-charge convict on the overall charge? (In reference to the manslaughter OUI charge)
Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of striking John O'Keefe, 46, with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die alone in a blizzard outside of a house party in Canton at the home of fellow officer Brian Albert on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking.
Throughout her second trial, the prosecution's theory of jaded love turned deadly was countered by a defense claim that a cast of tight-knit Boston area law enforcement killed a fellow police officer.
Read's lawyers argued that O'Keefe was beaten, bitten by a dog, then left outside Albert's home in a conspiracy orchestrated by the police that included planting evidence against Read.
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