Arson-murder retrial jury: 'We are stuck and there is no movement'
After declaring they were deadlocked, the jurors deciding whether Daniel Dougherty killed his two young sons in a 1985 fire continued their deliberations Tuesday at the prompting of the judge.
After declaring they were deadlocked, the jurors deciding whether Daniel Dougherty killed his two young sons in a 1985 fire continued their deliberations Tuesday at the prompting of the judge.
The jury begins its fifth day of discussions Wednesday, the 13th day in the retrial of a case first brought in 2000.
If the jury remains at a stalemate and a mistrial is declared, Dougherty could face a third trial on the same arson and murder charges. His case is being closely watched by defense experts who say outdated fire science has put innocent people in jail.
Sixteen years ago, a jury took less than three hours to convict him of killing 3-year-old John and 4-year-old Daniel Jr. by setting their Oxford Circle home ablaze.
Tuesday's drama begin when the jury sent a late-morning note to Common Pleas Court Judge J. Scott O'Keefe: "We are stuck and there is no movement."
The judge called the jurors into the courtroom and asked if they needed more information on the law or any other matter in the case. The foreman said no.
Then the judge asked whether there was a reasonable chance the jury could reach a unanimous verdict.
"No," the foreman answered.
The judge told the jurors to keep deliberating in good faith.
The jury deliberated 2½ more hours before stopping for the day.
The defense contends that city fire investigators bungled the case 31 years ago. Burn patterns that seemed like proof of arson in 1985 were known by 2000, and certainly today, to be proof of nothing, Dougherty's lawyer said.
Prosectors say the original finding of arson was correct, and substantiated by a former fire marshal who reviewed the case and testified in court. Patterns showed the fire was set in three places - a sofa, a love seat, and under a dining-room table, they say.
Dougherty, 56, has spent 16 years in prison, having been convicted and sentenced to death in 2000. His death sentence was reduced to a life term in 2012.
The retrial came after an appeals court ruled that his original trial lawyer's failings were so egregious that no reliable finding of guilt or innocence occurred.
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