Forget 12 angry men; fellow jurors say it was one stubborn woman who forced a deadlock in the case against former Gov. Rob Blagojevich on the most serious charge against him: that he tried to sell the former Senate seat of President Barack Obama.
“She wanted concrete evidence,” 21-year-old criminal justice student Erik Sarnello told reporters. “If it were a murder trial, she would have wanted to see the video of the shooting.”
Other jurors declined to name the woman, reported the Chicago Sun-Times.
According to members of the jury, an early vote during deliberations showed that an overwhelming majority of jurors felt the former Illinois governor was guilty of many of the 24 charges.
Foreman James Matsumoto said his fellow jurors were all “independent thinkers” with “strong personalities,” and that tensions ran high from the start, said the Sun-Times.
“Some people came in headhunting,” said Sarnello. “One person said, ‘I want [Blagojevich’s] head on a plate.’ By the end, everybody was kind of logical.”
The 11-1 tally on the most serious charge against Blagojevich put a new spin on the trial’s outcome. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the government would retry the case against the former governor.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.