***breaking*** Philly Catholic Trial Jury Says It Is 'Hung' on 4 of 5 Counts
By Dave Pierre
***BREAKING NEWS*** … Wed. June 20, 2012, 12:58pm: Media outlets reporting that Philadelphia Catholic trial jury "hung" on 4 out of 5 counts. The landmark trial began March 26, and the jury has been deliberating since June 1. The jury reportedly passed a note to Judge Teresa Sarmina this morning that read: "We the jury are at a hung jury status on all charges except for one. Please advise us as to our next step." Sarmina then advised the jury to keep deliberating. So it is important to note that it is still possible that the jury later returns "guilty" and/or "not guilty" verdicts. THE LATEST: - AP story (updated) - Reuters story - Philly Inquirer (updated) - CBS 3 Philly - Ralph Cipriano Defendant MSGR. WILLIAM J. LYNN: - Child endangerment charge #1: ?? - Child endangerment charge #2: ?? - Conspiracy (w/ ex-priest Edward Avery): ?? Defendant REV. JAMES J. BRENNAN: - Attempted rape: ?? (Recall that prosecutors described a brutal, all-night rape in their grand jury report. By the start of the trial, the prosecutors all-but-admitted that this episode was fiction. Prosecutors quietly reduced the charges from rape to "attempted rape.") - Child endangerment charge: ?? (Fr. Brennan admitted allowing the accuser, when he was only 14, to view porno on his computer.) N.B. – Recall also that four weeks ago Judge Sarmina outright dismissed major conspiracy charges against Msgr. Lynn and Fr. Brennan – even after nearly two months of testimony in front of a jury. ***This is a breaking story*** … Stay tuned for possible updates … **UPDATE, Wed. 5pm**: The jury will return Friday, not tomorrow, to deliberate more. A juror has a family matter to attend to … Also notable: Judge Sarmina denied the request for a mistrial from Fr. Brennan's attorney. "That was not a Spencer charge – that was a Sarmina Spencer charge."
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