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TGIF
In 2003, Robert Figueroa and another New York man shot a third man outside of a bar. The following year, Figueroa was convicted of aggravated manslaughter and possession of weapon charges, and he was sentenced to 46 years in the clink. That verdict came after just one day of jury deliberations, on a Friday. On the afternoon of that Friday in question, jurors told the judge overseeing the case that they were unable to reach a decision. When the judge said they might have to work through the weekend, they came back with a verdict in under an hour and a half.
Figueroa appealed his conviction, arguing that the jury was coerced by the judge’s comments. The judge in that case says he was merely letting the jury know they had all the time in the world to make a careful and considered deliberation, and prosecutors argued that the judge was simply being facetious and reasonable jurors would know it. Well last week a New York appellate court sided with Figueroa, deciding that the jury was coerced by the judge’s comments. It may not do Figueroa that much good, however, as it doesn’t get him off the hook, but just gets him a new trial.
