Not since O.J. has a trial grabbed America by the throat quite like this. For the last three days with more than 30 hours of deliberation, the jury announced it is deadlocked on all three counts of Bill Cosby’s assault charges.
So far the judge isn’t accepting it. He’s pushing the jury to keep trying, NBC News reported.
Cosby’s attorney filed for a mistrial, but Judge Steven O’Neill rejected the request. O’Neill urged the jury to continue conversation and not “feel compelled to surrender your honest belief” just to reach a verdict, NBC added.
The jurors are not taking the trial lightly, having asked six questions during their deliberations, CNN reported.
Attorney Lisa Bloom, who recently repped comedian Kathy Griffin when she posed for a violent picture with a fake, bloody President Trump head, tweeted that these types of decisions are hard because “people don’t understand victim behavior.”
My heart breaks for every sexual assault survivor reading this & fearing there will never be justice. Don’t give up. https://t.co/xE6KnrOyJL
— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) June 15, 2017
MSNBC correspondent Ari Melber is shocked by the deadlock considering how many people have come forward as Cosby’s victims.
Inside the courtroom, Cosby case has been “he said/she said.”
Outside, it is “he said/they said” – with overwhelming testimonial evidence.
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) June 15, 2017
Claudia Rosenbaum, a Buzzfeed reporter, said many are hurting from this news.
Several of Cosby accusers are huddled together on a bench outside of the courtroom. One woman is crying.
— Claudia Rosenbaum (@CJRosenbaum) June 15, 2017