April 7 (UPI) — Attorneys for Karen Read, who is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of her police officer boyfriend after a night of drinking, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to delay her Massachusetts retrial until it can take up her appeal.
“To quote Shawshank Redemption, ‘Hope is a great thing sometimes, the best of things.’ So I’ll take any chance with the Supreme Court,” Read, who has pleaded not guilty, told reporters.
No new jurors were selected Monday in Read’s second trial in Norfolk Superior Court. Five men and five women have been seated since last week when jury selection got underway. The court is seeking to seat 16 jurors, including four alternates.
“It’s almost impossible to find a juror who hasn’t at least heard of this case,” legal analyst Peter Elikann told Boston 25 News. “So what we’re looking for is jurors who will still, even though they’ve heard of the case, will say that they can be unbiased.”
Prosecutors allege Read, 44, intentionally backed her SUV into her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, two years ago during a snowstorm. She was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
Read has accused a number of people, including law enforcement, of trying to frame her.
A mistrial was declared last July after the jury said it was deadlocked following five days of deliberation due to “deeply held convictions that each of us carry.”
“Our perspectives on the evidence are starkly divided,” read the note from the jury.
“The deep division is not due to a lack of effort or diligence, but rather a sincere adherence to our individual principles and moral convictions. To continue to deliberate would be futile and only serve to force us to compromise these deeply held beliefs.”
Read’s recent appeal to the Supreme Court seeks to drop the charges of murder and leaving the scene on the grounds of double jeopardy. Defense attorneys claim jurors had agreed to acquit her on those charges and were only undecided on manslaughter.
