Dec 21, 2007 6:54 pm US/Eastern
John White Case On L.I. Hits Snag In Deliberations
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) ―
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John White was charged in the killing of a white teenager during a racially charged encounter outside his Garden City home.
CBS
The trial of a black man charged with killing a white teenager during a racially charged encounter outside his home hit a snag Friday when the jury said it was deadlocked.
Jurors later resumed deliberations for nearly two hours in John White's trial after getting more instructions from the judge. The jury was to return Saturday.
The development came on the third day of deliberations in a case that attracted national attention after White testified that he thought he was going to be lynched when five teenagers showed up at his house after getting in a fight with his son. The 54-year-old defendant's family in the Deep South has a long history of being the victims of racial violence.
White admitted on the witness stand that he shot 17-year-old Daniel Cicciaro in August 2006. He said the pistol went off accidentally as Cicciaro grabbed for it. Prosecutors said he killed the teenager in cold blood.
The standstill in deliberations came on an emotional day in the courtroom. The jury asked for a lengthy read-back of testimony, and the court reporter choked up with emotion after reading a passage that described the actual shooting.
Later, the jury asked for a reading of the juror's oath, which outlines the responsibility of a juror. The panel told the judge that some jurors were not properly following the instructions.
White is on trial for manslaughter, which carries a possible 15-year prison term. But the judge allowed the jury to consider convicting White of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor that carries a prison term of up to one year.
White was arrested on Aug. 9, 2006, after his son, Aaron, was asked to leave a beer bash at a friend's home when a female guest complained about a bogus MySpace posting claiming Aaron wanted to rape her.
Although White denied making the threat, he complied and left the party. Cicciaro and his friends subsequently called the teenager on his cell phone to continue the dispute, allegedly making threats that culminated when they arrived at the White home shortly after 11 p.m.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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