INDIANAPOLIS — The next time we'll see the Delphi murders trial jury back in the Carroll County courtroom will be to read the verdict.
How soon that happens is up to those eight women and four men, but it raises the question: Is the old adage true, that a short deliberation indicates a finding of guilt?
"Our theory is usually the opposite of what you're saying," 13News legal expert Katie Jackson-Lindsay said. "It's that if a fast verdict is for the defense because a jury could quickly decide not to take away someone's freedom, and then a longer verdict is usually for the state because they're really thinking through it. And so I think a lot those things are a bit superstitious."
So what really goes down in deliberation rooms? Jackson-Lindsay said jurors will often start off by taking a poll on who believes the person is guilty or not guilty.
"Sometimes jurors go back there and are unanimous in their first vote, in their first count and they say 'OK, that's enough for us. We're going to go back and give our verdict,'" Jackson-Lindsay said.
While that may be an ideal scenario for some, Jackson-Lindsay said that's not often the outcome.
"If you have eight and four – eight not guilty, four guilty – it could be those eight people trying to convince those four to come to the not guilty side, but I've also had it where we've learned there was that breakdown and those four people convinced those other eight people to come to their side, and so it's really a give-and-take, back-and-forth," Jackson-Lindsay said.
But if all the jurors can't agree on one verdict after days of deliberation, that's what is known as "deadlocked."
"The judge will then inquire as to whether or not they think additional deliberations or additional time will allow them to reach a unanimous decision. If they say no, the judge has to use their discretion to decide if they should declare a mistrial or a hung jury," Jackson-Lindsay said.
In the case of defendant Richard Allen, Judge Frances Gull said jurors will deliberate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, except Sundays, but jurors have the option to take more time if needed.
