Five Days of Deliberations and Counting

After almost a week of deliberations jurors will head back to court to try and reach a consensus in the federal trial of Jackson Mayor Frank Melton and bodyguard Michael Recio. MPB's Lawayne Childrey is following the case and has this report.

During yesterdays deliberations jurors asked judge Dan Jordan for more defined information about count two of the three count indictment. That is the count that deals specifically with the deprivation of civil rights under the color of law as it relates to the use of a weapon. Last week jurors asked for transcripts of various testimony and the definition of conspiracy. Mississippi College of Law Professor Matt Steffy says this shows that the 9 women and 3 men on the jury are laborious in their review of the facts as it relates to the law.

"And I think they are struggling very hard to reach consensus on how the law applies to these facts and whether the Mayor and officer Recio is guilty. There wasn't a warrant there was property damage but whether that you know is a federal felony is obviously something that divides the jury just like it divides the community at large."

Today marks the fifth day of jury deliberations. Saturday had been a planed work day but was halted when two jurors were reported to have had outside contact about the case. Instead Judge Jordan held interviews in his chambers with the parties involved along with council from both sides. After more than five hours of discussion Jordan says that he was satisfied that the jury had not been tainted or prejudiced.

Mayor Melton and his bodyguard are accused in the 2006 sledgehammer destruction of a duplex that Melton considered to be a crack house. For MPB News, I'm Lawayne Childrey.