DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Jury selection for Karen Read’s murder retrial will resume Tuesday at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham. No new jurors were selected.
When asked on Monday why she believes the selection process has slowed down, Read responded, “Well, today was the smallest jury pool yet.”
Monday’s pool consisted of 45 people. 91% of which had said they heard about the case or talked about it, 80% said they had developed an opinion about Karen Read, and 29% said they feel biased for or against Read or the prosecution.
Read has been very involved in the selection process. At times, her lawyers stepped back to speak with her as the group makes a decision on whether to accept a juror who will decide her fate.
On Friday, the court clerk reported one female juror previously chosen asked to drop out, and a new one was added. As it stands, Judge Beverly Cannone still has 10 jurors and needs at least six more.
Cannone ended Friday’s session early, sending four jurors home even before they were screened.
In a final attempt to get Read’s murder charge dismissed, her legal team has announced on Friday they are taking her double jeopardy claim to the Supreme Court of the United States.
The appeal tells the high court, “This case is unique. It is not often that after trial, one juror, much less four jurors, directly contact the defense counsel stating in no uncertain terms that the jury had acquitted the defendant.”
Her lawyers say members of the previous hung jury came forward after the trial and said they were only deadlocked on one of her three charges — manslaughter.
Read’s attorneys are now arguing that trying her again on second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a deadly crash amounts to double jeopardy.
In Dedham, the court is more than halfway through seating a new jury. Five men and five women have been selected so far. One of the previously chosen jurors was dismissed Thursday after telling the judge he could not serve, but was quickly replaced with another man the same morning.
Read is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow after a night out drinking in 2022. Her defense argues she’s been framed, insisting that O’Keefe was killed by someone else.
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