A Massachusetts jury on Wednesday found Karen Read not guilty of killing her police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, acquitting her a year after a judge declared a mistrial on identical charges.
Prosecutors alleged that Read, a former equity analyst and adjunct professor at Bentley College, fatally hit O’Keefe with her SUV amid an argument after a night out drinking in 2022, while defense lawyers argued that law enforcement framed Read as part of a cover-up. The dramatic and complex case became a tabloid and true-crime fixture, drawing outsize national attention and throngs of supporters for each side, who rallied daily outside the courthouse.
Read was found not guilty on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. A jury found her guilty on the lesser charge of drunken driving, a charge for which Read faces one year of probation.
How dumb are the folks on an American jury? One year of probation seriously? It's not like Karen "OJ Simpson" Read was trying to help out little ducklings walking on the highway. Who's gonna be held accountable for the death of John O'Keefe? The man was injured and frozen to death in the snow while her drunken girlfriend sent his text calling him a loser...I mean murder is hard to prove, but at least "manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol", just a DUI charge, and these people thought about it for 21 hours? Unbelievable. Money really does get you out of trouble in America, pretty sure that bogus plow driver witness and the other expert were hired to say whatever the lawyers told them.
Also I learned that it only takes 1 juror to disgree with the other 11 for a hung / deadlocked jury, because there is no "unanimous agreement", all that lawyer needed was sowing doubt into one guy. what's wrong with majority rules? 10-2 is good enough for me. The American justice system is so ridiculous.
Now that I think about it, Canadian system is really bad too, teenage girl murdering a homeless man, probation.
Prosecutors alleged that Read, a former equity analyst and adjunct professor at Bentley College, fatally hit O’Keefe with her SUV amid an argument after a night out drinking in 2022, while defense lawyers argued that law enforcement framed Read as part of a cover-up. The dramatic and complex case became a tabloid and true-crime fixture, drawing outsize national attention and throngs of supporters for each side, who rallied daily outside the courthouse.
Read was found not guilty on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. A jury found her guilty on the lesser charge of drunken driving, a charge for which Read faces one year of probation.
How dumb are the folks on an American jury? One year of probation seriously? It's not like Karen "OJ Simpson" Read was trying to help out little ducklings walking on the highway. Who's gonna be held accountable for the death of John O'Keefe? The man was injured and frozen to death in the snow while her drunken girlfriend sent his text calling him a loser...I mean murder is hard to prove, but at least "manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol", just a DUI charge, and these people thought about it for 21 hours? Unbelievable. Money really does get you out of trouble in America, pretty sure that bogus plow driver witness and the other expert were hired to say whatever the lawyers told them.
Also I learned that it only takes 1 juror to disgree with the other 11 for a hung / deadlocked jury, because there is no "unanimous agreement", all that lawyer needed was sowing doubt into one guy. what's wrong with majority rules? 10-2 is good enough for me. The American justice system is so ridiculous.
Now that I think about it, Canadian system is really bad too, teenage girl murdering a homeless man, probation.
