BOSTON (AP) – The city’s top prosecutor said Thursday he wants to pursue charges against five jurors who hid their criminal pasts during jury selection, leading to a mistrial in the murder case of a man who allegedly killed a 10-year-old girl in a botched drive-by shooting.
Judge Margaret Hinkle declared a mistrial in the case Wednesday after learning that three members of the jury had falsified their questionnaires before Joseph Cousin’s murder trial. That left only 11 jurors to deliberate, one short of the 12 needed.
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley revealed Thursday that two additional jurors had also lied about their criminal records. Some had felony convictions, Conley said, but he would not elaborate.
“What these jurors did is a disgrace, a moral outrage, and an affront to the criminal justice system,” Conley said. “These jurors also lied to a grieving mother.”
Conley said he is looking into whether he can file criminal charges against the five jurors, whom he called “corrupted.”
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