Strains show as Philadelphia jury continues deliberations on abuse case
June 13, 2012
In a landmark sex-abuse case in Philadelphia, jurors deliberated for a 7th day without reaching a verdict on June 12, and emotions ran high in the courtroom as the jurors prepared to take a day off from their discussions.
The jury—which had already sought and received the judge’s permission for a recess on June 13 to attend to family matters—asked for another opportunity to review some evidence in the case. The request prompted an outburst from a defense lawyer, who showed his frustration with the length of their deliberations.
In the Philadelphia trial, two priests are charged with endangering children by failing to take action on sex-abuse complaints against parish priests. One of the defendants, Msgr. William Lynn, was vicar for clergy in the Philadelphia archdiocese during the period covered by the complaint. He is the first diocesan official in the US to face criminal charges for mishandling sex-abuse complaints.
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Further information:
- Jury in Philly priest-abuse case returns Thursday (AP)
- Philadelphia jury breaks for weekend in key sex-abuse trial (CWN, 06/08)
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Posted by: -
Jun. 20, 2012 6:34 PM ET USA
Seems like the Prosecutor over-charged this case; Msgr. Lynn is accused of conspiracy to abuse kids while they have in evidence a list of offending priests who had admitted their crime to Msgr Lynn or whom he belived guilty. He gave the list to the Cardinal with a recommendation that they be removed. The Cardinal destroyed the list, frustrating to good efforts of Msgr. Lynn. How can they possibly accuse him of conspiracy to harm kids?? Sloppy work on the part of the Prosecutors.
