It's Second-Degree Murder Or Bust For Hung Spector Jury
The Phil Spector jury still sits deadlocked, one faction firmly convinced the pouffy-wigged eccentric shot Barbarian Queen star Lana Clarkson in the mouth, the other feeling Spector was merely the victim of a convoluted self-murder plot for which he'd unwittingly provide a suicide-friendly foyer and firearm. Presiding Judge Larry Paul Fidler, meanwhile, in his ongoing attempts to shake some clear-minded consensus into the divided group, has opted not to offer the option of a reduced sentence of manslaughter:
The judge told lawyers he was considering allowing the panel to consider a lesser charge, but later decided against making involuntary manslaughter an option for the jurors.
If the deadlock persists and a mistrial is declared, prosecutors would have three options: seek a new trial of Spector, pursue a plea bargain or drop the charges.
The judge ruled in August that the jury would consider only second-degree murder, saying the facts of the case did not support lesser offenses. Involuntary manslaughter involves causing a death through extremely careless acts.
We're not sure what the law recognizes as a "careless act," but it would seem to us that the administering of an "intra-oral" gunshot wound followed by the defendant stumbling outside with a gun in his hand and telling his limo driver, "I think I killed somebody," would definitely qualify as one. Nevertheless, the lack of a verdict compromise brings us one step closer to mistrial and the very real prospect of Spector getting off, only to be picked up by Vegas police a decade later for waving a gun in the face of a rock n' roll memorabilia collector he claims stole the napkin on which he scribbled the lyrics to Da Doo Ron Ron and the lucky wig he wore the day he was declared a free man.
