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The Phil Spector jury, after 6 ballots, concludes that they are deadlocked at 10 and 2. Spector watched, leaning back, chin down, eyes fixed and unblinking. Mistrial for Phil!
Once again, a celebrity gets into hot water and walks away relatively unscathed. Lana Clarkson -- pictured here, in an early appearances as a trophy wife in Fast Times at Ridgemont High -- didn't walk away at all. Her last minutes were spent in Phil Spector's foyer, where she took a bullet to the brain.
Phil, he gets a 27-year old wife, a couple of big bodyguards, a tacky license plate, a little media circus on his block, and all the crazy hairstyles a man could want.
That is, until a civil trial comes for him. And maybe the district attorney, again.
Phil Spector theme song for the day? "Unchained Melody," of course.
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Maybe now musicians won't think it's so funny when Phil Spector points a gun at their head.
why are LAist columnists are so pro-prosecution?
What about this post is pro-prosecution? Please indulge us with your conspiracy theories as to why Spector was overcharged, framed, or otherwise set up to take the fall for this "accidental suicide."
the "what phil gets" section presumes he's guilty. assuming he's not guilty, which we are supposed to do, then he had to be accused of killing someone close to him and be put on trial for it with his liberty in jeopardy. i imagine that his life has been turned upside down. i don't know if he's guilty or not guilty, that's for the jury to decide. at least 2 and possibly 10 of them thought he wasn't. and they actually listened to the entire trial...unlike 99.9% of the rest of us. innocent until proven guilty. not innocent unless presumed guilty.
Did you miss the reports of Spector coming out of the house, gun in hand, telling the chauffeur "I think I killed somebody". Team Spector must have gotten to the jury.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, in the case of Phil), the jury was only charged with deliberating a second-degree murder count, i.e., intentional homicide. if they thought he had merely killed Lana recklessly or negligently, they had no way to convict him of the lesser charge. blame the judge for making it an all or nothing proposition, not the jury when their hands were tied from the start.
you're wrong #6. second degree murder doesn't REQUIRE intent. it requires malice aforethought, which could include intent to kill or cause serious bodily harm, or more importantly in this case, gross recklessness. i agree that a manslaughter instruction should have been made (really more the prosecution's fault though, for making it all or nothing from the beginning). the judge here didn't find manslaughter applicable under the circumstances, though, because as long as the jury found that spector put the gun in clarkson's mouth, it would constitute grossly reckless behavior. anyway my point is, spector didn't have to intend to kill her to be convicted on the 2nd degree charge.