Karen Read asks Supreme Court justice for emergency stay of trial
The legal battle for Massachusetts murder suspect Karen Read continues as her lawyers seek to put her trial on hold until the Supreme Court considers her petition to review a lower court’s decision. The petition aims to have two of the three charges she is facing dropped, including murder and fleeing the scene.
After a hung jury in her first trial, a retrial is already underway, with 12 jurors selected and four more needed as alternates. Read’s lawyers filed a writ of certiorari this week after an appellate court denied her request to dismiss the charges. The petition landed on the desk of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who oversees the U.S. District of Massachusetts.
Karen Read is accused of backing her Lexus SUV into her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, causing a head injury and leaving him to die in a blizzard. She denies the allegations, claiming someone else was responsible for his death. Her defense team argues that the jury in the first trial unanimously found her not guilty of murder and fleeing the scene but couldn’t reach a decision on manslaughter, which was never announced in court.
The defense is asking the Supreme Court to rule on whether an unannounced unanimous decision triggers Fifth Amendment protections and whether Read should receive a post-trial hearing. They argue that retrying her on charges the jury agreed on but didn’t announce amounts to double jeopardy, violating her constitutional rights.
Legal experts suggest that the murder charge in a hit-and-run case may be a scare tactic to push for a plea deal. Read, however, has shown her readiness to fight the charges in court and maintains her innocence. With the second trial underway, she faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.
The unique circumstances of Karen Read’s case have sparked debate over double jeopardy and the handling of jury decisions. The legal battle is far from over as her defense team fights to protect her rights and seek justice in a complex and high-stakes trial.
