A Chatsworth judge Thursday declared a mistrial in the case of a 17-year-old accused in the 2008 shooting death of a gay classmate.
The jurors reported that seven members wanted to convict on a charge of voluntary manslaughter, while five wanted murder.
Earlier in the day, jurors returned to the judge, saying they were unable to reach a verdict. The judge ordered the panel to resume deliberations in an effort to reach a decision.
There has been no dispute that Brandon McInerney shot and killed 15-year-old Lawrence King in an E.O. Green Middle School classroom in February 2008. The case has focused on a motive for the slaying and whether McInerney should be convicted of first-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter.
McInerney, who was 14 at the time of the slaying, was being tried as an adult.
Jurors began deliberations Friday in a Chatsworth courtroom after defense attorneys tried to convince them that McInerney snapped because he was repeatedly sexually harrassed by King. The defense argued that McInerney should not be convicted of first-degree murder. They argued for a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, which the judge allowed jurors to consider.
Prosecutors argued that the shooting was fueled by McInerney's hate and homophobia. Prosecutor Maeve Fox told the jury that blaming a 15-year old boy for his own murder is character assassination.
Now, prosecutors must decide whether to retry the case, and if so, whether to again seek to convict on the higher charge of murder.
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