Jury selection continues for Karen Read’s second murder trial in Massachusetts. One juror was permitted to drop out of the pool, but four new jurors were added on Thursday, April 3. The court is looking to seat 16 jurors to allow for four alternates. Only 12 will end up deliberating. Thus far, 10 jurors have been selected, five men and five women.Â
Current Trial Situation
Judge Beverly Cannone has been instructing the jurors within the pool not to rush to any conclusion and to take their time in answering the questions asked of them. Thursday morning, 40 prospective jurors were brought in, and showed the same situation as the first few days of selection. 37 individuals had heard of the case, and over half had formed an opinion. Of those individuals, 21 admitted that serving on the jury would be a hardship.
Karen Read’s defense team requested a complete list of potential jurors from Judge Cannone. Legal analyst Martha Coakley, a former Massachusetts attorney general, recommended that the defense do their research on the jury pool before they begin questioning. Cannone allowed the attorneys to access the list, but they may not have any contact with jurors or potential jurors. They are only allotted one non-attorney from each team to participate in the research.Â
Judge Cannone ordered an extension of the 200-foot buffer zone for the second trial, considering that Karen Read’s supporters could be heard from outside the courtroom during the first trial. The zone has been extended to include the area near Bates Court, Bullard Street, Ames Street, and Court Street. In addition to the extension, the order bans individuals from wearing buttons, photographs, clothing, or insignia concerning Read’s case, including any law enforcement officers testifying. They are prohibited from wearing uniforms or police emblems.
Karen Read’s Defense
The 45-year-old Massachusetts woman, Karen Read, is on trial after pleading not guilty to the second-degree murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. The prosecution is convinced that Read purposefully hit O’Keefe with her SUV, and left him for dead in brutal winter conditions on January 29, 2022. However, her defense argues she is the fall guy for a good old-fashioned law enforcement cover-up.
Karen Read has five attorneys on her defense team, including Victoria George, an alternate juror during her first trial in 2024. Her defense has been fighting for the charges against Read to be dropped, going through multiple courts, and taking different routes. Their effort has not gone unnoticed, but it has not gotten their client far.
At the end of 2024, they attempted to claim double jeopardy for several of the charges that the jurors from the first trial found her not guilty of. The Massachusetts Supreme Court Judges, overhearing the defense’s arguments, denied their motion, arguing it is not double jeopardy since there was no impression that the jurors reached verdicts on any of the charges.
Heading into Retrial
This is an intense moment as we near the end of jury selection. The infamous Karen Read retrial could begin with opening statements by Wednesday next week. There is a long road ahead, and considering the first trial lasted weeks without reaching a unanimous decision, the second trial could last longer.Â
