Dec 13, 2007 11:09 am US/Eastern
Marathon Deliberations For Liberty City 7 Jury
Day 9 Of Deliberations
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Dangerous terrorists or a hapless bunch running a con? That's what a twelve member jury is trying to decide as it enters its ninth day of deliberations in the trial of the so-called Liberty City 7. The seven members of a fledgling church in Miami are charged with conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda for a plot to blow up the FBI headquarters and other Federal Buildings in Miami, and the Sears Tower in Chicago.
This is a jury that is racially divided, and deeply split if the length of the deliberations is any indication. Seven of the jurors are white or hispanic, four are black. All seven of the defendants are black.
The case against them was built on the strength of work done by a paid government informant who infiltrated the group and allegedly plotted with them to create "chaos and confusion" across the United States. The FBI secretly recorded audio and video tapes of the group planning a mission that prosecutors have said was intended to "be as good or greater than 9/11." The men never obtained any explosives or other weaponry necessary to carry out such attacks.
The defense has argued that this is a case of entrapment, that the group was enticed by the government's snitch and went along only to con him of money he promised would be coming from Osama Bin Laden. The Liberty City Seven's leader, Narseal Batiste, testified in the trial, insisting that he and his co-defendants never intended to carry through on any terror acts. He simply wanted to con money out of the man who claimed to have al Qaeda finance connections. They knew that man as Brother Mohammed but he was actually a paid FBI informant.
The jury has twice tried to call it quits. Last Thursday, they sent a note to U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard saying they were deadlocked. She sent them back to deliberate. Again, this week the jurors reported they could not reach a verdict. Lenard read them an Allen charge - a so-called "dynamite" charge - instructing them that the case is very important, has been long and costly, and that no other jury could be selected in South Florida that could judge the case any more competently than they. She ordered them back to the jury room, and the panel has continued to deliberate with no further messages coming from the jury room.
The defendants are charged with four counts each of terror-related conspiracy charges. If convicted, they face a maximum of 70 years in prison.
The government's case against them includes a secretly recorded video of the defendants pledging allegiance to al Qaeda and Islamic Jihad. The defense has claimed the defendants were just playing along.
If jurors can't reach a verdict, the U.S. Justice Department would have to decide whether to try the case again, drop the charges or negotiate plea agreements with some or all the men.
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