NORTH CAROLINA—(ENEWSPF)—May 31, 2012. A North Carolina federal jury acquitted former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on one count of violating campaign finance law and deadlocked on the five other counts against him. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles declared a mistrial on the remaining counts. Prosecutors must now decide whether to refile the charges against the former North Carolina senator. The jury has been in deliberations for nine days.
Earlier today, jurors said that they had reached a unanimous verdict on only one count that involved allegations that Edwards had accepted illegal campaign contributions in 2008. Judge Eagles ordered the jurors back into the jury room to continue deliberating, but they returned less than an hour later to announce they were deadlocked.
Edwards had been charged with four counts of accepting illegal campaign contributions, one count of falsifying documents and one of conspiring to receive and conceal the contributions. The charges could have carried a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.
Source: CNN News
