Nine hours into jury deliberations on Wednesday in Nassau, Bahamas, Justice Anita Allen, the presiding judge in the case of two people accused of attempting to extort $25 million from actor John Travolta, declared a mistrial after she got word that a politician blurted out the following at a local campaign rally:
Well, we have some good news… Pleasant is a free woman … God is good!
Pleasant, of course, is former Bahamian Senator Pleasant Bridgewater. She and ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne are the infamous defendants in this case.
Justice Allen’s ruling of a mistrial, however, was as unwarranted as it is unsustainable:
It was unwarranted not only because deliberations were still ongoing but also because the judge merely feared, but had no proof that a juror had “communicated” with this boneheaded politician.
And it is unsustainable because it establishes the precedent that any public figure can prematurely announce the verdict in any case in a public forum and cause a mistrial – especially since a contempt citation would invariably prove a small price to pay, if issued at all.
That said, if the jury were really on the verge of acquitting Bridgewater (pictured here with co-defendant Lightbourne), this might be a case of poetic justice.
Because instead of being able to celebrate her freedom, she will now be left hanging in legal purgatory (reportedly bankrupt, unable to work and facing millions in lawsuits based on other allegations of fraud) until her retrial … sometime next year.
And, who knows, this second jury might be more inclined to convict – as the evidence clearly indicates it should.
What a farce!
NOTE: Prosecutors have vowed to retry both defendants. And Travolta issued a statement expressing disappointment but also vowing to return to testify as the star witness for the prosecution.
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Travolta extortionists greedy and stupid…
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