What The Hung Jury Means In The Larry King Murder Case
Filed By Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | September 02, 2011 8:00 AM
http://www.bilerico.com/2011/09/what_the_hung_jury_means_in_the_larry_king_murder.php?utm_source=front_page&utm_medium=top_story&utm_campaign=Top_Story (http://www.bilerico.com/2011/09/what_the_hung_jury_means_in_the_larry_king_murder.php?utm_source=front_page&utm_medium=top_story&utm_campaign=Top_Story)
The jury in the trial of Brandon McInerney, who killed Larry King because he was gay or trans, has notified the judge of their inability to reach a verdict, and has been discharged. There will either be a plea deal or a retrial. But the question that must be on everyone's mind is what the jury was thinking.
My guess as to the likely reason that the jury could not reach a verdict is that there was disagreement as to whether McInerney acted in the "heat of passion." The other potential interpretations don't make any sense. The "heat of passion" defense, when the "passion" offered is that the victim was gay or transgender, is what we colloquially know as the "gay panic" defense, or "trans panic" defense. (Although there is some evidence that King was questioning his gender identity and even referred to himself by a female name at times, the crux of the defense is based on alleged sexual advances and McInerney's homophobia, and so I refer to the defense employed here as a "gay panic" defense rather than a "trans panic" defense.)