ATLANTA — A jury says it has deadlocked over five of seven charges in the case against suspended Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill.
Jurors told a federal judge at 2:35 p.m. on Monday they'd reached verdicts for two counts.
Because Judge Eleanor Ross ordered the jury of seven women and five men to keep deliberating, no details were released on the two verdicts reached.
Hill is accused of using a restraint chair in his jail to punish inmates without provocation – strapping and handcuffing them in the chair for hours at a time. The US Attorney has identified seven victims; Hill is indicted in each case.
The judge in this case told attorneys she heard loud voices in the jury room within hours of getting the case Friday. At 4 p.m., they delivered a note to Ross saying one juror was "confused," with an "inability" to understand the court's instructions.
Ross ordered the jurors to keep talking, but then dismissed them shortly before 5 p.m. Monday. They'll return Tuesday.
Hill doesn’t dispute that he used a restraint chair to immobilize some inmates that he contended were troublemakers in his jail. Federal prosecutors presented testimony indicating they were chosen for the chair just because they’d angered the controversial yet popular Clayton County sheriff.
It's no surprise the case would be contentious in the jury room, said former DeKalb County district attorney Robert James.
"It's just very difficult to find twelve people to say that a law enforcement officer presumably acting within the scope of their duties and discharging their duties committed a crime," James told 11Alive. "It’s got to be something that’s extreme or beyond the pale. So it’s just hard."
And because the jury has to be unanimous finding guilt, just one juror can make the deliberations continue.