Baltimore State's Attorney plans to retry James Barnett in 2022 rowhome fire that killed 3 firefighters
The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office has announced plans to retry the man accused of setting a vacant Stricker Street rowhome on fire back in 2022.
Meanwhile, family members of the three firefighters — Lt. Kelsey Sadler, Lt. Paul Butrim and Kenny Lacayo -- who were killed in the fire are holding onto hope after the judge declared a mistrial in the case against James Barnett.
"We're just going to keep fighting for Kelsey, Paul and Kenny because they deserve that," said Lacey Marino, the sister of Sadler. "You know, this, this is about them."
A new hearing is set for Nov. 6. That's when the state and the defense will decide on a new trial date.
The jury in the trial of James Barnett
The jury could not come to a unanimous decision on whether to convict Barnett of second-degree arson, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges in the case. One juror told CBS News Baltimore that some jurors led with emotion, leading to a six-to-six split.
"That's the ultimate conundrum, if you will," said legal expert Warren Alperstein. "If it was 11 to 1 to convict, it's probably an easier decision to re-try."
Alperstein said, for some, it's hard to eliminate emotion inside the deliberation room.
"Given the fact that these jurors are human beings, it's very difficult to remove the human side, emotional side, of it away from the deliberations," he said.
Some jurors expressed frustration during deliberations, saying some did not take a good look at the evidence presented in trial.
"As a former prosecutor, now practicing criminal defense attorney, I've seen cases and have been on different sides of this where you think it's going to be a conviction," Alperstein said. "For some reason, you can't convince all 12 as a prosecutor and, vice versa, as a defense attorney."
Looking to a new trial
Alperstein said there may not be new evidence to be uncovered in a new trial, but prosecutors may develop a new approach to the case.
He said, for the defense, a mistrial is better than a conviction. It gives the defense another shot to convince a new jury that Barnett is innocent.
Though, a new trial could bring challenges for both the prosecution and the defense.
"The events that underly the charges, that happened five years ago," Alperstein said. "So, it's been publicized since then. It was publicized obviously now, again, during this trial. The more publicity that is out there, the more folks that could be potential jurors are going to hear it."
