Jury deliberations continue in deadly Baltimore rowhome fire trial. Here's what a legal expert has to say.
Jury deliberations continued Thursday in the trial of James Barnett, who is accused of setting a rowhome fire that later killed three Baltimore firefighters.
Baltimore Fire Lieutenants Kelsey Sadler and Paul Butrim and Firefighter/EMT Kenny Lacayo died battling the Jan. 24, 2022 blaze on Stricker Street.
Earlier this week, the judge ordered the murder charges against Barnett to be dropped, so he now faces second-degree arson, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment.
Jurors began their deliberations Wednesday afternoon. They sent their first note to the judge Thursday afternoon, requesting the transcripts of the defendant's statements.
The jury didn't reach a verdict on Thursday, so they will continue to deliberate on Friday morning.
Emotional, high-stakes case
"I think this is a really challenging case," legal expert Warren Alperstein told CBS News Baltimore. "You have three firefighters that woke up that day to go to work and didn't come home because they were killed."
Prosecutors say Barnett was seen on video creating at least four flashes of light, believed to be flames, inside the vacant rowhome. They also say he made conflicting statements during his interview with police.
Barnett's attorney, however, says the prosecution cannot prove the video shows his client.
"When you have inconsistencies in evidence -- whether it's evidence that relates to statements from a defendant or witnesses, or evidence that relates to video, as we have here -- when they conflict, it makes it more challenging for the state to prove that a beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard has been satisfied," Alperstein explained.
Jurors are now discussing hours of video and several witness and expert testimonies. One person they did not hear from on the stand was Barnett himself.
"That judge instructs the jury that they can't hold Barnett's silence against him," said Alperstein. "So, that's what the jury's supposed to do, but jurors are human. Some jurors may say, 'Well, you know what, he should have testified and because he didn't, maybe he was hiding something."
Alperstein said a lot could be weighing on the jurors' minds – case evidence, the time that Barnett could face in prison, and knowing families of the firefighters want justice. The high emotions could impact the final verdict.
"That could cause potential problems for jurors to vote guilty and even not guilty," he said.
