Hung jury

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted Toforest Johnson's death sentence to life in prison without parole, citing insufficient direct evidence to justify execution. Johnson was convicted in 1998 for the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy, largely on testimony from a paid "earwitness." Ivey said the move was not a declaration of innocence. The decision followed years of advocacy from former Attorney General Bill Baxley, former chief justices, convicting jurors, and the original prosecutor, over strong objections from Attorney General Steve Marshall, who urged Ivey to respect the jury's verdict. Critics note prosecutors gave contradictory accounts across multiple trials of who fired the fatal shot. Johnson's attorneys continue pursuing a new trial; Ivey has now commuted three death sentences while overseeing 27 executions.

The California attorney general's office has dropped all felony charges against five Stanford University students prosecuted over a June 2024 campus protest against Israel's actions in Gaza. The students were among 12 who barricaded themselves in the university president's office for an hour, demanding Stanford divest from companies tied to Israel. They had faced felony conspiracy to trespass and vandalism charges, first announced in April 2025 by Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen.

Five students went to trial in early 2026, which ended in a hung jury. A judge later ordered Rosen to recuse himself over a conflict of interest, after evidence emerged he was using the case to fundraise for his reelection campaign. The state attorney general's office then took over and reached a resolution dropping all charges in exchange for 100 hours of community service and roughly $50,000 in restitution. Three students who had earlier accepted plea deals will also have their convictions overturned. Civil rights groups, including CAIR's San Francisco Bay Area chapter, welcomed the outcome, arguing the felony charges were disproportionate to the protest activity.

Former Santa Clara County undersheriff Rick Sung pleaded guilty Monday to two felony bribery counts as part of a plea deal ahead of a scheduled retrial, the county District Attorney's Office announced. A previous trial ended in a mistrial after a hung jury. Sung, who was second in command under former Sheriff Laurie Smith, was accused of leveraging rarely issued concealed weapon permits in exchange for benefits including a promise of 200 Apple iPads and access to a luxury suite and tickets at SAP Center, home of the San Jose Sharks. A related bribery charge against businessman Harpreet Chadha, who held the suite license, was dismissed at the hearing.

The plea closes out an eight-year investigation that began after a tip about an unusually large contribution to a committee backing Smith's 2018 re-election. The probe produced six convictions, including former Captain James Jensen, and led to Smith's 2022 resignation. Sung must permanently surrender his California peace officer certification and complete 400 hours of community service.

The mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy case has spiraled into a political and media controversy after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis offered to provide "asylum" to the lone holdout juror whose vote led to an 11-1 deadlock. Clancy, the Duxbury mother accused of killing her three children, does not dispute the killings but says she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible; a mistrial was declared September 4 after nearly 38 hours of deliberations.

NBC10 Boston reported the holdout juror had a 2021 domestic assault charge, later dismissed, and an active restraining order sought by a nephew. DeSantis accused the outlet of trying to smear the juror and pledged Florida's support if he faces harassment. Critics, including a retired judge, called the report an unwise instance of "trial by social media," while a First Amendment advocate said the key question is whether the juror was truthful during jury vetting. Clancy's defense attorney has since filed a motion seeking a not-guilty finding.