NORRISTOWN, Pa. _ Jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial reported Thursday that they were at an impasse after more than 30 hours of deliberations over four days.
Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O'Neill instructed the panel of seven men and five women to keep pressing for a unanimous decision.
"While you should not hesitate to re-examine your own views or change your opinion if your opinion is erroneous, do not feel compelled to surrender your honest belief," he told the panel. "If after further deliberations, you are still deadlocked on some or all the charges, you should report that to me."
Jurors showed little reaction to the judge's instruction. Other Cosby accusers in the courtroom left in tears.
The jurors sent the note announcing their deadlock just after 11 a.m. As their debate dragged on since Monday some have shown increasing signs of fatigue during their brief appearances in the Norristown courtroom.
After three days and 28 hours of debate, the group had asked to revisit nearly every critical piece of evidence from the trial that began nearly two weeks ago _ ranging from Cosby's 2005 deposition and police statement, in which he denied drugging and molesting the case's central accuser, Andrea Constand, to Constand's own recollections of the 2004 night she said he attacked her.
They told the judge they were deadlocked on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault.
O'Neill's instruction to the group to keep working was delivered as part of what is known in Pennsylvania as "Spencer Charge" _ a last admonition to the jury that it is important to reach whatever verdict it can in a given case.
It is not uncommon for stuck jurors to report an impasse and then reach a verdict later after being asked to return to the jury room. If they continue to disagree, however, the judge would call a mistrial. Should that happen, it is not yet clear whether prosecutors would seek to retry Cosby.
If convicted, Cosby could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for each count of aggravated indecent assault he faces.
