Cledir Barros child cruelty retrial: Second mistrial declared
Another mistrial in Gwinnett County child cruelty case
On Wednesday, the child cruelty case against Cledir Barros was declared a mistrial again. This was the second time the Gwinnett County father accused of not doing enough to prevent the beating death of his 8-year-old daughter was tried. The defense told FOX 5 the case may be tried for a third time.
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - In a surprising turn of events during the retrial in the case of Cledir Barros, another mistrial has been declared.
At about 3:40 p.m., the court received a note from the jury saying that they were deadlocked. Seven jurors found Barros guilty of child cruelty, five said he wasn't. At the end of the note, they wrote, "Help us."
"We have determined that no additional amount of deliberation will reach a unanimous verdict," said Gwinnett County Judge Ronnie Batchelor.
This is the second time the judge declared a mistrial in the case.
"I want you to know that it's okay to disagree," said Judge Batchelor. "In fact, I think it's important that if you're not convinced, that you disagree."
This came just a few hours after a juror was removed on Wednesday morning after admitting to looking up the word "neglect" in the dictionary and bringing the definition to court.
Juror removed from Cledir Barros trial
A juror was excused from the trial of Cledir Barros on Wednesday morning because he looked up a word outside of court. The juror looked up the word because English is his second language. The judge excused the juror from service. Deliberations had to be restarted.
The juror in question reportedly took this action because English is his second language. The judge expressed concerns that this could affect the jury's ability to fairly determine the fate of Barros, who is charged in connection with the death of his eight-year-old daughter, Sayra.
This retrial came after a mistrial was declared two weeks ago when the original jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Barros' wife, Natalia, who is also Sayra's stepmother, is accused of beating the child to death with a rolling pin in January.
The prosecution argues that Barros was aware of the prior abuse but still pulled Sayra out of school to be homeschooled by Natalia. The defense, however, maintains that Barros, a truck driver often away from home, was unaware of the abuse.
In the interest of ensuring a fair trial, the judge decided to remove the juror and replace him with an alternate, forcing the jury to restart deliberations. Before the juror's removal, the judge noted that the jury was evenly split, with six jurors on each side.
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The defense attorney told FOX 5 she believed the case may be tried for a third time, and may begin as early as next week. We're still learning more.
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