El Chapo May Be Getting A New Trial
The notorious drug lord’s legal team is now seeking a retrial in light of possible misconduct from multiple jurors.
According to The Associated Press, the suspected jurors allegedly followed social media accounts of the case after being advised not to do so by a federal judge. Now, Chapo’s defense attorney, Eduardo Balarezo intends to ask the judge to conduct an evidentiary hearing “to determine the extent of the misconduct”.
Previously reported, El Chapo’s legal woe’s, as he was convicted of murder conspiracy and drug-trafficking charges last week. He is now facing life in prison y’all!
Just four days ago, Vice news reported that at least five jurors went against the instruction of U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan, and followed Twitter feeds during the three-month-long trial. Jurors anonymously admitted to Vice that there were allegations mentioned on social media, but not admitted to evidence during the trial.
Reports say jurors were regularly warned to refrain from reading about El Chapo’s case, despite the fame and publicity the trial has received.
“It’s clear we need to get them back into court and get some answers about some massive misconduct,” Chapo’s attorney told @apnews. “We hope it will lead to Joaquin Guzman getting the fair trial that he deserves.”
As of now, a new trial date has not been set on Chapo’s behalf, and he is still set to be sentenced in June.