The jury at the trial of the accused CP Rail plotters is still out as Day Seven of their deliberation has dawned and is well underway. It is a old courtroom adage that the longer the jury takes to reach a verdict the greater the chance of an acquittal. It’s just a rule of thumb. But reporters and others (like maybe the Crown) must be wondering what the heck is taking them so long. There has been speculation by Christie Blatchford in her daily reporting that this panel of 12 tried and true jurors actually hasn’t got the heart to say what it’s thinking. Nothing personal to anyone. The accused, Raed Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier, offered little defense. In Jaser’s case, he claims he was just trying to scam Crown’s main witness, an FBI agent, for money. Esseghaier says he is in the hands of Allah and no Canadian court can find him guilty because of that. Day Eight if coming.
