Jury deliberations in the terror trial of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani are expected to continue on Monday.
he judge in the New York trial of an accused terrorist conspirator rejected a defense plea for a mistrial on Monday after a juror claimed to be chastised after disagreeing with the conclusions of fellow jurors.
Judge Lewis Kaplan read aloud a note that he received from the juror, who asked to be "excused or exchanged" in the trial of Ahmed Khalafan Ghailani.
Ghailani faces charges of conspiracy and murder in the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that killed 224 people.
Kaplan told defense attorneys there was no good cause, given the jury had only begun deliberations on Wednesday.
The move has fueled growing speculation over a possible hung jury in a case involving the first detainee held at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be tried in civilian court.
Ghailani defense attorneys have maintained that the 36-year-old Tanzanian was exploited by al Qaeda, the group that claimed responsibility for the attacks.
"Call him a dupe, call him a pawn -- used, set up like a bowling pin, in the immortal words of Jerry Garcia," defense attorney Peter Quijano said. "But don't call him guilty."
Read more:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/11/15/new.york.ghailani.trial/index.html
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