The jury was split in the case of Donald Benjamin, on trial in a New York State court for robbery and burglary. The jurors had gone over the evidence carefully more than once, but the gap couldn’t be closed. Still, one juror decided to take a closer look at the exhibits they’d been given. He re-examined Defense Exhibit B, the police report. Certain entries had been blacked out with an ink marker, not the more opaque redaction tape-and-photocopy, as is normally done.
Suppressed Information
By holding the paper up to the light, the juror could clearly make out what was written beneath: Benjamin had two prior arrests for crimes almost identical to the one then under consideration and was still on probation for one of them. The juror told his fellow jurors about his discovery, and it wasn’t long before the deadlock was broken. The jury convicted Donald Benjamin, who was sentenced to eight years.
