A jury returned a unanimous not guilty verdict yesterday, ending the Supreme Court trial in which 23-year-old Obefemi Gibson was accused of armed robbery and murder.
Gibson was charged with murdering a police officer in Long Island four years ago.
The eight-woman, four-man panel deliberated for more than three hours before returning their verdict for Gibson, who if found guilty yesterday, would have faced the death penalty.
The 12-0 count from the jurors acquitted him of all charges and allowed him to walk out of the courtroom a free man.
It was alleged that Gibson, concerned with others, had robbed the Royal Bank of Canada of $68,792.71.
Defence lawyer Murrio Ducille said that there had been inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case, which had focused around a confession that indicated Gibson’s involvement in the armed robbery and on which Gibson’s signature appeared.
Ducille argued in his defence that the statement had been fabricated by the police and that the police had beaten his client for 13 hours until he was forced to sign the false document.
Source: Kilah Rolle, The Tribune
