Defense Subpoenas Tate Jurors
Thursday, April 15th, 1971
LOS ANGELES, Apr. 15 — Jurors in the Sharon Tate murder trial have been subpoenaed by the defense to testify Monday about their deliberations that led to conviction and death verdicts for Charles Manson and three women followers.
The seven men and five women were asked to appear at a hearing set for formal sentencing of the defendants and arguments on motions for a new trial.
Chief defense attorney Paul Fitzgerald said Wednesday the four-man defense team also wants to ask jurors about “any conduct during their sequestration which would have prevented fair deliberations.”
According to the penal code, he said, one of the grounds for a new trial is a jury being “guilty of any misconduct whereby fair deliberations are prevented.”
The same jury which convicted Manson and the women of the Tate slayings decreed death March 20 after penalty trial. The defense seeks to challenge both verdicts. The judge must rule on whether the defense may will jurors to the witness stand.
‘There are several points we want to talk to them about,” Fitzgerald said. They include: a financial deal reportedly proposed by one juror to others to sell their story, the possibility that jurors weren’t shielded from trial news coverage, whether there were compromises made during deliberations, and whether jurors were influenced by others during the period they lived at home during the penalty trial
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