Man killed just hours after being set free due to a jury's error

Man killed just hours after being set free due to a jury's error
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A jury's mistake on Wednesday allowed Bobby Lee Pearson to beat burglary charges, but his freedom was short lived: just hours after he was released, Pearson was stabbed to death in a fight. As the Fresno Bee reports, the boyfriend of Pearson's sister has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Just hours before Pearson's death, a jury signed a not-guilty form because they did not have one for a deadlock; jurors were split 8 to 4 in favor of finding Pearson guilty. The judge had to let Pearson go because the not-guilty verdict was put on the record. Pearson then went to his sister's house to reclaim some property, and began to argue with her boyfriend, Willie Gray. The fight continued outside, and when police arrived, a steak knife was found next to Pearson.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.