Thaindian News

By Meena Kar
Aug 18, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has been convicted on only 1 of the 24 charges against him in what appeared to be one of the toughest court cases for the jury. Most reports indicate that the jury was hung at 11-1 on most of the counts against the former Governor. Considering the seriousness of the charges against him that includes auctioning a senate seat, bribery, extortion, and mail fraud, the single conviction of Rod Blagojevich was what one can call minuscule. The frustrated prosecutors have promised a retrial as even some of the jurors felt that justice was not served to the people of the state.

Rod Blagojevich appeared calm and composed as the verdict was being read out by the judge. He looked nervous before the jurors walked in and the jurors themselves had an appearance that made the complexity of the case evident. A week ago one of the jurors had revealed that they could come to a unanimous decision only on two of the counts. Several reports are doing the round that indicates that there was a split between the jury and conflicting statements have been made by the jurors to the media.

Co-defendant and brother of Rod Blagojevich, Robert Blagojevich said that the decision of the jurors indicated how Rod Blagojevich was an innocent target of the federal government. Unlike his flamboyant and showman politician brother, Robert Blagojevich was seen walking into court alone. Rod Blagojevich’s wife was seen trying hard to compose herself during the trial and started knitting just before the verdict was read out. Rod Blagojevich told the cheering crowds gathered outside the court that this was a persecution and he would fight against the single conviction on the charges of making false statements to the FBI.