Another Mistrial For Hal Turner

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 11, 2010 10:40PM

For the second time in a little over three months, a trial for blogger and Internet radio host Harold Turner has ended in a mistrial. Turner was arrested last year after an incident stemming from an appeals court's decision to uphold handgun bans in Oak Park and Chicago, Turner went on an internet tirade which included, "Let me be the first to say this plainly: These Judges deserve to be killed." To take the threats to another level, he listed the "photos, phone numbers, work addresses and courtroom numbers" of the judges involved: Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook and judges Richard Posner and William Bauer of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In December, a mistrial was declared in the first go-around as the jury failed to reach a verdict. The same reason is being blamed for this mistrial: after three days of deliberations, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. One issue that played a larger role than expected at the trial was the revelation that Turner had previously worked as an informant for the FBI. April 12 has been scheduled as the start date for trial number three. Declaring that federal judges should be killed is dumb enough, but we're wondering if Turner regrets the tirade given that the SCOTUS is likely going to give him what he wanted in the first place.