Spector jury has reached a verdict

The jury in Phil Spector’s murder retrial has reached a verdict.

The decision, which comes after nearly 32 hours of deliberations over nine days, will be read at 1:30 p.m., according to the L.A. Superior Court’s public information office. Spector faces at least 18 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Lana Clarkson, an actress shot in the legendary music producer’s Alhambra mansion six years ago. A lesser charge, involuntary manslaughter, carries two to four years in prison.

Over the course of the trial, which began in October, the prosecution portrayed Spector, 69, as a sadistic misogynist who had a three-decade “history of playing Russian roulette with the lives of women” when he was drunk. A prosecutor told jurors in her summation that “by the grace of God, five other women got the empty chamber and lived to tell. Lana just happened to be the sixth woman who got the bullet.”

But Spector’s defense team contended that Clarkson died by her own hand. They said she was depressed over her flagging career and the accompanying financial worries, and may have committed suicide impulsively after hours of late-night drinking with Spector. “In that moment, given all of the things that were wrong in her life . . . can you say she would not have been capable of committing as self-destructive act?” defense attorney Doron Weinberg asked jurors in his closing arguments.

The panel of six men and six women includes three gun owners, seven people who reported knowing someone who committed suicide and one man who said he was a fan of Spector. A 2007 trial ended when the jury deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of conviction.

-- Harriet Ryan

Photo: Phil Spector listens during closing arguments in his retrial on murder charges on March 26, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Credit: Getty Images

Related:

Complete coverage of Spector's trials

Spector's long legal battles may be sapping his fortune

Sick juror interrupts Phil Spector deliberations

Phil Spector's fate is in jury's hands

In closing, Spector defense says all evidence points to suicide

Prosecutor, in closing arguments, calls Phil Spector a 'demonic maniac'

Comments

[guity]

Oh please put this idiot in jail and allow me to keep just one ounce of belief in the judicial system...

[Josh]

And I predict: GUILTY !!

[john]

I have ESP.... it's coming to me, coming to me.... yes I have it.. GUILTY

[canyousayguilty?]

GUILTY - 2ND DEGREE!!!

[Jacob]

He should be guilty for his believing that he is above the law... and for that damn haircut!

[CGE333]

I hope I'm wrong but I feel they are going to only find him guilty of the manslaughter charge.

I hope it's guilty of 2nd, but I think there may have been a compromise to get a verdict. I guess we'll all find out in less than an hour.

[john]

Nice wig.

[annonymous]

The US Judicial system sucks - It should be like in 3rd world countries - an eye for an eye. You steel - you have your hands cut off... etc. That would make criminals think twice about committing these crimes. It's all about how much money you have to spend on paying an attorney to lie for you and create a room full of paperwork. Buried in paperwork. At the end of the day - GUILTY anyway.

[HopeHesGuilty]

Guilty Guilty Guilty, I hope he gets the max so we don't have to look at him in those ridiculous wigs..

[Harry Kunt]

Phil Spector announced plans to head to the
studio to record an album with Chris Brown, citing the singer’s
“complete and total disregard for both women and human decency” asinspiration for the team-up.

[RJ Money]

Everybody wants him to HANG! It'd be nice if there some evidence to support that mentality.
Sadly, there is not. So the only verdict can be "Not Guilty"

RJM

[spiffy]

Please dear God, for ONCE in the life of the Los Angeles court system, let one celebrity be found guilty, finally, of murdering a woman! They said the same things about Lana Clarkson that they said about O.J.'s victims and Blake's victim. They discredit the dead woman, who is conveniently not available to respond to the accusations, and they paint the murderer as just the poor, innocent victim of a conniving female. Granted, Blake's wife was not a nice lady but that's justification for divorce, not murder.

If these guys are so pitiful and put upon, why do they always resort to murder to solve their problems? Why didn't Blake just get a divorce? Why didn't O.J. just go get therapy?

Maybe finally we will have a celebrity in L.A. County be found responsible for killing another human being. The celebrities go to jail all the time for drugs but for murder, they go free. May it not happen this time!

[dd]

guilty guilty guilty...PLEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Steve]

I started in the music business in 1970. It was common knowledge THEN that Spector was unstable, had a hair trigger temper and carried a gun, which he would pull and threaten people with. Then he shot up equipment. Now it looks like he's graduated to actually shooting someone.

[guity]

So, where can we go to find out the verdict?

[ganeth8r]

Can I let him play with a gun in my house? Ooops, I think he shot himself!

[dakota]

Yes! they found him GUILTY!!!!!
I believe in the American Justice system again.

[aurum winton]

science has substance over circumstanial evidence. NOT GUILTY!

[Xeno]

I got a buck that says the little psycho gets off. There is no justice for celebrity sickos in California. Bonnie Lynn Blakely could tell you that, if she hadn't been shot in the head too.

[Rocco]

So where's the verdict? Where's the live coverage?

[Rosee]

FINALLY...jurors who have some common sense!

I'm very proud of the prosecutors who went for a second trial..GOOD JOB...JOB WELL DONE!!

JUSTICE WAS SERVED!!

[ronni ashcroft]

Hooooooooooooooray and Hal-lay-loo-yah, you had it comin' to ya...

[Marie]

Gosh this man looks nuts!! I'll never forget the first trial when it was a hung jury (or whatever the case was I try to forget) and he and his wife were dancing for the cameras waiving at the helicopters overhead, flashing victory signs. I hope he doesn't get to do his victory dance again!! This will tell the world that it's okay to kill as long as you're a celebrity.... or whatever they're called!

[Michele]

I am thrilled to learn of this jury's awesome decision to convict this millionaire celebrity, whose defense used every dirty trick in the book, and managed to subjugate justice for SIX YEARS while Lana's family agonized.

The defense tried to murder her twice, first by the psychopathic insect with a gun, then by insisting she was "over the hill" at a luscious and young 40, and killed herself. They had no shame. If Phil would have owned up to what he did that night he told the limo driver, "I think i killed someone" he probably would have already been out of jail. Because his narcissistic antisocial personality dictated his lack of remorse, he spent millions on a defense that only landed him in prison!

R.I.P. Lovely Lana. May God give comfort to her mom and sister who have endured agony the past six years on their relentless quest for justice.

My thanks to a jury who did their job, after a long and difficult trial. I want to give them a standing ovation. WELL DONE! It lends hope to the funny way celebrities get away with murder lately.

[Santa Barbara reader]

I don't know why this case fascinated me so much, but I feel justice has been served by the jury. I hope it can bring some measure of closure, if not relief, to Clarkson's family.