News

Hung Jury in Tan ’17 Murder Trial; Case to be Retried

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After eight days of jury deliberations, Judge James Piampiano declared a mistrial in the murder trial of Charles Tan ’17 Thursday, finding that the deadlocked jury was unlikely to reach consensus. Following Piampiano’s ruling, many jurors expressed discontent, telling reporters they thought they might have been able to arrive at a verdict that afternoon if they had been allowed to continue deliberations. “We were shocked,” juror Jennifer McGoff told The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “We wanted more time. We were working very hard.”
Reports from the jury room indicate that the group began deliberations split nine-to-three in favor of conviction, and ended with a vote of eight-to-four for conviction, although some jurors refused to reveal their votes, citing concerns that Tan receives a “fair trial.” Some jurors added that, through deliberations, vote totals fluctuated significantly, with some minds changing  “every day,” according to The Democrat and Chronicle.

News

Jury Remains Split in Tan ’17 Trial After Days of Deliberation

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Jurors in the trial of Charles Tan ’17, who faces charges for the murder of his father, told the judge they were unable to reach consensus Tuesday after a sixth day of deliberations. Monroe County Court Judge James Piampiano responded by issuing the jury an “Allen charge,” an instruction for the jury to continue deliberations and a request for those in the minority to reconsider in the hopes of avoiding a hung jury. If the jury cannot eventually reach a unanimous decision, the judge will have to declare a mistrial and the case will be retried. “Start with a flesh slate,” Piampiano wrote in the Allen charge. “Do not feel bound by how you felt before, whether you favored conviction or acquittal.

class of 2015

Friends, Family Mourn Death of McGinnis ’15

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Connor James McGinnis ’15 died Sunday surrounded by family and friends, four months after his graduation from Cornell. He was 22. McGinnis was born on March 8, 1993 in Newton, Massachusetts, according to his obituary. After attending high school at Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, Florida, he came to the Hill, where he majored in information science and minored in music and computing in the arts. At Cornell, McGinnis was a Phi Gamma Delta  brother, a member of CUJazz and a singer in a capella group Cayuga’s Waiters.

News

Big Red Bullet Begins Nonstop Bus Service With Free Rides for the Week

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The Big Red Bullet — a new Ithaca-to-New York City bus service promising to provide Campus-to-Campus speed at Short Line prices — launched Wednesday with its first four trips. The first day of operation went relatively smooth, according to manager Bob Nicholas. While he said one bus experienced some initial issues, they have been resolved, and buses departing both New York and Ithaca arrived at the other location in under four hours. Nicholas said the first two buses were only carrying 10 and four passengers respectively, but that he has confidence that business will pick up once word spreads. “I think the low number of riders for the first few trips was the announcement of start service was due to the fact it was mid-week and the start-up notice was quite short, so it didn’t really give people a chance to make plans ahead of time,” he said.