Jury in Abu Ghraib trial says it is deadlocked; judge orders deliberations to continue

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A justice ordered jurors Friday to support deliberating aft they said they were deadlocked successful a suit alleging a Virginia-based subject contractor is liable for abuses suffered by inmates astatine the Abu Ghraib prion successful Iraq 2 decades ago.

The eight-person civilian assemblage has deliberated the equivalent of 3 afloat days successful the civilian suit successful U.S. District Court successful Alexandria.

The trial, which began April 15, is the archetypal clip a U.S. assemblage has heard claims of mistreatment brought by survivors of Abu Ghraib.

Three erstwhile detainees sued Reston, Virginia-based contractor CACI. They allege the institution is liable for the mistreatment they suffered erstwhile they were imprisoned astatine Abu Ghraib successful 2003 and 2004 aft the U.S. penetration of Iraq.

CACI supplied civilian contractors to enactment astatine Abu Ghraib arsenic interrogators, successful enactment of shorthanded U.S. Army soldiers. Abuse of detainees astatine Abu Ghraib became a worldwide ungraded 20 years agone erstwhile photos became nationalist showing U.S. soldiers smiling and laughing arsenic they inflicted carnal and intersexual maltreatment connected detainees successful shockingly graphic ways.

The plaintiffs person argued astatine proceedings that CACI interrogators contributed to their mistreatment, adjacent if they didn't perpetrate the abuses themselves, by conspiring with soldiers to mistreat inmates arsenic a mode to “soften them up” for questioning.

On Friday, the assemblage sent retired a enactment saying that they person extensively discussed the grounds but “we are inactive not unanimous connected anything.”

As is emblematic erstwhile a assemblage sends retired specified a note, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema told the jurors they indispensable proceed their deliberations. She sent them location aboriginal Friday day to resume deliberating Monday morning.

During deliberations this week, the assemblage asked aggregate questions astir however to use a ineligible rule known arsenic the “borrowed servants” doctrine.

CACI, arsenic 1 of its defenses, has argued it shouldn't beryllium liable for immoderate misdeeds by its employees if they were nether the power and absorption of the Army.

The plaintiffs' lawyers tried to barroom CACI from making that statement astatine trial, but Brinkema allowed the assemblage to see it.

Both sides person argued astir scope of the doctrine. Fundamentally, though, if CACI has proven that its interrogators were nether the bid and power of the Army astatine the clip immoderate misconduct occurred, past the assemblage has been instructed to find successful favour of CACI.

The contented of who controlled CACI interrogators occupied a important information of the trial. CACI officials testified that they fundamentally turned implicit supervision of the interrogators to the Army.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued otherwise, and introduced grounds including CACI’s declaration with the Army, which required CACI to supervise its ain employees. Jurors besides saw a conception of the Army Field Manual that pertains to contractors and states that “only contractors whitethorn supervise and springiness absorption to their employees.

The proceedings and the jury's deliberations travel aft ineligible wrangling and questions implicit whther CACI could beryllium sued resulted successful much than 15 years of ineligible wrangling.