Juror Who Found Stephen Rankin Guilty In Murder Trial Changes Mind, Speaks Out
A juror who convicted former officer Stephen Rankin (pictured) now believes that he should never have been convicted.
Juror Who Found Stephen Rankin Guilty In Murder Trial Changes Mind, Speaks Out
On August 4th, former Portsmouth Police Officer Stephen Rankin was convicted on one count of voluntary manslaughter. The prosecution had been trying to charge Rankin with first degree murder. The charge stemmed from the officer-involved shooting of shoplifter William Chapman, who had attacked Rankin in a Walmart parking lot. Now one of the jurors who convicted Rankin is speaking out to say that the shooting was justified.
During the shooting incident, William Chapman attacked Rankin when Chapman was confronted about shoplifting. Rankin attempted to use his Taser, but Chapman knocked it out of his hands. Chapman was shot while charging Rankin, and the case seemed to focus on the fact that Rankin was unarmed at the time of the attack.
WTKR News 3 had an interview with a juror who sat on the Stephen Rankin’s trial. When asked if she now believes that the shooting was justified, she said, “I do, without a doubt! 100 percent!”
The juror’s decision seemed to be affected by all of the evidence that the judge would not allow to be admitted.
Stephen Rankin’s defense said that they had a video which showed the shooting, but the judge did not allow it to be entered as evidence. The judge also denied admitting information about Chapman’s history. The judge also prevented an expert witness from testifying on police use-of-force policies.
What’s possibly most surprising is that the defense had court security video which showed one of the jurors speaking to a friend of the Chapman family, but the judge denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial.
Rankin’s defense is now attempting to appeal the verdict based on the juror speaking with the Chapman family friend. Chapman’s family is planning to sue the city, Rankin, and the Chief of Police.
You can see additional clips from the interview here:
