The jury in the Bill Cosby case reported they were deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict. The judge sent them back to try, try again…which I gather is Standard Operating Procedure in this situation.
People are trying to figure out what this means…but of course, they don't know if it was 11-1 or 10-2 or even 6-6 and if it wasn't even, if the deadlock leans towards acquittal or conviction. There's been a lot of groundless speculation since the case went to the jury if the amount of time they were out deliberating boded well or ill for Cosby.
This is all the kind of thing we're thinking about when we quote journalist Jack Germond, who once said of his profession, "The trouble is we're not paid to say 'I don't know' when we don't know." So reporters speculate, often based on nothing, and this takes the place of — and is mistaken for — actual news. When someone says, "Being out this long probably means we're looking at a Not Guilty verdict," they have no reason to think that.
All we can say is that they were deadlocked, they may still be deadlocked and if they continue to be deadlocked, we're probably looking at a mistrial…and a whole new trial or maybe some sort of plea bargain.