Judge Declares Mistrial After Too Many Jurors Vote to Convict

A Texas judge has declared a mistrial after a jury of 13 people convicted a defendant in the shooting death of his girlfriend.

Judge Mark Kent Ellis of Harris County told the Houston Chronicle that the extra juror would be considered an outside influence on the jury. “In 23 years I’ve never seen anything like this,” Ellis told the Chronicle. “The jurors all seemed pretty upset, but there’s no way to unring that bell.”

Ellis blamed the mistake on a substitute bailiff who allowed an alternate to vote, MSNBC reports in a story citing a report by KPRC Local 2. The defendant, Charles Mapps, had confessed to the killing but said it was part of a suicide pact, the story says.

Hat tip to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, which referred to the mix-up as a “bailiff’s dozen.”