Lawyer persuades jury that accused bank robber, 66, simply wanted to open an account
A 66-year-old man who was convicted of burglary a decade ago didn’t rob a New Jersey bank in 2013, a jury decided Tuesday.
After two hours of deliberation, the six-man, six-woman panel acquitted Henry Kidd, apparently persuaded by his lawyer’s argument that Kidd had simply been trying to open an account and deposit his Social Security checks, according to the Trenton Times.
“I’m absolutely thrilled and delighted. There was so much in the case to point to his innocence,” attorney Caroline Turner told the newspaper, noting that her client has health problems and could have faced a significant sentence if he had been convicted.
Kidd, who was convicted of burglary in 2005 and receiving stolen property in 2007, was released from prison in January 2013. That was about nine months before he was arrested in the claimed bank robbery.
An earlier ABAJournal.com post provides more details about the arguments at trial.
