Deters: Tensing jury 'straw poll' unanimous for murder

The 12 jurors who heard the case against former University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing took a "straw poll" at the start of deliberations – all said they would convict him of murder.

The problem: It was part of an informal discussion, and not an official vote.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters learned about the poll after he and his staff talked with jurors this week about the outcome.

"They did it to take everybody’s temperature," Deters told The Enquirer Thursday. "They shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know why they did."

Deters added, "Obviously people moved around on their vote."

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan declared a mistrial Saturday after jurors deliberated for roughly 25 hours, twice saying they could not agree on a verdict. 

Tensing fatally shot Sam DuBose during a traffic stop last year in Mount Auburn. Deters is in the process of deciding whether to retry Tensing. He has said he hopes to make the decision by Nov. 28, the day Shanahan asked attorneys to return to court for a hearing.

A group of black ministers has called on Deters to make a decision by Monday. City Council Wednesday passed a resolution urging Deters to retry the case in the interest of justice.

Deters reiterated what he's been saying all week. Three or four jurors voted to convict Tensing of murder. When the jury could not come to a unanimous decision on that charge, they moved on to consider the voluntary manslaughter charge. The jurors who voted to convict on the murder charge, he said, compromised by voting for voluntary manslaughter and others joined them. The final vote on the manslaughter charge was 8-4, with the four refusing to convict Tensing. 

After talking to jurors, Deters said: "I think there were people who were upset about everything. But that is being a juror. We're asking lay people to make very important decision. Some handle it better than others." 

Tensing's attorney, Stew Mathews, could not be reached for comment. 

In an interview this week on WLW-AM (700), Mathews said Tensing didn't commit a crime. Tensing shot DuBose as he tried to drive away from the traffic stop for a missing front license plate. Mathews has said Tensing thought he was going to be dragged under the car and feared for his life. 

"The case was not a murder case," Mathews told radio host Bill Cunningham. He added that voluntary manslaughter doesn't apply. The charge, he believes, was a "compromise" from jurors who thought Tensing did something wrong.

"Did Ray doing anything wrong that day?" Cunningham asked Mathews. "I don't believe so," Mathews said.

Murder is punishable by 15 years to life in prison. The penalty for a voluntary manslaughter conviction is three to 11 years.

Reporter Brett Milam contributed.