December 06, 2004
Calvin Murphy acquitted

Wow, that was fast.


Hall of Fame basketball player Calvin Murphy was found not guilty today of charges he molested five of his daughters.

Jurors deliberated just two hours before clearing Murphy on all six counts.


I wasn't even sure that final arguments were going to finish up today, To acquit on all counts in two hours, there must have been some near-unanimousness going into the jury room. I thought it looked better for the prosecution than that.

KHOU, in its report at 6, noted that Murphy will remain on leave from his Rockets' broadcasting gig until after the season, at which point the team will review the situation (read: hold their finger in the air). Conventional wisdom, which I've generally agreed with, is that he's finished. Now I'm less sure. Marv Albert came back from his sex assault case, and he pled it out. Murphy was accused of a more heinous crime, but he got that fast-track acquittal, and I'll bet there will be juror quotes soon about how they just didn't believe the accusers' stories. He may yet commentate again. Stranger things have happened, that's for certain.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on December 06, 2004 to Crime and Punishment | TrackBack
Comments

Please, please, please. No more Calvin Murphy. No more loud suits. NO MORE COOKIES. Van's awful, but at least he sometimes explains something about the game. Murphy's just a joke. He was always a joke.

So my vote. No more Murphy. And the Rockets ought to dump Van and just go with Bullard fulltime. Or better yet, they can fire Van Gundy the coach and make him Van Gundy the commentator.

Posted by: johnr on December 6, 2004 7:28 PM

I'm guessing all black jury.

Posted by: Tek_XX on December 6, 2004 10:54 PM

***I'm guessing all black jury.***

Based on what?

I mean, if I didn't know who Calvin Murphy was and were reading about an accused child molester, I'd "guess" they were talking about a white guy. You know, since most pedophiles are white males.

Posted by: MrBastard on December 6, 2004 11:09 PM

"Marv Albert came back from his sex assault case, and he pled it out."

Ironically, Cablevision (the Knicks owners) dumped Marv for not being a homer this year. Mike Breen and Walt Frazier are now the full-time MSG TV crew.

I'd be willing to bet that Calvin Murphy is back in the booth somewhere before too long.

Posted by: William Hughes on December 7, 2004 4:37 AM

I'm guessing all black jury.

Why? Don't forget that the alleged victims were also black.

Posted by: Tim on December 7, 2004 8:04 AM

I did a search through the Chronicle's archives, and the only mention I saw concerning the jury's makeup said that it was nine men and three women (which, at a guess I've pulled out of my butt, would seem to be defendant-favorable in a case like this). No clue about the racial composition.

Posted by: Charles Kuffner on December 7, 2004 8:22 AM

Rather than the racial makeup of the jury, the deciding factor was more likely defense lawyer extraordinare Rusty Hardin. Rusty has been the go-to-guy for athletes in trouble, having gotten acquittals or dismissals for Warren Moon (assault), Steve Francis (DWI), Rudy T (DWI), and Wade Boggs (assault).

Posted by: Jeff Beckham on December 7, 2004 10:27 AM