Court Case Of Silas Manning And Willie Barker

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A. Facts of case
Silas Manning and Willie Barker were arrested in 1958 due to murders of an elderly couple. The prosecutor believed that he had a stronger case against Manning. For this reason, he hoped to use Manning's trial testimony to convict Barker. They asked for a continuance of Barker's trial so that Manning's trial could be completed. Barker did not object to the continuance request (Find Law, n.d.).
On the other hand, Manning decided not to testify at his own trial. A jury is required to make a unanimous decision that a defendant is either guilty or not guilty. His trial ended in a hung jury when the jury could not make a unanimous decision (Find Law, n.d.).
Manning tried again, but his conviction was reversed on appeal due to the