The attorney for Garry and Tamara Ragsdale, who were both convicted on three federal obscenity charges last month for having sold videos that depicted rape and BDSM scenarios that involved penetration, filed a motion for a new trial on the basis of testimony from one of the jurors that the verdict was not unanimous
In today’s edition of the Dallas Morning News, Deborah L. Marmon, one of the jurors for the Ragsdale trial, claims not to known that she could say she disagreed with the guilty verdict when the judge polled the jury, according to an affidavit.
Richard D. Goldman, a public defender for the Ragsdales says that Marmon's admission is important because the jury was responsible for determining what is obscene.
The Ragsdales were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to mail obscene material, two counts of mailing obscene material and aiding and abetting. The verdict was reached after 5 1/2 hours of deliberations following five days of testimony.
The videos in question included Brutally Raped IV, V, and VI, which are from a Dutch studio. Unlabeled tapes, as well as some from Florida-based ZFX were also looked at.
The videos in question were pirated, with the couple duping tapes from their home, though charges for that were not filed.
"I had a very hard time answering because that really wasn't the verdict I wanted to hand down," Marmon, 48, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I felt I was rushed into the courtroom from deliberations." Marmon called the defense attorney
"I think the fact that in open court the juror agreed with the verdict is going to have great weight," longtime Dallas County defense attorney Barry Sorrels said to the Dallas Morning News.
If this angle doesn’t pan out, the defense team has plenty of other angles.
“There are a lot of first amendment issues to bring up, the judge not allowing comparable videos, the judge not allow evidence that a lawyer had been consulted regarding the tapes – we have plenty of options,” Clinton Broden, who defended the Ragsdales in their trial, told AVN.com days after the verdict was handed down.
