Louisville - A Kentucky judge has declared a mistrial in a murder case after finding out that the jury decided the defendant's fate with the flip of a coin.
Judge Kenneth Conliffe of Jefferson County Circuit Court in Louisville ordered a retrial on Monday after the jury foreman admitted the panel tossed a coin to decide whether Phillip Givens (28) was guilty of murder or manslaughter.
The coin toss wound up imposing on Givens the more serious of the two verdicts, one that could have resulted in a life sentence, according to court records.
