As a result, the judge had no alternative on Monday (26th September), but to declare a mistrial.
Despite deliberating for about three days, the jury finally informed the judge that they were unable to reach a decision and they further advised him that there was no hope of them agreeing on the same verdict.
Once the announcement was made by US Judge Jim Moody, Banton turned around and said,” Thanks, everyone…Love you too.”
However, the way is still not clear for the Jamaican artiste because he is due to return to court in December for additional charges but his lawyers are expressing confidence that he will be acquitted.
Meantime his legal team has also been seeking bail pending the final decision of the prosecution about how to proceed after Monday’s hung jury.
Banton will in the short interval try to concentrate on the release of his new album, which is due to hit the market on Tuesday 27th September. The album is called “Before the Dawn” and is available on Amazon.com