After Mistrial, Defendant's Wife Sees Ray of Hope

Civil Suit Filed Against Former Md. Official Ends in Hung Jury

In the maelstrom that Stacey Washington's life has become since her husband killed one furniture deliveryman and wounded another two years ago, this week's deadlocked jury in a civil case was her first sign of hope.

She has been resolute that a jury wrongly convicted Keith A. Washington, a former Prince George's County deputy homeland security director, of involuntary manslaughter last year, resulting in a 45-year prison sentence.

In a civil trial that ended Tuesday, a jury split 3 to 2 in a lawsuit filed by one victim and the family of the other, seeking more than $300 million in damages.

Juror LaShawnda Hamilton, 35, said she was one of three civil jurors who was convinced that Keith Washington acted in self-defense -- a judgment rejected by the jurors in the February 2008 criminal trial. Hamilton said she found Stacey Washington to be the most credible witness last week.

"I kind of felt compassion for her, almost like I felt her pain," she said. "I felt if anyone was being truthful, it was her."

Stacey Washington said she believes Tuesday's mistrial improves her husband's chances of prevailing in his appeal of the criminal case. "I absolutely feel hopeful, because I know the truth, and now it is clear to me that some of those jurors saw the truth as well," she said.

For the family of Brandon D. Clark, 22, who was killed, and Robert White, now 38, who was wounded, the result was a disappointment.

Michael J. Winkelman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said his clients are not doing well, especially Marilynn Clark, Brandon Clark's mother. "This whole thing has been very tough for her," he said.

Outside the courtroom last week, White said he has no hard feelings toward Stacey Washington for trying to clear the man who shot him. "That's her job," he said. "That's her husband."

Apart from that comment, White and the other plaintiffs have declined to speak about the case while their lawsuit is pending. A retrial of the lawsuit is scheduled for January.

Keith Washington, 47, was not in the courtroom when the deadlock was announced, but his attorney, Daniel Karp, said he "is happier than I would be, because he feels somewhat vindicated. He feels there is substantial reason to believe that when the case is retried next year, he'll win."

A day after the verdict, Stacey Washington, 50, a budget analyst with the Department of Defense, said she was looking toward the appeal her husband filed in the criminal case, scheduled to be heard next month. Keith Washington is asking for a new trial on the grounds that evidence was withheld from the jury that could have resulted in a verdict of not guilty, she said.