State v. Hartford

In this prosecution for reckless manslaughter, the defendant appeals a declaration of mistrial by the Superior Court (Gray, J.) claiming it was error, both to deny the defendant’s request for a modified Allen charge before discharging the deadlocked jury, and to declare the mistrial without articulating *581reasons for refusing to attempt to break the deadlock by giving such an instruction. We affirm.

For some hours prior to his death, the victim, one Welch, and several companions ingested cocaine provided by the defendant, Richard Hartford. At the conclusion of these activities, the defendant…