In a follow-up to a post about a North Miami man on trial for manslaughter, the jury in that case has returned a verdict of not guilty.
The state asked the jury to convict the man on the theory that he committed the crime of manslaughter due to his culpable negligence. The state said that his act of pushing a drunk and disorderly man off of his boat was reckless and negligent, and led to the man's death when he was struck by the propellers of another boat.
The criminal defense attorney argued that the conduct did not rise to the level of criminal negligence, and that the more appropriate venue was civil court, not criminal court.
In the end, the jury agreed with the defense and believed that the man was not guilty of criminal conduct.
Had the man been convicted, he could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Eric Matheny is a Miami criminal attorney and Broward criminal attorney.