Ray Tensing case: 5 things to know

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Hamilton County’s prosecutor Joe Deters held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to announce his decision to not pursue a new trial against former University of Cincinnati officer Ray Tensing. The two-year, high-profile case previously had two trials that were both declared as a mistrial due to hung juries.

Here are five things to know about the latest in the case:

Prosecutor decided against third trial. Deters has decided not to try Tensing a third time on murder and voluntary manslaughter charges for killing black motorist Sam Dubose, 43, for missing a front license plate on his car. Tensing, who is white, shot once, hitting DuBose in the head, a body camera worn by Tensing showed.

Wrong charges. Many believe that Tensing was indicted on the wrong charges, which Deters on July 18 called "idiotic," saying that the evidence and facts in his opinion showed that the charges were valid against Tensing.

U.S. Attorney's office is involved. U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman said his office is reviewing the Tensing case to assess whether there are possible federal civil rights offenses that might warrant prosecution.

Family's response to the announcement. Trina Allen, the sister of Sam Dubose, said her brother was "no threat" to Tensing. She pledged to hound Tensing "the rest of his life," and "let people know he is a murderer."

Tensing's attorney said it's the right decision. Tensing's attorney said Deters made the right decision because jurors he talked to after the second trial all said they felt there would "never be a unanimous decision" reached in the case.

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