KAREN: THE RETRIAL — “So Says the Jury” (S2-E9)

Host: Law&Crime | Wondery, Kristin Thorne
Date: September 22, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode recounts the dramatic close of the Karen Read retrial—the high-profile case in which Karen Read stood accused of murdering her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, by allegedly striking him with her SUV. Investigative reporter Kristin Thorne takes listeners step by step through closing arguments, jury deliberations, community reactions, the emotionally charged verdict, and the aftermath. The episode explores not just the verdict rendered, but what it says about power, truth, justice, and the integrity of the system itself, with real-time analysis and reactions from both sides, culminating in a wide-ranging discussion of what justice now means in this case.

Key Discussions & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: The Tension Before Closing

• Karen Read’s father, William Reed, squarely addresses the press outside the courthouse, denouncing “corruption” and pleading for a focus on the science underpinning the case.

  “Just look at the injuries. They don't correspond to being struck by any vehicle.” (00:36, William Reed)

• This sets the emotional and thematic tone: the defense team’s claim of a cover-up and investigative misconduct versus the prosecution’s reliance on forensic evidence and motive.

2. Defense Closing Argument: “There Was No Collision”

• Lead Attorney Alan Jackson’s refrain—“There was no collision”—serves as the backbone of his closing, repeated for emphasis.

  “There was no collision. There was no collision. There was no collision.” (02:18, Alan Jackson) “They cannot prove a collision. John O’Keefe was not hit by a car. There was no collision.” (02:49, Alan Jackson)

• Jackson reframes the trial from “whodunnit” to “what even happened”—insisting that the absence of hard forensic evidence means no crime was proven.
• Corruption & police misconduct: He targets former lead investigator Michael Proctor, recently fired for misconduct, as emblematic of a compromised and biased investigation.

  “Michael Proctor went far beyond just insulting Karen Reed. He dehumanized this woman.” (03:57, Alan Jackson)

• Omitted evidence: The defense criticizes law enforcement for ignoring key leads—including injuries, a potential dog bite, and evidence in the home—that might suggest alternate suspects or causes.
• Forensics failings: Jackson ends by emphasizing the absence of blood or telling crash evidence.

  “Show me some blood. Then we’ll talk. They can’t.” (06:10, Alan Jackson)

• Pleads for the jury to speak "truth" and acquit:

  “Find Karen Reed not guilty. Not guilty. Not guilty.” (06:28, Alan Jackson)

3. Prosecution Rebuttal: Data Over Distraction

• Special prosecutor Hank Brennan pivots back to the central allegation—asserting Karen Read hit O’Keefe and left him to die, focusing heavily on data, not biases or investigative faults.

  “She was drunk. She hit him, and she left him to die.” (07:14, Hank Brennan)

• Data as “the historian”: Brennan argues vehicle logs, GPS, black box data, debris patterns, and DNA form a timeline that is scientifically “beyond dispute.”

  “The timeline in this case is beyond dispute. ... Data is data.” (09:36, Hank Brennan)

• Key testimony: Jennifer McCabe’s assertion (new in the retrial) that Karen Reed said three times, “I hit him.”
• Addressing Proctor’s misconduct: Brennan acknowledges but downplays its impact on the evidence-driven case.

  “You should [be disgusted]. They’re not defensible…But that doesn’t change the physical evidence, the scientific evidence and the data.” (11:24, Hank Brennan)

• Brennan frames the jury’s choice as between “reasonable doubt” and “undeniable truth.”

4. Jury Deliberations: Questions and Tension

• The jury is handed the case after nearly three months of trial, with hundreds of exhibits in tow.
• Their deliberation questions show confusion over timing of charges, the status and use of video evidence, and procedures for partial verdicts—suggesting internal debate and complexity. (12:06–15:11)
  • E.g., “What is the time frame for the OUI charge?”
• Outside, supporters maintain vigil, with both sides anxious, the crowd quieter and more subdued than in earlier trial days.

5. The Verdict: A Divided Community

• June 18, 2025: The jury finds Karen Reed not guilty on murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene—but guilty of operating under the influence (OUI).

  “On 001 is not guilty. On 002 is guilty of operating the influence of liquor and 003 not guilty.” (18:51, Court Clerk)

• Emotional reactions:
  • Reed in tears; defense elated.

  “The moment the murder charge was dismissed, Reed was in tears. Her attorneys gripped her shoulder. ... The crowd outside erupted into cheers.” (18:55, Kristin Thorne)

  • Supporters describe “justice served,” but also equate the case with systemic corruption and distrust of the police and prosecution.
  • Supporters chant Reed’s name, describing her as “framed.”
• O’Keefe family & prosecution supporters: React in stunned silence and issue a statement calling the verdict “devastating” and driven by conspiracies, lamenting the case as a “miscarriage of justice.” (21:51, Kristin Thorne)

6. Legal Analysis and Wider Implications

• Ian Runkle, legal analyst and defense attorney, provides in-depth perspective on the verdict and the failed investigation:
  • Argues acquittal was inevitable, describing the trial as “the most expensive OUI case in history.”

  “This may actually go down in history as the most expensive oui case in the history of ever, because the prosecution is probably well over a million dollars at this point.” (24:23, Ian Runkle)

  • Criticizes police “tunnel vision” and specific failures—such as not seeking warrants for the house or examining destroyed phones.

  “Why wasn't this investigation done properly?...Had they done a proper police investigation, we would have had a much clearer case.” (24:51, Ian Runkle)

  • Casts doubt on prosecution’s glass evidence; suggests evidence may have been planted, shifting his own perspective from skepticism of a “framing” defense to gradual acceptance that the framing theory was, in his view, never disproven.

  “I would love to hear a convincing explanation for it [the glass evidence], but I just haven't heard one.” (26:28, Ian Runkle)

  • Concludes that justice for John O’Keefe was denied as much by investigative failures as by the verdict.

  “They should be furious at the Commonwealth and the police, and that's where their anger is properly aimed. The defense team did their job. The police didn't, and that's the issue.” (28:29, Ian Runkle)

  • Skeptical that anything will change in the justice system as a result:

  “I would love to be able to tell you that this is going to lead to a proper cleanup...It won’t.” (29:34, Ian Runkle)

  • Reminds listeners that the acquittal is what the standard of “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” demands.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This is what corruption is all about. Just look at the injuries. They don't correspond to being struck by any vehicle.” (00:36, William Reed)
• “There was no collision. There was no collision. There was no collision.” (02:18, Alan Jackson)
• “Show me some blood. Then we’ll talk. They can’t.” (06:10, Alan Jackson)
• “She was drunk. She hit him, and she left him to die.” (07:14, Hank Brennan)
• “You should [be disgusted]. They're not defensible… But that doesn't change the physical evidence.” (11:24, Hank Brennan)
• “I think maybe it'll be tomorrow. I don't know, though.” (15:16, Unattributed—community tension)
• “On 001 is not guilty. On 002 is guilty of operating the influence of liquor and 003 not guilty.” (18:51, Court Clerk)
• Family statement: “The result is a devastating miscarriage of justice.” (21:51, Kristin Thorne, reading O’Keefe family statement)
• “This may actually go down in history as the most expensive OUI case in the history of ever...” (24:23, Ian Runkle)
• “If you're sitting there and you're saying, I want to see what's right for the family, what was right...was a proper investigation...We will never know...” (28:29, Ian Runkle)

Key Timestamps

• 00:36 – William Reed addresses the press
• 02:18 – Alan Jackson launches defense closing (“no collision” mantra)
• 06:28 – Defense's concluding plea for acquittal
• 07:14 – Prosecution closing: “She was drunk. She hit him...”
• 11:24 – Prosecution acknowledges, but downplays, Proctor’s impropriety
• 12:06–15:11 – Jury receives case, deliberation begins, community waits
• 17:32–18:51 – Jury returns with verdicts
• 21:51 – O’Keefe family and prosecution release statement
• 24:00 – Ian Runkle’s post-verdict legal analysis

Episode Tone & Language

• Tense, methodical, and emotionally charged: The narrative is punctuated by raw moments of personal grief, anger, vindication, and lingering doubt.
• Legalistic and analytical: Detailed breakdowns of trial and procedures, yet accessible to non-lawyers.
• Reflective: The final segments move from the specifics of Reed’s case to systemic critiques of law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

Conclusion: Justice, Power, and Unanswered Questions

The episode underscores that, regardless of the verdict, the real story of Karen Read’s retrial is the public’s ongoing struggle to trust systems of authority, the power of media spectacle, and the persistence of unanswered questions. Echoing both defense and prosecution closings, Kristin Thorne’s reporting lingers on the community’s divisions and the unresolved nature of John O’Keefe’s death—reminding listeners that in high-stakes justice, the truth is sometimes as contested outside the courtroom as within.