Wabash Judge To Rule On Pattison Mistrial

Scott Pattison was hesitant to talk to reporters today.

"I don't have anything to say” Pattison told reporters after leaving a Wabash courtroom.

Pattison and his attorneys were in court to ask a Wabash judge for a mistrial.

Last month, a jury found Pattison guilty of killing his wife, Lisa. They say he suffocated her with a barbell on a weight bench. He was sentenced to 60-years in prison. But, Pattison's attorneys say an experiment performed by the jury swayed the verdict.

"The jury should not have been allowed to perform an extrajudicial experiment using the weight bench” says Stanley Campbell, Pattison's attorney.

According to a juror, the experiment was done during deliberations. A female juror, about the size of Lisa Pattison, got onto the weight bench.  The barbell was placed on top of her to see if she could get free. The experiment was done twice. Both times the woman was able to escape. As a result, three jurors changed their votes from 'not guilty' to 'guilty.' Pattison and his attorney's weren't present.

"It was a violation of the defendant's right to be present if the jury was going to be called back in the jury room and allowed to examine and do an experiment on the weight bench” says Campbell.

            Campbell says the experiment brought new evidence that was not presented at the trial. Campbell also says he wants the jurors to be brought back in for questioning  to find out exactly happened during the experiment.

"The point is to get it built into the record rather than just having it appear in a newspaper or TV or on the radio” he says.

Campbell says he plans to use the record to file an appeal. As for Pattison, he  says he'll battle as long as he can. “As far as I can take it until I’m free.”

The judge is expected to make a ruling on the mistrial within a few days.