"We never tried to get an outright acquittal.

"You might like to know that there was one fellow who took considerable wearing down- in the beginning he was rarin' for an outright acquittal."

Ratajczak remained defiant and denied all charges, appealing for an outright acquittal; his critics also appealed demanded a harsher sentence, including a prison term.

The juror said that an outright acquittal of Mr. Vasquez was debated at length during "extremely emotional, extremely painful" deliberations over three days.

This range of charges offered the possibility that the defendants could be sentenced to death or could walk free, even though the juries were not offered the possibility of outright acquittals.

Outside the courthouse, Officer DiGuglielmo's lawyer, David L. Lewis, said he did not regret his decision not to allow the jury a compromise verdict of manslaughter, choosing instead to go for an outright acquittal.

In rejecting a defense motion for an outright acquittal of the defendants, Judge R. Benjamin Cohen of Superior Court held that the prosecution had provided sufficient evidence and testimony so a "reasonable jury" could find the four defendants guilty of all charges beyond a reasonable doubt.