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Jury begins deliberations in Vanderbilt rape case

Stacey Barchenger
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee


Brandon Vandenburg arrives with his attorney Tuesday morning for the final day of  the Vanderbilt rape trial. The jury deliberated Tuesday afternoon and convicted the former Vandy football player on nine charges.

Jurors have begun deliberating the case against two Vanderbilt University football players charged with raping an unconscious woman in a dorm on June 23, 2013.

Jurors were sent out of the courtroom about 12:25 p.m. and were instructed to take their regular 1-hour lunch break before beginning deliberations.

Attorneys finished closing arguments on Tuesday morning, and then Judge Monte Watkins read instructions to the jury for deliberations. The instructions took more than an hour to read.

Watkins also selected two of the 14 jurors who have heard 12 days of trial to be alternates. Those people will not participate in deliberations unless another juror becomes unavailable.

In his closing argument earlier Monday, an attorney told jurors they should not hold Brandon Vandenburg responsible for the acts of others.

Fletcher Long delivered a 33-minute closing argument emphasizing that no proof in the trial — now in its 12th day — has shown that Vandenburg inappropriately touched an unconscious 21-year-old woman in a Vanderbilt dorm on June 23, 2013. Vandenburg is on trial with Cory Batey, who is accused of raping the woman.

Cory Batey testifies during the Vanderbilt rape trial on
 Monday.

Jurors are expected to begin deliberating the charges against the two men Tuesday afternoon. A closing argument by Batey's attorney took place Monday afternoon.

In his closing, Long admitted Vandenburg could be convicted of unlawful photography for sending pictures of the alleged acts to friends.

"He took photos he never should have taken," Long said. "He exercised judgment that was deplorable. He at least had the sense in the aftermath to be upset by it."

But as for the other, more serious charges against Vandenburg, Long said the prosecution was asking the jury to rely on "perhaps."

"What they're doing to this boy ain't right," Long said.

He said video and photos in the case do not show as much as prosecutors would like jurors to believe happened in the dorm room, and said a key piece of state evidence — Vandenburg directing someone to squeeze a bottle that was inserted into the victim — happened after the crime itself occurred and could not be a direction.

Deputy District Attorney Tom Thurman delivered a 46-minute rebuttal closing argument for prosecutors.

He said in his 30-something years as an attorney he has not been able to say crimes were caught on video, until this case. He told jurors to rely on those videos and not be swayed by Batey's own testimony shifting blame to someone else or the college culture around him.

"There is no such thing as a culture defense," Thurman said. "There might be a culture excuse."

He called that defense tactic a "huge red herring."

Batey testified Monday that he did not remember the alleged rape because he had gotten so drunk the night before. He also apologized for his actions.

Thurman said he rarely agrees with Long, Vandenburg's attorney, but in this case there is one thing. He used some of Long's own words:

"What that boy did to (the victim) ain't right."

He said Vandenburg left the victim in the hallway like a piece of trash.

"She's not a piece of trash," Thurman told the jury. "She's a victim. Victim. Not an alleged victim. A victim. A victim that came in here with the courage to take that witness stand. To face her attackers. A victim that had the courage to come in here in search of justice. Don't deny her justice."

Cory Batey's mother, who has watched each day of the trial, left the courtroom Monday morning with tears in her eyes.

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or on Twitter @sbarchenger.