Jury Deliberates in Sharpton Case

A jury of four whites and two blacks began deliberating in Poughkeepsie in the racially charged defamation lawsuit against black activist Rev. Al Sharpton and two others stemming from a rape hoax more than 10 years ago. Sharpton and lawyers Alton Maddox and C. Vernon Mason are being sued by Steven Pagones, a former Dutchess County prosecutor, who said the three men defamed him by publicly calling him a rapist at least 30 times. The defendants were advisors to Tawana Brawley, who in 1987, at the age of 15, said she was abducted and raped by six white men. Her story was found to be a hoax.