Mistrial in FirstEnergy Executives' Corruption Trial

A judge in Akron, Ohio, declared a mistrial on Wednesday in the corruption trial of two former FirstEnergy Corp. executives, after jurors announced they were deadlocked following nine days of deliberations. The decision came one day after the panel reported an impasse in the two-month case against former CEO Charles "Chuck" Jones and former senior vice president Michael Dowling, who faced multiple felony charges related to a $4.3 million payment to a state utility regulator.

Summit County Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross dismissed the jury on Tuesday and formalized the mistrial in a one-page order the next day. She denied defense motions to dismiss the charges but allowed attorneys two weeks to submit post-trial arguments on the matter. A status conference is scheduled for April 8 to discuss a potential retrial date. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, whose office prosecuted the case, stated in a video message that his team plans to retry Jones and Dowling. "The state of Ohio can and will retry these defendants," Yost said. "Justice needs to be done."

The executives were accused of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, bribery, conspiracy, tampering with records, and...