‘VERY DIFFICULT SPLIT’

Jury ‘Deadlocked’ in Suge Knight’s Civil Trial Over 2015 Killing

The jury is split almost in half on whether Knight should be held liable for the death of Terry Carter.

Jurors in Marion ‘Suge’ Knight’s civil trial have deadlocked on whether or not Knight should be held liable for the death of Terry Carter, who Knight struck and killed with his truck in an altercation that he claims as self-defense. Knight, the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records, has been serving a 28-year sentence since 2018 after pleading no contest to manslaughter for killing Carter with his truck. The 2015 incident occurred after Carter asked Knight to meet him at Tam’s Burgers in Compton to discuss using his likeness in the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. Cle “Bone” Sloan, a staffer for the biopic, confronted Knight, who was sitting in his truck in the restaurant parking lot. During an apparent altercation, Knight reversed, striking Sloan before also hitting and killing Carter, who was nearby. Knight’s lawyer claims he acted in self-defense because he thought both Sloan and Carter were going to ambush him. When the jury told the judge they were “deadlocked” because they were split five to seven, the judge ordered them to break Friday and come back Tuesday in an attempt to reach the nine out of 12 votes needed to decide the civil case. If Knight is found liable, he could owe $81 million to Carter’s family.