Sunny Hostin's Juror Claim Contradicted by 1991 Trial Reports

Sunny Hostin, co-host of "The View," recently stated on-air that she was a holdout juror in the 1991 murder trial of Daniel Rakowitz, known as the "Butcher of Tompkins Square Park." However, contemporaneous news reports offer conflicting descriptions of the jury's deliberations and identify a different individual as the principal holdout.

During a discussion about a holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial, Hostin recounted her experience on the Rakowitz jury, stating, "And apparently, several jurors questioned afterwards said one holdout juror was principally responsible for preventing them from returning a guilty verdict. That was me."

Despite Hostin's claim, reporting from the time, including articles in The New York Post and Newsday, suggests the primary holdout was an unemployed man who reportedly wished to prolong the trial to continue receiving juror compensation. Juror Valerie Holmes was quoted in Newsday as saying, "He was unemployed and liked the $15 a day and the three free meals." A law enforcement source familiar with the case also told The Post that "the juror who held out was a man."

The Post further noted that while Hostin was quoted in news clips at the time under her then-surname Asunción Cummings, she did not identify herself as the sole holdout, nor did any other jurors who spoke to the press. Her statement to Newsday at the time read, "We had to compromise. But it is obvious to me he butchered the body and he literally got away with murder. He attempted to commit the perfect crime."

Another Newsday article from 1991 indicated that there may have been two holdout jurors who influenced the other ten members to avoid a hung jury. This article quoted Cummings (Hostin) stating, "We had to compromise," but also expressing the belief that Rakowitz "literally got away with murder."

When reached by The New York Post, Hostin reiterated her earlier claim, stating, "I was. I was the holdout juror."