Sunny Hostin told her co-hosts on Tuesday that she was the single juror who stopped a verdict of guilty in the case of the “Butcher of Tompkins Square Park.”
The New York Post reported that the TV host made this claim while discussing the recent Lindsay Clancy trial. Hostin stated she was the only member of the jury who did not push for a conviction against the man accused of cannibalism.
The case involved Daniel Rakowitz, who killed his roommate Monika Beerle in 1989. Rakowitz dismembered her body and boiled her head to make soup. He also claimed he fed her brains to homeless people in New York City. In 1991, he was acquitted due to mental disease. Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, said she saw the killer was in a psychotic state.
“Several jurors questioned afterwards said one holdout juror was principally responsible for preventing them from returning a guilty verdict,” Hostin read from an old article. She confirmed that she was that holdout juror. Hostin explained that Rakowitz did not mean to kill his victim but panicked afterward. She said she had to convince the other eleven jurors to vote for insanity.
The discussion started when co-host Joy Behar asked about the Clancy case. Hostin stated that the insanity defense has been in place in Massachusetts for 182 years, indicating it is well established.
She linked her past experience to the current legal debate. Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin gasped and asked, “The guy who ate the victims?” Hostin replied, “Yes,” causing a stunned reaction on the panel.
Hostin noted that the jury was sequestered for nine days during the trial. She said one juror even threw a chair at her because they were so angry. Hostin told the group that she picked them off one by one with questions. The final vote was unanimous that Rakowitz was not criminally responsible. She added that he is still in a mental institution receiving treatment.
Daily Wire coverage noted that Hostin bragged about how she helped a cannibal avoid prison. The story gained attention because of the gruesome details of the crime. Rakowitz was known as a weed dealer and an eccentric man who carried a live rooster. He boasted about eating the victim’s brains and feeding parts to the unhoused. Hostin read directly from a New York Times article to back up her story.
