CINCINNATI -- Will Ray Tensing ever take a plea deal?
It depends on how you ask his defense attorney, Stew Mathews.
Mathews was pretty confident in his answer to that question Monday afternoon during an interview with 700 WLW's Bill Cunningham.
"Absolutely not -- because he's not guilty," Mathews told Cunningham. "Ray thinks he's not guilty, I think he's not guilty, so we're willing to take that chance."
"So (Tensing) would never take a plea deal?" Cunningham asked.
"Well, you know how it is. You never say never in criminal defense," Mathews said. "But right now, no, not interested in discussing any type of plea deal."
Tensing's year-long murder trial ended Saturday with a hung jury; four jurors thought Tensing was guilty of murdering Sam DuBose during a traffic stop in July 2015. The other eight said he was guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said he would decide whether or not to retry Deters before Nov. 28.
Deters was also on Cunningham's show Monday. The prosecutor said he was "disappointed" the trial ended with a hung jury -- his first in more than 30 years.
"There is a preponderance of evidence," Deters said of his case for murder.
When Deters was asked why he thinks Tensing shot DuBose, he said "I think he was mad."
"I think he was pissed off that this guy wasn't following orders," Deters said. "And God forbid you don't listen, because he'll take care of it."
Mathews said he doesn't think Tensing did anything wrong on the day he killed DuBose.
"He reacted to an unexpected threat," Mathews said. "He didn't do anything that any other person wouldn't do."
