Three jurors, speaking to reporters afterward, said the two holdouts gave credence to a defense assertion that the death of Ms. Clarkson, 40, a struggling actress, might have been a suicide rather than a murder.
The defense assertion came after the witness, Ann Louise Bardach, a longtime journalist and a former contract writer for The New York Times, said that the defendant, Luis Posada Carriles, had talked at length about his role in the bombings, which led to the death of an Italian tourist.
In a ruling that strengthened the prosecution's hand in preparation for the trial, which is to begin June 24, the judge, Reena Raggi, rejected a defense assertion that she had to separate the two sets of charges against Mr. Schwarz to prevent prejudicing the jury.
In an earlier ruling, Judge Allred agreed with defense assertions that Mr. Hamdan was subjected to coercive treatment at Bagram.
In contentious questioning, the prosecutor, Kenneth Taub, has appeared skeptical of the defense assertions that the new evidence will clear Lamont Branch.
(Reuters) IRAN: JEWS' FATE A prosecution official has backed defense assertions that none of the 13 Iranian Jews accused of spying for Israel will be sentenced to death.
Mr. McVeigh's chief defense lawyer, Stephen Jones, confirmed that he had recently been subpoenaed by the state to rebut defense assertions that an imprisoned white supremacist could reveal the names of co-conspirators who were not charged.
The prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, sharply rejected defense assertions that one defendant, Wadih El-Hage, was a loyal American who had traveled frequently as part of his work in Mr. bin Laden's legitimate businesses.
A1 Officers Testify in Louima Case Two officers who previously testified against former Officer Charles Schwarz in the Abner Louima brutality case did so again at Mr. Schwarz's retrial, offering testimony contrary to defense assertions that Mr. Schwarz was not near the bathroom where Mr. Louima was assaulted.
The defense assertions were offered through videotapes, documents and testimony from Ramsey Clark, the former United States attorney general, who said sanctions and military actions against Iraq had devastated its agricultural systems, the purity of its water supply and the quality of its medical care.
In response to defense assertions that military commission participants are under pressure from superiors to get war crimes cases moving quickly, a spokeswoman for the Office of Military Commissions, Lt. Catheryne Pully, said, "Our interest is in making sure the process is done correctly, not quickly".
