Whitworth Spy Trial Jury Undecided; Deliberations Will Resume on Monday
SAN FRANCISCO — Jurors in the espionage trial of Jerry Whitworth completed a sixth day of deliberations Friday without deciding whether he knowingly sold top secret Navy radio codes to the Soviet Union.
The jury is to resume deliberations Monday morning.
Whitworth, 46, of Davis, Calif., is accused of selling classified Navy codes for nearly a decade to the Soviet Union through convicted spy John Walker, who served as a go-between. Whitworth was paid $332,000 between 1974 and 1983 for the information.
Walker, of Norfolk, Va., pleaded guilty to espionage in October, as did his son, Michael, a Navy enlisted man. Walker’s brother, Arthur, who worked for a military contractor, also was convicted of spying.
Whitworth has admitted stealing military secrets as part of the Walker spy ring, but the critical issue facing jurors is whether he knew the information he stole was being passed to Soviet agents. Whitworth has denied he knew the information he gave to Walker was being sold to the Russians or that it might jeopardize U.S. security.
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