NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Two former Vanderbilt football players convicted in January of raping a fellow student could be out of jail as early as Wednesday afternoon.
Nashville Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins reinstated bail for Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey on Wednesday. The move came a day after Watkins declared a mistrial because the jury foreman failed to disclose that he was the victim of a sex crime.
Watkins said in his ruling that the justice system cannot tolerate a trial with a tainted juror, regardless of the evidence against the defendants.
Vandenburg and Batey had been convicted of multiple counts of rape. They were accused with two other players of assaulting an unconscious female student in a dorm room in June 2013.
Prosecutors say they will seek a new trial.
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