On June 18, 2025, Karen Read, a 45-year-old former adjunct professor from Mansfield, Massachusetts, was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. After a highly publicized retrial following a hung jury in 2024, the jury deliberated for four days before finding Read not guilty of the most serious charges, convicting her only of operating under the influence of alcohol, for which she received one year of probation. The verdict, announced in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, prompted an eruption of cheers from over 1,000 supporters outside, who believed Read was the victim of a law enforcement cover-up. Read, tearfully embracing her legal team, declared outside the courthouse, “No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have.”