Scrushy jurors deadlocked on key charge

To save his reputation, ousted HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy has to win in court twice -- once in a court of law, and the other in a court of public opinion. It's not enough to earn a mistrial or a hung jury. Getting off on a technicality won't restore his luster.

Earlier this week, I documented the extent of his public relations campaign. In some respects, it's all the old messages but done through alternate media.

The first part of that battle is leaning his way. Jurors have indicated they are deadlocked on the key charge of conspiracy. That bodes well, as it tends to hang doubt on all of the rest of the charges that follow. If you can't prove he was part of the creation of the scheme, it's hard to prove "what he knew and when he knew it."