![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.grunge.com/img/gallery/the-real-reason-robert-blake-was-acquitted-of-his-wifes-murder-upgrade/l-intro-1678470078.jpg)
Up until now, we've been talking about Robert Blake's criminal trial — not his civil trial. Criminal trials, as we know, require a unanimous decision from the jury to pass its "beyond the shadow of a doubt" benchmark. Civil trials are a bit more flexible, as the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts describes. They occur between two parties, not between the government and an accused. They also work by a "preponderance of the evidence," not an either-or decision. They also may or may not, as a judge decides, use a jury. And if they do use a jury, as Thought Co explains, the jury isn't required to make a unanimous decision — just a majority.
And so it was that Blake's civil trial didn't go in his favor. He lost his civil suit by a vote of 10 to 2, and the court ordered him to pay $30 million to Bonnie Lee Bakley's four children as a result: Glenn Paul Gawron, Holly Lee Gawron, Jeri Lee Lewis, and Rose Lenore Sophia Blake. Blake's appeal cut the sum in half to $15 million (per Reuters). Even so, he was forced to declare bankruptcy as a result.
Blake maintained his innocence the rest of his life, and he died of heart disease at the age of 89 in 2023.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCDkm5ubG9fqbWmedGemKVlopqutLvNZqmompWnwW6uy5qinmWnlsBurcKqrKKspJqxbrvFZp%2Biq12stqex0makrqqUmr9w