The Real Reason Robert Blake Was Acquitted Of His Wife's Murder

May 2024 · 2 minute read

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. 

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