Nine months of discussion about former football player Robert Barber’s culpability in the injuries of another student at a party last summer ended today when a jury found him not guilty of either second- or fourth-degree assault.

Barber’s attorney Steve Graham said he was not surprised by the deliberation time, which took about an hour, but that he thought it was on the short side.

“I was prepared to wait here until 4 or 5 [p.m.],” Graham said.

Because Barber claimed to use self-defense, the next step was to determine whether the jury believed he most likely did use self-defense, which would make him eligible for reimbursement of his legal fees.

While the jury deliberated on reimbursement, Barber hugged each of his family members and friends who were at the trial individually and shook hands with the prosecution.

The jury was unable to come to a verdict on Barber’s eligibility for reimbursement of legal fees, as they needed 10 jurors either in favor or against to decide. Graham said he and Barber will not pursue reimbursement further.

“We’ll just thank our lucky stars we made it this far,” Graham said.

Barber read a statement after the verdict, thanking God, his community leaders, his family, his mom and former football coach Mike Leach, among others.

WSU Associate Athletic Director Bill Stevens said Athletic Director Bill Moos and Leach were out of the office today and unavailable for comment.

Outside the courtroom, Barber and his family gathered, held hands and recited a prayer, thanking God in both English and Samoan for the verdict.

The Carolina Panthers offered Barber a contract on May 1, but later that day rescinded the offer when team officials discovered his legal situation. The Panthers were not available for comment on whether this verdict will change their decision to rescind the offer.

Graham said Barber has been eating right and running hills in Pullman as part of an informal training to keep in shape. A reporter asked what his current 40-yard dash time was, but Barber said he didn’t know.

Barber graduated this year with a degree in criminal justice and, aside from pursuing a career in the NFL, has aspirations of going into law enforcement or the marines. Graham said Barber is going to focus on getting on with his life and moving forward.

“This is the last courtroom [Barber] is going to see,” Graham said.

Graham said he is not a fan of football and believed this helped him focus on Barber as a person and win the trial.

The WSU Student Conduct Board is currently under review for its treatment of Barber’s case in the fall, which resulted in a Whitman County judge overturning his suspension. WSU spokesman Robert Strenge said the administration has no comment on how this verdict will affect the review process.

The jury had to decide whether Barber intentionally assaulted Jackson Raney at a July house party and whether the former football player recklessly inflicted substantial bodily harm on Raney. If they could not decide beyond a reasonable doubt that the latter was true, the prosecutor told the jury to go for assault in the fourth degree, which is a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

They also had to decide if Barber acted in self-defense, which would have allowed him to use no more force than necessary to defend himself.

“Every day on the football field, [Barber] pushes his way through people and doesn’t punch them,” prosecuting attorney Daniel LeBeau said during his closing statement, adding that the force Barber used on Raney was not necessary.

Graham’s main argument was that Barber punched Raney in self-defense and to protect others, including “young ladies” who were behind him and nearby.

After the final witness, Stella Anderson, was released and the defense rested its case, the prosecution called Pullman Police officer Scott Patrick back to the stand.

During Patrick’s first testimony as a witness, LeBeau played the officer’s video of an August interview with Barber for the court. When he was called back to the stand, Patrick said he asked Barber three or four times during this interview why he punched Raney, and Barber never brought up protecting others as a reason.

After the party, Pullman Police officers interviewed more than 60 witnesses during their investigation. The prosecution and defense called just eight witnesses to the stand, including Barber.

“This was a fast trial,” Graham said during his closing statement.

Graham had originally listed a fourth witness, not including Barber, but one witness was never called to the stand. He said the witness did not have much to say.

“We decided not to drag her through that publicity,” Graham said.

Graham said he was not necessarily surprised by the verdict.

“We remained hopeful and confident throughout the trial,” he said.

During his closing statement, Graham talked about how Barber was a more reliable witness than the prosecution witnesses.

“Robert has an earnestness about him,” he said, “a truth that people can see once they start talking to him.”

Sasha Hamirani, a friend of Raney and a witness during the trial, said justice did not prevail in this case.

She said she believes Barber lied numerous times throughout his statements that she read, and the jury bought it.

“A man that size wouldn’t fear getting hit by a man Jackson’s size, with no athletic or any form of training to fight,” Hamirani said.

She said there was hardly any time between the first and second punch in the video for Jackson to even attempt to get up, it just looks as if he didn’t fall with his back completely flat yet.

“My friend’s priority to ask people like Barber to leave was to keep others safe,” Hamirani said, “so in no way would they ever act to jeopardize someone else’s wellbeing.”

Hamirani also contested Barber’s statement that he was protecting women, stating he pushed a woman, who was wearing a white sleeveless top in the video and standing behind him, when he swung his arm to punch Raney.

“I’m perplexed,” Hamirani said. “But mostly, I’m deeply disappointed.”