HOUSTON
The first full day of jury deliberations in the trial of Texas Southern University’s former president, who is accused of spending more than $500,000 of school money to lavishly furnish and decorate her homes, ended Tuesday without a verdict.
During closing arguments Monday, prosecutors said Dr. Priscilla Slade left a legacy of waste and betrayed trust as she misspent school funds on everything from $100 bottles of wine at lunch to landscaping to $40,000 china.
Her attorney argued that all of his client’s spending was done to improve the school’s status. He accused prosecutors of making her a scapegoat for the university’s problems.
After listening to both sides for more than three hours, jurors deliberated for nearly three and a half hours Monday before stopping for the day. Deliberations were set to resume Tuesday.
Slade, 55, is on trial for one of two counts of misapplication of fiduciary property with a value over $200,000. If convicted, she faces up to life in prison.
