In Allen v. United States (1896), the U.S. Supreme Court approved a jury instruction designed to prevent hung juries by urging minority jurors to reconsider their positions, a ruling that affirmed the murder conviction of Alexander Allen after two prior convictions were overturned. The trials were presided over by the legendary "Hanging Judge" Isaac C. Parker of the Western District of Arkansas. This instruction, now known as an "Allen charge" (or the "dynamite charge"), is delivered when a jury reports it is deadlocked, encouraging jurors to listen to each other's arguments and reconsider whether their doubts are reasonable. The Court reasoned that the jury system's goal of unanimity depends on open discussion and deference to the views of others, not blind stubbornness. However, because the ruling rests on the Supreme Court's supervisory power over federal courts, it is not binding on state courts, and roughly half of U.S. states prohibit such charges on state law grounds. Notably, the exact wording of the charge varies significantly among federal circuits, making it imprecise to refer to a single, unified "Allen charge."