Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Two Jackson Jurors "Regret" Acquittal

So, two of the Michael Jackson jurors now say that regret voting "not guilty" and think Jackson was guilty. They gave an interview talking about how mean their fellow jurors were and how they should be ashamed of themselves for letting a pedophile go free. They both have book deals pending. I'm not really sure why anyone would actually want to buy a book penned by a Jackson juror, but whatever. I also think the most reasonable interpretation of what's going on here is that they were part of a minority at the beginning of deliberations, were convinced to go along with the majority, and have let the media coverage surrounding the trial and acquittal (which they were shielded from during the actual trial) affect their opinions of the case. There is a reason after all that you're not supposed to read or listen to news coverage of a case when you're a juror. One final thought. I've heard some commentators say that this might make the prosecution feel better about their case. Are you kidding me? There is nothing more infuriating to an attorney who has shed blood, sweat, and tears over a trial and lost anyway than to hear jurors say, after the fact, that they wished they had voted the other way. Then you should have voted the other way, you morons! These two people are telling the reporter that they were powerless to resist, and the other jurors "made" them vote not guilty. That's just ridiculous. Group dynamics be damned. When you are a juror, you take an oath to return a true verdict based on the law and the evidence. If you agree to vote one way or another based on anything other than that, you are violating your oath. To tar and feather other jurors who actually followed their oaths and did vote according to their honest beliefs is disgraceful. And you shouldn't get a book deal for that.

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