Reasonable Doubt

Jury duty ate up two days of this Thanksgiving week. One day sitting around waiting for the selection of the perfect twelve. 57 people showed up for service. By the end of the first day there were 12 people in the jury box, six people in the waiting seats and a handful of people left in the chairs. So, the judge and attorneys released over twenty prospective jurors after grilling them with personal questions. This morning more were eliminated. I got the alternate juror seat. So, there I was, all day, observing the trial. By 4:45 the trial was over, and the jury sent off to the jury room. I was released with instructions to stay within 30 minutes of the courthouse and wait for a call. 30 minutes later I got the call. The jury had come to the conclusion. Guilty. I did not have to return.

My thoughts: It was 5pm on the eve before Thanksgiving. 12 jurors wanted to cook their turkeys. They wanted to go home, no delays. They took the easy way out. Someone must have said guilty and they all agreed because it was Thanksgiving. Personally I think there was reasonable doubt in this case. I would have sat in there and insisted that the "evidence" was not conclusive. So much for justice - 12 people got to go home and cook turkeys. One person will suffer the consequences of quick decisions. That's just my own personal opinion.

Enjoy your turkeys.