tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post6911936513624124152..comments2024-03-25T02:53:26.373-04:00Comments on Women in Crime Ink: Jury Duty: Drama and TraumaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-58010179350209125852009-03-02T22:29:00.000-05:002009-03-02T22:29:00.000-05:00This former Juror on a serial murder trial likes t...This former Juror on a serial murder trial likes the idea of helping the Jury deal with all the stress and anxiety. We saw the gore. Heard from a people the accused almost killed. We were stalked by hte media. Our voices were heard on Court TV. We needed to hear and see it all. But wow, It was very hard to deal with.<BR/><BR/>- MikeBrand DIYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17351581636957154311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-63720264983958593182008-12-31T11:12:00.000-05:002008-12-31T11:12:00.000-05:00Anon said: "The statute does not require jurors to...Anon said: "The statute does not require jurors to offer evidence to support their verdict. That is the prosecution's job. That is not a myth but a fact". <BR/><BR/>No, that is as wrong as it is possible to be. The prosecution is required to offer evidence to support a verdict. I merely pointed out that despite their 'book' and numerous appearances on TV not one of these jurors could point to the slightest evidence they had used to support a verdict. It is clear that, as the defence feared, they voted solely out of prejudice.<BR/><BR/>Anon said: "Is there a murderer you won't defend??"<BR/><BR/>I don't recall ever supporting a murderer. To my knowledge, I have only supported innocent persons or those whose guilt has not or cannot be proved. Sadly, like too many others, it appears that you guess as to who is guilty then look for anything to support your prejudice. I prefer the constitutional approach, to let the evidence lead me to a conclusion whatever it may be.A Voice of Sanityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285284153694191831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-78794400013322764472008-12-31T07:50:00.000-05:002008-12-31T07:50:00.000-05:00The statute does not require jurors to offer evide...The statute does not require jurors to offer evidence to support their verdict. That is the prosecution's job. That is not a myth but a fact. <BR/><BR/>Is there a murderer you won't defend??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-64123656749839953022008-12-30T21:47:00.000-05:002008-12-30T21:47:00.000-05:00TLTL said: "I don't believe SP was found guilty me...TLTL said: <I>"I don't believe SP was found guilty merely because of the autopsy photos. There was plenty of circumstantial evidence to substantiate a guilty verdict in his case. SP's jury deserves more credit than that".</I><BR/><BR/>This is a common myth. Not one of the jurors has ever been able to offer even one piece of evidence that, as the statute requires, went to guilt and had no innocent explanation. In fact there isn't a person on the planet who can perform that marvel AFAIK. OTOH, there was a mountain of evidence that conclusively proved Peterson could not have committed the crime, even if he had had a motive, something the jury agreed he did not. Some pieces of evidence on their own proved him innocent and not merely not guilty. As I said, he was convicted by outrage; supported by horrific exhibits but never by facts.A Voice of Sanityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285284153694191831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-23017766586579290552008-12-30T20:02:00.000-05:002008-12-30T20:02:00.000-05:00This is just another reason to implement a profess...This is just another reason to implement a professional jury system. The average person isn't qualified to interpret a trial. As as far as the gruesome photos go, a professional juror would be paid and educated to handle the photos.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-36082844103046682692008-12-30T18:55:00.000-05:002008-12-30T18:55:00.000-05:00I've been called to jury duty three times. Served ...I've been called to jury duty three times. Served on two minor cases. I don't know how I would react in the situations you describe. I hope I don't have to find out.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-79722210888426773322008-12-30T18:28:00.000-05:002008-12-30T18:28:00.000-05:00It went through my mind during the two trials of t...It went through my mind during the two trials of those that murdered my 12 year old grandson Chris Cejas that if it was so bad the DA and victims assistance people didn't want us to hear it what would it do to the jury? I know much more now than I did at the time, and it WAS bad. I can only imagine how the jurors faired after the trial was over.t2sisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196666973478868206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-40017574081576023432008-12-30T17:20:00.000-05:002008-12-30T17:20:00.000-05:00I don't believe SP was found guilty merely because...I don't believe SP was found guilty merely because of the autopsy photos. There was plenty of circumstantial evidence to substantiate a guilty verdict in his case. SP's jury deserves more credit than that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-84551990378473093822008-12-30T14:22:00.000-05:002008-12-30T14:22:00.000-05:00Yes, Donna, Sharon Cave's a remarkable woman in ma...Yes, Donna, Sharon Cave's a remarkable woman in many ways. <BR/><BR/>I watched Sharon sit in a courtroom, day after day, hearing in gory detail the horror of her daughter's death, then listened to her worry about all the jurors were exposed to, wondering how they would cope. <BR/><BR/>One of the reasons I write true crime is that I find so many of the people inspirational.Kathryn Caseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04469242532804571817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-51791619217301406722008-12-30T13:47:00.000-05:002008-12-30T13:47:00.000-05:00TLTL Asked: Why shouldn't the jurors see the photo...TLTL Asked: <I>Why shouldn't the jurors see the photos? I would want to if I had to determine someone's fate.</I><BR/><BR/>Because instead of determining <B>WHO</B> committed the crime the jurors' focus is on how horrible it was. A perfect example is the Scott Peterson case. When asked in interviews how they determined guilt, one juror claimed it was the "autopsy photos which sealed his fate". Yet in those photographs, gruesome though they may be, there was not the slightest information as to the crime; not merely no indication of who killed them, but nothing to explain how they were killed, where they were killed, when they were killed, or why they were killed. And yet these 'jurors' claim they could infer who killed the victims. So what was the purpose in showing these photographs except to prejudice the jury? We already have a dead mother and child - that in itself is enough to condemn anyone if the evidence supports a conviction. Instead the horror of it was used to overcome a total lack of evidence.A Voice of Sanityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285284153694191831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-30727065483733032162008-12-30T13:04:00.000-05:002008-12-30T13:04:00.000-05:00Why shouldn't the jurors see the photos? I would w...Why shouldn't the jurors see the photos? I would want to if I had to determine someone's fate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-20703832049410951962008-12-30T13:00:00.000-05:002008-12-30T13:00:00.000-05:00Voice of Sanity As always your comments and opinio...Voice of Sanity <BR/><BR/>As always your comments and opinions are appreciated. As a prosecutor I do have a problem with trying to sanitize the hard core evidence of a defendants actions. I always try to avoid unduly gory pictures when unecessary however I do have a problem with the argument that it is too prejudicial for the jury to see what a defendant actually did when he/she is being tried for that very crime. Thanks for the comment.Donna Pendergasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07675509385543402624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-72246802622419283282008-12-30T12:56:00.000-05:002008-12-30T12:56:00.000-05:00KathyrnI read about Sharon Cave's and Senators Gar...Kathyrn<BR/><BR/>I read about Sharon Cave's and Senators Garcia's efforts to enact the recently passed legislation. I thought to myself about how much it says about the type of person that Sharon Cave is to be concerned about jurors when dealing with her own overwhelming loss and heartbreak. Her actions speak volumes.Donna Pendergasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07675509385543402624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-65595187199105201432008-12-30T12:22:00.000-05:002008-12-30T12:22:00.000-05:00Texas is on that list, too, Donna. In A DESCENT IN...Texas is on that list, too, Donna. <BR/><BR/>In A DESCENT INTO HELL, my book on the Colton Pitonyak case, the mother of the victim, Sharon Cave, along with her state senator, Juan Garcia (D-Corpus Christi), sponsored THE JENNIFER CAVE ACT, which offers counseling to jurors exposed to disturbing testimony or exhibits, such as gruesome crime scene photos.Kathryn Caseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04469242532804571817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6316617410436977874.post-88080665877454615522008-12-30T02:04:00.000-05:002008-12-30T02:04:00.000-05:00A great deal of the trauma is caused by the prosec...A great deal of the trauma is caused by the prosecution bringing in gruesome pictures and information in order to prejudice the jury against the defendant, all with the acquiescence of a complacent judge. In far too many cases the material used has absolutely no evidentiary value and its use cannot be justified in any way.<BR/><BR/>For example, what can the jury learn from seeing a decayed body? When it shows no cause of death, nothing to connect the defendant to it, it is clearly there for shock value only.A Voice of Sanityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285284153694191831noreply@blogger.com