A year ago this week I was summoned for jury duty. Upon arrival on the first day, prospective jurors were told there were 60+ cases in the queue for the week. Two of the 60 were murder.
I planned to have a few days to catch up on reading while waiting for a case. Of course, things didn't work out as I had planned. My name was called with 50 others within the first hour for one of the two murder cases.
The whole jury selection process is fascinating. It began in the courtroom with the potential jurors receiving an explanation of the charges and process, while the defendant sat before us. First degree murder, second degree sale of illegal substance. It was surreal to be sitting a few feet away from a man accused of taking another's life. We were asked to complete pages of questions; do you believe this, do you believe in that. The questions made you think and state your beliefs about things which had never crossed my mind.
I returned the next day hopeful I would go back to the prospective juror pool and sit on a case about someone's property line dispute, however I left as Juror #9 in the case of the State of MN versus the defendant for the murder of a man from New Mexico during a drug deal gone very bad.
When the trial began I realized during opening statements I had actually watched this case on TV the day it happened and here I was now sitting on the jury. The trial did go quickly and I learned a great deal about our legal process and ultimately realized that the system does work.
I was shocked by the case which was presented by the State of MN and how many holes there were from witnesses to evidence. The jury, according to the prosecution, was supposed to find the defendant guilty because they told us he did it. All in all, it appeared that the man being tried for the murder was the easiest target to charge.
The police and prosecutors made up their mind that they had their man and stopped pursuing other suspects which became evident during defense cross-examination. Based upon the information presented at trial, the defendant appeared to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wasn't a good man, he was a drug dealer, however I believed he did not kill anyone.
In the end, the defendant was acquitted of all charges and he walked out of the courtroom a free man after eight months behind bars awaiting his trial. About six months ago, a man at the scene of the shooting actually pleaded guilty of second degree murder and is now serving three years.
It has been a year, but I can honestly say that I think about this experience every day. I wonder what became of the suspect, has he changed his life around? Did he understand that he was given a second chance? It is a daunting task to know that you and your peers have the power to send a young man away for the rest of his life. It truly affected me. It bothers me that I really do not know beyond a reasonable doubt what really happened that hot summer day in north Minneapolis, how many lives were affected and will never be the same.
Each night when I watch the news and hear that there has been a shooting or an arrest, I pray that the name I hear is not that of the man we believed was not guilty.
I planned to have a few days to catch up on reading while waiting for a case. Of course, things didn't work out as I had planned. My name was called with 50 others within the first hour for one of the two murder cases.
The whole jury selection process is fascinating. It began in the courtroom with the potential jurors receiving an explanation of the charges and process, while the defendant sat before us. First degree murder, second degree sale of illegal substance. It was surreal to be sitting a few feet away from a man accused of taking another's life. We were asked to complete pages of questions; do you believe this, do you believe in that. The questions made you think and state your beliefs about things which had never crossed my mind.
I returned the next day hopeful I would go back to the prospective juror pool and sit on a case about someone's property line dispute, however I left as Juror #9 in the case of the State of MN versus the defendant for the murder of a man from New Mexico during a drug deal gone very bad.
When the trial began I realized during opening statements I had actually watched this case on TV the day it happened and here I was now sitting on the jury. The trial did go quickly and I learned a great deal about our legal process and ultimately realized that the system does work.
I was shocked by the case which was presented by the State of MN and how many holes there were from witnesses to evidence. The jury, according to the prosecution, was supposed to find the defendant guilty because they told us he did it. All in all, it appeared that the man being tried for the murder was the easiest target to charge.
The police and prosecutors made up their mind that they had their man and stopped pursuing other suspects which became evident during defense cross-examination. Based upon the information presented at trial, the defendant appeared to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wasn't a good man, he was a drug dealer, however I believed he did not kill anyone.
In the end, the defendant was acquitted of all charges and he walked out of the courtroom a free man after eight months behind bars awaiting his trial. About six months ago, a man at the scene of the shooting actually pleaded guilty of second degree murder and is now serving three years.
It has been a year, but I can honestly say that I think about this experience every day. I wonder what became of the suspect, has he changed his life around? Did he understand that he was given a second chance? It is a daunting task to know that you and your peers have the power to send a young man away for the rest of his life. It truly affected me. It bothers me that I really do not know beyond a reasonable doubt what really happened that hot summer day in north Minneapolis, how many lives were affected and will never be the same.
Each night when I watch the news and hear that there has been a shooting or an arrest, I pray that the name I hear is not that of the man we believed was not guilty.
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