Jury foreman in teacher rape case: 'We couldn't throw this guy's life away'

[Siwsan]

6. My first experience on a jury was a real eye opener

It was a murder case and I was the foreperson. The first thing I did was ask for an initial vote. The judge had just given us very explicit instructions so they should have been fresh in everyone's mind.

Things went well until the last voter spoke. Her vote was for 2nd degree murder so I asked her, as I did everyone else, how she came to that conclusion. And she actually said "Because the 2nd shot was the one that killed her." I blinked a few times and then asked "So, if he had shot her just once, it would be 1st degree murder?" She nodded. "And if he shot her 3 times, and it was the 3rd shot that killed her, would you think it was manslaughter?" Again her answer was a solid "Yes!"

I ended up on 3 murder juries during that commitment, and also heard the 'I don't want to ruin this young man's life' rationalization during the 2nd deliberation. My question to that person is would they feel comfortable with that person as a neighbor? After some thought that juror changed his mind.