Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Beat It, Get Lost

I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system — that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up.
Harper Lee, author

Something stinks with the Jackson jury. Two jurors who voted to acquit singer Michael Jackson of child molestation and other charges say they regret their decisions. One can have buyer’s remorse over purchasing a car, spending too much on clothes, but not when it comes to deliberating on a jury.

On June 13, the jurors unanimously acquitted Jackson of all charges, which alleged that he molested a 13-year-old boy, plied the boy with wine and conspired to hold him and his family captive so they would make a video rebutting a damaging television documentary.

Would they have mentioned their regrets if they had voted for the death penalty and an execution had taken place? I doubt it. They would have kept their mouths shut and confined their stories to a journal instead of a book deal; something they should do now as well.

6 comments:

B2 said...

Until we get professional jurors (and I'm not sure that's really such a good idea), jurors should be anonymous and shut the hell up after rendering a decision (pun intended).

Jack Steiner said...

All that money spoils things.

Jack Steiner said...

To me they are people of less than admirable character and integrity. I admit that is a harsh remark but something is very, very wrong here.

Chandira said...

That whole thing was fishy.. I couldn't believe the outcome! There's NO way he was not guilty of something.

Sounds like a plot for a new episode of Southpark to me.. ;-)

Janet said...

You mean you actually believed this was going to be a FAIR trial? Aww. Aren't you sweet.:)

The Misanthrope said...

I had no expectations of it being fair for either side, but jurors should be made to sign some public benefit clause that exempts them from being able to use any information or events for financial gain when sitting as a juror.