Should you ever find yourself returning from jury duty – and by that I mean having gone into the jury room and arriving at a verdict – only to encounter someone later who, basking in a hot tub of ignorance as to the facts of the case, has the temerity to say: “Did you throw the book at them?!” (or words to that effect), have the courage to look them in the eye and say:
“You know how you read about cases where someone is freed from prison after languishing there for decades, and then DNA finally proves beyond all doubt that they were innocent of the charge all along, as they and a variety of alibis claimed and you say to yourself, ‘Wow! How were they ever found guilty in the first place?’ Now I know. They had twelve jurors just like you.”
Or this one:
“You know, if you ever happen to match the description of that pedophile and find yourself sitting in that chair, pray to whatever you deem high and holy that someone like yourself is not on the jury.”
Or the “less-is-more” school of:
“So much for the presumption of innocence….”
(Hey, I get it. This won’t win you any friends but, in the end, do you really want someone like that as a friend?)
Just doing my civic duty…
BILL
\Twitter: @BillBekkala
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