Jury Duty

I spent all of last week in jury duty.
It was an incredible experience although heartbreaking.

The defendant was a 46 yr. Old man who was being charged on 3 counts of lewdness with a 9 yr old....who was his sister in law. (The man was married to her 16 yr old sister).
They lived in a 4 flex were she lived upstairs with mom and siblings and
The couple lived downstairs
They were around eachother all the time.

It was extremely taxing mentally and emotionally.
Mainly because by the time this came to trial the little girl was "recanting" or taking back her statment.
She said she made it up because her dad didn't like him and made her.

We had to decide who she was threatened from
..dad to make up the story or brother in law that made her said she made it up.

Either senario  was heartbreaking.
We spent 3 days listending to details.

I went home the first day totally undecided. I had NO clue.
I was really hoping to get lots more insight because I would be deciding a man's fate. And either he did this and he may get odd and that little girl will never talk again if she goes through all this and nothing happens. ...or we convict an innocent man.
Id never listened so closely to anything in my life. Ive never felt like I was in a week long argument hearing all these sides.

The second day I went home thinking he was being sent up

I prayed and prayed hoping that I'd catch the details that actually mattered.

By the last day I felt certain he was guilty.
I really wanted to go into the deliberation room with my own opinion. And then if I missed some things and changed that would be ok
But I wanted my own opinion. Not to lean on others.
I was confident going into that room


3 people thought not guilty and 1 totally undecised. The rest thought guilty.

We talked and talked.
We listened VERY closely to. A second time (starting and pausing) the little girls interview with a forensic interviewer.

There was just far too many details.
We decided guilty in the end.



We got friendly with all the jurors and by the time we decided I said... which one of you men is walking me to my car.


Because his famity had seen us for days.
They kinda all laughed and then the girls all agreed.

Going into that room to deliver a verdict was rough. They ask you as a full and then individually if your verdict was guilty.

It was very tense In the room.

I was glad when I was over.

He will go to prison for atleast 10 yrs.

We were excepted to our vehicles by 6 police officers.

Like I said.. i was a incredible experience seeing what goes on. But it's a horrible thing that happened.

But I wanted to remember parts of it.