Jury Duty

I have been writing a “journal” for about 8 years. I wrote the following about 5 years ago.

“I believe in punishing criminal behavior, but I will not kill or condone killing as punishment. Capital punishment is for God alone, in my opinion. On Judgment day, He will decide the fate of everyone's soul. For capital crimes, I believe in life imprisonment without parole, in solitary confinement. Prisoners should be given 2 basic meals a day, no conjugal visits, and no television. Hard labor should also be required. They have given up their right to live with society and should be deprived of all of the rights and privileges, save dignity, accorded to law-abiding citizens. But it is not our right to kill another human being, or for that matter deprive them of their human dignity, which is also God’s, because dignity resides in the soul.”

Today I was called for jury duty. My luck on jury duty being what it is, my name was called in the first group. When I reported to the courtroom, I kept thinking, “Man, I hope this is just a one-day service and I can go on with my life.”

When the judge came out and started giving us the standard spiel about how important jury duty is to the American way of life, I kept saying to myself, “I’ve heard this all before, and I agree with it. Can’t she move it along any faster? I might be able to make a day off out of this if we get it over early enough.”

Then she said the trial could last through September! “Wow! What? Is this going to be one of those corporate scandal cases that drag on and on? I can’t be here for this!”

She said that she would give us a brief summary of the charges. It is a criminal matter. The defendant is charged with rape and several murders with special circumstances. There will be a trial to determine guilt or innocence, then a second trial with the same jury to determine whether the punishment will be death or life in prison without possibility of parole.

We were asked if we had any hardships that would prevent us from serving and naturally, about 90% of the jurors raised their hands. I could not in good conscience raise mine because even though I have responsibilities and a job, my employer pays for jury duty in full. And while I may think I am indispensable in my position, the fact of the matter is that I can write a schedule to accommodate my customers and I can check in periodically.

Then we were handed a “short juror questionnaire” to fill out. We were handed the questionnaires at 9:30 am. When I finally finished at 12:30 pm, I found I was only one of about a dozen jurors still left in the courtroom. I guess it took me so long because I wanted to be honest and true to the justice system and most of the questions related to how I felt about prejudice, racism, and the death penalty. Anyone who really knows me knows that I can’t ever answer “yes” or “no” to any questions so complex. And it had well over 125 questions!

I have a feeling that since I answered that I will not vote for the death penalty under any circumstances, I will be excused. But the judge said she and the attorneys will need time to read the questionnaires and told us to come back on May 30th for more personal and detailed interviews. I will let you know what happens.

In the meantime, I will hold all of the participants including the defendant and the victims in my heart when I say my rosary tonight.