Jury Deliberation Day 1
As the twelve jury members sat around the conference table, it took thirty minutes of introductions until it was decided that Harold Anthony would act as foreman.
Harold was one of four men on the jury; the other eight were women.
Five were business professionals, two were retired, and one was a stay-at-home mom.
Harold Anthony was a local businessman with a calm demeanor and clear ability to lead. He was an easy choice to head a group discussion that would determine a woman’s fate, and decide if she was guilty or innocent of murder.
“Okay,” Harold said from the head of the conference table.
“The entire case, offered from both sides, has been presented to us.
The judge has made it clear that the world is watching and waiting for the twelve of us to make a decision.
The media scrutiny will be intense and, perhaps, overwhelming.
The judge has made clear that after a thorough and complete deliberation, we need to stand together as one on our decision.
So I think the first thing we should do is discuss our initial thoughts and clarify any areas we do not fully understand.
“Her fingerprints were found on the murder weapon,” one of the retired women said. “I’m not fully understanding what there is to debate.”
“Well,” Harold said. “Since our initial vote was not unanimous, we’ve been burdened with the task of debate until such time that we all agree. But you bring up a good jumping-off point . The murder weapon, and her fingerprints on it, is as good a place to start that debate as any.”