Most of you won't read this but I feel the need to write it.
I spent the last 2 days on jury duty and to be honest I don't have a very high opinion of my fellow citizens. It amazed me how quickly some of them fall in line with "it's the law" when they also expressed an opinion of how unfair the law is.
To start there was a 911 call, a mother calling because her son was beating on the outside door and she didn't want to let him in.
Police came, he was gone. They returned and found him outside and in their description his speech was thick, he appeared to be unbalanced and was drooling. They tried to talk to him and he walked away so they "put hands on him". In other words they cuffed him, did a pat down and then pulled his pockets out looking for drugs or drug paraphernalia. They took him to the drunk tank. There he was put in a cage with an unknown number of others, while one of the officers "watched" him. I put that in quotes because the officer who claimed he never took his eyes off of him was filling out forms at the time. He was also unable to say if there were 5, 15, 25 or 50 people in the drunk tank at the same time. He also testified they went to the house 3 times, the other officer said they were there twice. They both were crystal clear that he was on the sidewalk not the pathway to the house. Why? Because otherwise they had no right to arrest him in the first place.
The police did a crappy job but it was stellar compared to the public defender who called nobody to the stand, didn't present one shred of evidence or do anything other than cross examine the state's witnesses. Both the prosecutors and the defense spent way too much time bringing up possibilities in their preliminary presentations which never came up at all and only confused the issue.
This could be a novel but I will try to be succinct. I was told by the judge, as was everyone else, that we were to make a decision on our own, stand alone. In other words be true to yourself. Here was a possibly 50 year old black man originally charged with public intoxication who was before us on a felony rap of possession of less than 1 gram of cocaine. His possible sentence was 180 days to 2 years.
The first witness who works for an "independent" lab which is housed in a county owned building testified as to the makeup of the drug found. It was cocaine and horse dewormer. UGH. What got me about this 28 year old's testimony was that she stated she has NEVER made a mistake. Really?? Never once? Found that very hard to believe especially when I have read about labs which deliberately faked drug tests to enable the prosecutor to convict innocent people, the pool chalk the Dallas Police said was cocaine in that famous episode 5-10 years ago.
The next officer came off as fairly credible but in her testimony she was asked why she thought the substance was cocaine. She said it was an off white rock like substance in a little baggie. And it was field tested by someone else who we never got to hear from.
Why that information was crucial is that the Hispanic matron, who was the most credible witness who testified, said she found a rock in his pocket. No little baggie, just the rock. Now this was after the guy was in the drunk tank with we don't know how many other people for an unknown period of time being constantly watched by a guy who was filling out forms.
In this case the drugs they found, including what was used to cut the cocaine amounted to .35 of 1 gram. We asked for the evidence bag, .35 of 1 gram is a little, itty, bitty, tiny, miniscule piece of rock. For this we took the time of 12 jurors, 1 judge, 2 prosecutors, 2 defense attorneys, 2 constables, 2 police witnesses, 1 jail matron, 1 drug tester and the alleged criminal. As the only intelligent thing one of the I assume public defenders said, I hope you enjoyed your participation in the war on drugs.
The saddest part of the experience took place in the jury room. At the end of the first 1/2 day when the prosecution had rested and the defense had said nothing, we were asked if we wanted to finish that day or come back. One guy, a white Lexus mechanic from Mesquite said to himself but next to me, "let's finish, this won't take long at all". I took that to mean the alleged criminal was guilty and it shouldn't take that long to convict him. We came back the next day only to find out there was going to be no defense at all just closing arguments. I was disappointed, I wanted to hear from the guy's mother, him, a character witness, SOMETHING.
So we where then given the charges and instructed by the judge to make an independent decision, each of us. We did a preliminary vote 8 guilties, 3 I am not sures and me, not guilty. One of the not sure votes had been in a drunk tank himself. He explained to us what happens in there. It only confirmed my reasonable doubt. 3 white, young, seemingly intelligent people were pushing to convict him because the .35 gram of rock was found in his pocket on the 4th search. They acknowledged the police did a sloppy job but were still ready to send him to prison for up to 2 years. 3 people I believe stated that this insignificant amount of drugs was a waste of our time but "its the law and there is nothing we can do about it.". And the saddest part was, "and there is nothing we can do about it". REALLY are we not citizens? Wasn't slavery the law, wasn't my loving my partner illegal, wasn't prohibition the law?
The discussions got heated and there was yelling. I was asked several times why I wouldn't change my mind. I pointed out the disparity in the testimony of the arresting officers. One said they were there twice, one said three times. They were both sure they knew though that he was on the sidewalk because otherwise they had no right to arrest him in the first place. The drugs weren't found until the 4th search, one officer said it was in a little baggie while the matron who found it said it was just the rock.
I was especially disappointed at the people who said the law was unfair but there was nothing we could do about it. Is that the American spirit that defeated the British? Is that the kind of attitude that fueled the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement, the women's movement? Seriously you are going to send a man to prison for up to 2 years because "it is the law and there is nothing you can do about it"? We were told by 2 judges to come to a verdict and continue arguing. I was asked by the guy who was ready to convict before he heard the defense, "convince us to change our votes"? I reminded him of what I heard him say the night before. He shut up. But every time I tried to point out the disparity in testimony which caused my reasonable doubt, they just shouted it was in his pocket. When I pointed out that several of them said the law was stupid but there was nothing that we could do about it I reminded them that we are citizens if the law is unfair we can choose to send a message by not voting to convict. Then I read the charge which defines possession as "being in control, maintenance, etc. etc., not "in his pocket".
I am glad I participated in this process. I am sad at the meekness of my fellow citizens and would despair should I ever rely on them for my own justice. "It is the law and there is nothing we can do about it" I am sure was said in households all over Germany in the 1930's thousands of times. It would have been much easier to go with the flow and get out of there before rush hour traffic which seemed much more important to most of the jurors than justice. But I would have hated myself. I took my service seriously and I understand what the definition of reasonable doubt is. If you want me to convict a fellow citizen of a felony and forever take away his right to vote, get your facts right and your testimony consistent.
This is the war on drugs. We are paying for it.
In a county where they are willing to spend the time of 24 people for 2 days on .35 grams of crack; the seats in the main jury room are missing or broken. In this 8 story building 3 sets of escalators are broken and walled off. Is there not a better use of resources than to spend the time and money it took not convict a 50 year old black man of possession of .35 grams of cocaine? Yes it is the law, if you think is unfair your duty as a citizen is to say so and act accordingly.
I am proud for standing my ground and using my brain. At the same time I am sad that we as citizens are so easily willing to "settle". I am also disgusted that Craig Watkins the same District Attorney who did so much when first elected for the Innocence Project is going to waste the time 24 more people to retry this case. My only hope is that some other cantankerous bastard refuses to go with the flow so he/she can get home before rush hour.
You didn't grow up in Texas, you had no locally breathed-in beliefs of passivity before a stupid law. But your entire experience on the jury is confirming what I have long believed about that state. Trump Nation.
But it does bring up the jurors' dilemma of a defendant who may be technically violating the law but in a very minimal way.
For example, would you convict someone of intoxication manslaughter who blew a .08 blood alcohol level? They would technically be guilty, but .08 for most people is really not intoxicated.
Yes it would have been very easy to be dismissed. And while, yes I think the law is stooped, I voted the way I did because the testimony was conflicting. Reasonable doubt means you are sure, not you listened found obvious discrepancies and then voted guilty anyway so you could go home early.
The one where I was actually down to be a possible juror, when it was my turn to be asked questions I was kind of disappointed in the process. The case was a black woman who had been (allegedly) caught shoplifting. My question was from the defense lawyer, "Mr (put name here) I see you are a retail business owner. "Yes" "If the defendant is found guilty would you vote for jail time?" HUH (not sure why I as a juror would be involved in the penalty phase of a minor offense)? I asked if the defendant had previous convictions for shoplifting. "Yes 4 previous convictions" I then responded yes I would vote for jail time. I was dismissed.
I found that line of questions to be quite disturbing. Basically stacking the jury to make sure no jail time would be awarded. Why waste our time if that is case? It should have been discussed by the lawyers and some sort of probation put into place where if broken then jail time is mandatory. I found this to be a misuse of the system. Have we become so jaded that the system is just a machine that has fallen into disrepair and no one wants to fix it?
My take on the war on drugs. Time to be real about it, it has failed. The penalties are inequitable between Black, White and Hispanic. Public polling has shown that marijuana is more acceptable and should be legalized. Come on FEDS wake up, what are the States telling you when approving medical pot? Move on to more pressing issues. Oh wait yeah now I remember, someone else has already pointed it out. Private incarceration facilities. It is all about the money.
I don't know how easy it is to refuse participation, as top4 suggests, I think you would have to argue very well to avoid this civil duty.
I'm not convinced of this system, which is gaining votes in Europe, too, for I can say that I am not prepared to discern a reasonable doubt from the fact that I know that I'm not imparcial (and I hope a judge learns to discern that). I think you have done great, thank you for that.
And I think it is not necessary to evoque nazism, slavery etc. to state that we all - to more or less extend - tend to go the easy way. How often you have seen unjustice in the street, in the behaviour of parents towards their children, teachers to their pupils, .... , and not stepped in? I for me must admit that I've more often closed my eyes, found excuses than having interfered. Don't believe actually there is anybody here not beeing guilty of this.
This said, thank you again for your upright decision.
www.care2.com/causes/for-profit-prisons-8-statist … blems.html
For-Profit Prisons: 8 Statistics That Show the Problems
by Kevin Mathews
December 24, 2013
As private prisons become the norm in the United States, it’s time society takes a look at the institution and asks, “Are prisons really being used as rehabilitation/deterrence for crime, or have private interests started attaching price tags to lawbreakers’ heads and exploited their incarceration for profit?”
Here are several key statistics that paint an ugly, troubling picture of the for-profit prison system in America:
500% Increase
The biggest private prison owner in America, The Corrections Corporation of America, has seen its profits increase by more than 500% in the past 20 years. Moreover, the business’ growth shows no sign of stopping, having already approached 48 states to take over government-run prisons.
10-60 Pounds Lighter
One way for-profit prisons to minimize costs is by skimping on provisions, including food. A psychiatrist who investigated a privately run prison in Mississippi found that the inmates were severely underfed and looked “almost emaciated.” During their incarceration, prisoners dropped anywhere from 10 to 60 pounds.
100%
100% of all military helmets, ID tags, bullet-proof vests and canteens are created in federal prison systems through prison labor. Though prisoners are “generously” compensated cents per hour, it’s clear having this inexpensive, exploited labor force is critical to the military industrial complex. I bet that the irony that mostly non-violent offenders are making war gear for others to perpetuate violence abroad without consequence is not lost on many of the inmates.
90% Occupancy
States sign agreements with private prisons to guarantee that they will fill a certain number of beds in jail at any given point. The most common rate is 90%, though some prisons are able to snag a 100% promise from their local governments. Because of these contracts, the state is obligated to keep prisons almost full at all times or pay for the beds anyway, so the incentive is to incarcerate more people and for longer in order to fill the quota.
25%
One in every four people that is incarcerated worldwide is held captive in a United States jail. How is it that a country with only 5% of the world’s population has 25% of all the inmates? Simple: prisoners are source of revenue for private companies, so the demand for incarcerating them is especially high.
11 Times
Violent crimes are down overall, so how does the United States keep prisons stocked instead? Amplifying the war on drugs: there are now 11 times as many people in jail for drug convictions than there were in 1980, constituting 50% of the prison population. Longer mandatory minimum sentences also keeps the inmates in longer. Most people incarcerated for drug charges are non-violent, have no prior record, and are addicts rather than major drug-traffickers.
50%
Nearly half of all detained immigrants are held in privately owned facilities. The fact that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has stepped up its game to detain more undocumented immigrants – about 400,000 each year – has actually increased the need for private systems as most detainees will linger in the system waiting for court dates for months if not years.
Civil rights groups have deemed the quality of care provided in immigrant detention centers unacceptable, particularly because of the large numbers of preventable fatalities and sexual assaults.
$45 million
The three largest for-profit prison corporations have spent more than $45 million on campaign donations and lobbyists to keep politicians on the side of privatized incarceration. In light of all of their ethical violations, it’s obvious that they have to offer some incentive for keeping their business legal.
I would have been right there with you. The lab tech, who never has made a mistake, please. Four searches before they find the drugs. Different testimony and discrepancies in the record. Too much doubt for me. Plus even if the guy was guilty, you throw him in prison for 2 years, he comes out a heroin addict. A no win situation for everybody.
"The war on drugs" is a zero sum game successful only in creating a behemoth incarceration industry that drains resources badly needed in other sectors of society.
The defendant was very fortunate to have someone thoughtful serving on the jury. Job well done.