Who are they?
Eight females, Jurors #: 1, 6, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16 and 17
Four males, Jurors #: 4, 7, 18 and 19
Two alternates: Female #2 and Male # 13
It’s been two days of deliberations:
9 hours, 45 minutes to be exact.
We don’t have a decision just yet. But we did observe a few odd things in court today. First, apparently juror # 2, who was picked to be an alternate, is pretty disappointed that she won’t get to deliberate. Many people don’t know this, but alternates don’t usually know they are an alternate until the conclusion of a court case. It can be a massive let down for someone who’s sat through months of testimony and really wants to have their vote. So juror # 2 asked the Judge if she could swap with one of the deliberating jurors. A highly unusual request. Obviously, the Judge said no.
The next oddity? One of the jurors brought a crockpot of food to court. Another, a dessert dish. I understand snacks, but a homemade feast seems a bit extravagant. Nevertheless, a good pot of stew is the least these people deserve after being subjected to porn talk for the last four months.
And what is the last item worth mentioning from today? Oh yes… there were llamas on the loose in Phoenix. Two of them. No, I’m not making this up. As if this whole debacle couldn’t be any weirder, Phoenix police spent their day chasing escapee llamas. So there you go… alternates, crockpots and llamas… but no verdict.
Court is dark on Fridays, as well as over the weekend, but the jurors have the option to request their own hours. If they want to stay late or come in over the weekend, they can request that. At the conclusion of today, they are still undecided. So what did they choose to do? Go home for the three day weekend.
Now, I realize that trying to guess what a jury’s going to do is about as futile as counting on your Power Ball ticket to pay this month’s rent. But it’s still an interesting exercise to try to figure them out. So what do I think it means that they’re taking a long weekend?
I think it means they’re divided. Speaking from my own experience, when it finally comes time to deliberate, you cherish that time to talk and debate your opinions. No matter how difficult it gets, and sometimes it can get very heated, most jurors still have the desire to keep working and come to a conclusion as quickly, and thoroughly, as possible. I think it’s unusual that they want to take 3 days off. In the middle of deliberations – 3 days is an eternity. I would not want to break that momentum.
Is it possible that they are close to deciding, or have decided, and want the weekend to sleep on it? Sure. But I believe, not likely. I think it’s normal to sleep on it for a night. But not 3 nights. Not when a family’s been waiting for a conclusion for 7 years.
Now, I absolutely get that this is an excruciating decision to make for them. No matter how much we despise Jodi, and want justice in this case, she’s still a breathing human being and to be the one to decide that another human will stop breathing, is by far the hardest thing one could ever have to do. So I don’t begrudge them whatever time they need. I just think the 3 days are more indicative of a group that are divided and need time to cool down and/or clear their heads.
On the flip side, the fact that they didn’t wave the white flag at the end of today means they are digging in for the long haul. At least for now. Any jury that is still going, still trying to deliver a verdict, always has potential.
What do you guys think?
Juror13 