The Jodi Arias Death Penalty Retrial (Sentencing) - Thoughts on Juror #3: A Jurors Perspective (This edition is dedicated to all those who have completed Jury Service as well as those who are currently doing their Jury Service). From: Day 15 - I was glad to hear the Jury asking questions. Its far too early to tell if they are leaning one way or another because they are still individual Jurors. It tells me they are engaged. It tells me they are doing what they are supposed to do. They have to listen to the completion of both sides before they can lean one way or another. They must withhold judgement until they are released to the deliberation room. Then, we lost Juror #3. There is no applause and there is no knowledge as to why. The State has alternates for a reason. It is pointless to speculate as it will remain a secret. There is a dynamic in the background of a Jury that few speak of. The longer a trial, the more each individual Juror vests in time and sacrifice. The serious note takers will feel a tension lurking a little more than everyone else. The thicker the notebook, the less you want to be selected as an alternate. The alternates are picked the day the Jury goes into deliberation. By losing one Juror, each Juror has just increased their odds of being on the final twelve. They will be sad to see one go but the sadness is short lived. The Trial will go on without her and God Speed to her. I thank her for her service. She was one of the seven note takers. ...Some Jurors may be impacted by Juan Martinez aggressiveness. They might even feel sorry for the Doctor with so many years of experience. They may not even like him all that much. But this is not about Juan Martinez and it is not about Kirk Nurmi. It is about a man who brutally lost his life at the hands of another. It is about the voice that speaks for him because he know longer can. It is about Travis Alexander and those who have survived his death. It is about a path to Justice and sometimes it is paved with passion. I wrote the above after Day 15 of The Jurors Perspective . Last evening, I was able to hear the interview of Melissa, Juror #3, with Jen & Jarrett on Trial Talk Live. I found Juror #3 fascinating and I am grateful for her service. I was disappointed to see the negative feedback and I hope that these thoughts might put this in a better perspective. I spent the first half of this year as a Juror #13 for the Marissa DeVault Death Penalty Case. I spent the rest of the year writing about it in Brain Damage: A Jurors Tale (available on Amazon). My mind is still that of a Juror and the immense sacrifice it entails. My view is now from the Gallery. I have great empathy and admiration for this Juror. Melissa, Juror #3, reminded me of what it is to be a Juror... She spoke of the day she answered her Jury Summons. It is a little, flimsy post card with her name on it. On the reverse is a tiny map to the Courthouse. She makes the drive down to the Courthouse, parks in Jury Parking and makes her way to the Jury Commissioners building. The seating is like a carpeted Amtrak Station. She receives a sticker badge at the Jury Ticket Kiosk check-in and every hour or so, someone tells her to look at the TV Screens and, like an airport terminal, she sees her name. She walk to the designated area and is issued an eight by eleven laminated card with a number and she owns it the rest of the day. She has never been on a Jury before so this is completely foreign to her. The rest of the day, in the first round of Jury Selection, she was one of many cattle being herded and rounded down hallways to elevators. She followed while being escorted to the fifth floor Courtroom with three hundred other strangers. She sat down in the Jury box and Jodi Arias was in the defendant chair. Her life changed in a nano second. It was unreal. When she answered her Jury Service Summons, she didnt think she was going to be on a Jury. Its something other people do. Even if she was on a Jury, it would be a burglary or something simple. So, when she is called into a Courtroom and by the end of the day, she was thinking about the responsibility of making a life or death decision, There is something surreal in the position. It is an ever increasing weight on your back as the process moves forward. The very first day, she spent a great amount of time completing a Voir Dire, a questionnaire that is both personal and detailed. The questions are unexpected. the process is foreign and the importance of your duty is great. She turns in the document, follows the rest of the cattle and is escorted to the street. She is told to return a week later. She will spend the next week convincing herself that she will not be on the Jury. She will also start juggling the logistics of her family and her work. The hardest thing to do as a potential Juror is to get your mind wrapped around the whole idea. Melissa had to begin the process of understanding if she could make a life or death decision. It wasnt until it was actually on her plate of life did she realize how far and deep she had to reach into her soul. She had to begin this process of soul searching where her strength of integrity and honesty would be tested. She would review her moral compass. At the same time, she had to negotiate the schedules of family and work. She would set up a Just in case scenario. She would think that she probably wont be selected. She was a professional, so she would tell work. The second week she came back for Jury selection, she would be interrogated by attorneys. In the DeVault case, I sat the length of the day without being asked a question. It did not take away from the intensity of it because the questions were based on the highly personal Voir Dire questionnaire. I had a cold sweat on my hands. It is a very uncomfortable seat in the Jury box as attorneys fire questions at you like ducks being shot in a shooting gallery. They seem random, all over the map, very personal and the experience is unsettling and nerve racking. Melissa was interrogated... Melissa went home again and I can assure you that the intensity picked up in her head. She found herself getting distracted a lot. She finds that her mind goes to sleep with it and wakes up with it. She wonders if she could be a good Juror. She wonders if she was qualified to handle a life or death decision. The hardest part for her is not being able to talk to anyone about it. She returned on the third day and did not know she had already been selected as a Juror along with eighteen others. There is no fanfare when being selected. There is no hand shaking. There are no hugs. There is only an immediately responsibility to do a job you were selected to do. It is not glorious and has no fanfare. It is her civic duty to do the right thing and she knows it. They were escorted to the Jury box and they were given their permanent numbers. Melissa was named Juror Number Three. Judge Stevens read the law to them as they read along. Juan Martinez introduced the case to them. She, and the rest of the Jury, were introduced to the cruel and heinous death of a young man named Travis Alexander. Melissa felt the weight of the search for resolution. Melissa took furious notes throughout the trial because she cared about what she did and wanted to be a good Juror. She knew from the beginning that this was going to be complex. Jen Wood from Trial Diaries nicknamed her the book writer because she took so many notes. Melissa spoke of the two legal pads she had completed. She spoke of the pace of Juan Martinez as well as of the pace of Kirk Nurmi and it is no different than as I have described in prior perspectives. She spoke of Travis Alexander and his cruel death. She spoke of how it becomes all you think about. You sleep with it and well as wake up with it. You want more than anything to do the right thing in this momentous task you have been selected for. It never leaves you. She spoke of the shock of the first week and the impact of the Victim Impact Statements by Travis Alexanders family. These Jurors could share nothing with each other and she cried as the rest did on the way back to the Jury room. The sacrifice as a Juror is an emotional task despite being told that empathy or sympathy is not to be a factor. I know this feeling too well. I will never stop thinking of Dale Harrell and the cruel murder of him by his wife, Marissa DeVault. I will not forget the impact statements and I will not forget his children. I will not forget the damage of murder as it extends far out in a ripple of pain. The ancillary damage is something I never fully grasped until I was a Juror. I will always wonder if we gave the right Justice. Juror Number Three was a good Juror. I like the fact that she was inquisitive. I liked the fact that she wanted every piece connected. I respect the fact that she walked the line of not making a decision until the facts were laid in front of her from both the Prosecution and Defense. She cared about what she did. I enjoyed her story of a fellow Juror just wanting a hot dog for lunch. There is a stand that has been on the corner for forty years or so. This Juror went down three times to get one but couldnt because there was somebody from the Trial there every time. A Juror cant be seen with anyone from the Trial including media and public.She expressed the difficulty in having to watch every conversation you may have as well as watching for anything you are not supposed to hear. It is isolating. I would like to give that Juror a hot dog when this is over. Melissa spoke of her Jury Badge as likened to wearing a proverbial Scarlet Letter. Everyone wants to avoid you. She had heard many a conversation stop because of her and her fellow Jurors wearing name badges while they are walking down a hallway or a street. It is incumbent upon the Juror to respect the integrity of the Court at all times. I related to Juror #3, when someone asked her if she looked at the defendant, Arias, while sitting in the Jury box. She responded by saying that she was grateful that Kirk Nurmi blocked the view of her most of the time. She did not want to look at the killer because her job was to look at the evidence. I respect her not looking at the defendant. I didnt want to look at my defendant, either. I was intrigued in her speaking of Dr. Fonseca. She spoke with respect but at the same time was able to say that the redundancy was tiring. The Jury was learning that chewing gum protected facial expressions from showing. I wonder if one of those expressions was yawning. The Psychological testimony is grueling and I was happy to hear that I hadnt been the only Juror that felt this way. I think I referred to it as plowing through testimony in a prior Perspective. This Juror liked to submit questions. This shows great engagement and an effort to search for answers. My favorite question asked by her to Dr. Fonseca, where she inquired about the trigger for Travis in the Gmail exchange with Arias. She wanted to know what made him angry. It showed me that she was looking at the victim more than the killer. I like the fact that it was a communication to other Jurors. These Jurors have been together for eight weeks and they cannot talk to anyone. She wanted an answer and thought it important to ask the question so other Jurors would hear it. A particular thing I liked was her reference to the deliberation room as The Tiny Room. Prior to our deliberating on our trial, we called the deliberation room, The Island. We always felt the fear of being dismissed and none of us looked forward to alternate selection. A Juror dismissed was a Juror kicked off The Island. Juror #3 had a scheduling conflict in January. The Trial was supposed to complete by December 18. She was dismissed with no notice. There was no fanfare. Her schedule was not good for the Court. That must have been hard for her. She had been tossed off the island. I respect Melissa for sharing her story. It is difficult for any Juror to speak.The first thing one learns as a Juror on high profile case is to never speak to the media. The second rule is never to speak to anyone. The third rule is the repeat of number one and two I respect that she shared with us while keeping the integrity of the trial in mind. She made two months of sacrifice but she will have a lifetime of ownership. She put her life aside to do her civic duty. She did not volunteer or ask to make this sacrifice She will remember the images of Travis Alexander the rest of her life. She will always wonder if she could have done more. She not only sacrificed her family and professional life, she gave a little piece of her soul to try and find Justice. I respect Melissa as I respect the thousands who stand up every day to do Jury service. I respect them for the sacrifice as well as their strength in every decision that is put on their plate. The Juror is an integral part of our Judicial system. She will never forget Travis Alexander. We will never forget Travis Alexander. Through Juror #3s words and my experience as a Juror, I have every confidence in this Jury. Melissa, Juror #3 - Thank you for your service! Justice 4 Travis Alexander! Justice for Dale! Paul A. Sanders, Jr. The 13th Juror MD @The13thJurorMD (Twitter)
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 12:04:13 +0000
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