I Was Bothered There Was Not At Least One African American on the Jury

[romantico]

IMO, there should have been at least one African American. I blame the prosecution for that. Hard to believe they could not find him guilty of ANYTHING. I feel so bad for The Martin family tonight.

[frazzled]

1. I was bothered there were not 12 people on the jury

(which of course also would have meant a greater chance of a black juror, but that's beside my point).

In how many states is it possible to have only 6 jurors on a criminal trial--not just a criminal trial, but a murder trial? I'll go answer that question for myself after a bit of research; but my understanding is that criminal trials are required to have 12 jurors in most cases.

[MH1]

10. It ** was ** a "death penalty" case - Trayvon did get the death penalty, ya know?

For going to a store while black.



But yeah, you are providing the technical reason.

I think if there was at least one African American on the jury the verdict may or may not have been different, but yes, it would have been better accepted.

It also might have been better accepted if they'd taken longer to arrive at it. 16 hours really doesn't seem like a very long time to deliberate a case like this.

[romantico]

13. I

I would have taken the verdict better had there been an African American on the jury. I still would have been pissed that the coward was set free, but I would not be as upset knowing there was an African American who decided he was not guilty.

[frazzled]

11. That's Florida law, not everywhere

It was a murder case, and I believe that 6 is not standard for that in other states. I sat as a potential juror in a non-death-penalty murder case in Illinois, and twelve jurors were selected.

I make no judgment as to the racial composition of that trial or the reaction to it. I believe a not guilty verdict would have been unjust no matter what jury was seated.

[avaistheone1]

2. Yes, there should have been at least one.

My thoughts and prayers with the Martins too. I think they have a strong faith that will get them through.

[treestar]

3. I agree, in a case like this

especially. Like the poster above, the 6 person jury appears to be not a good thing either, or this case is evidence of its failings. One AA person could have contributed and brought the perspective.

[Nye Bevan]

4. Do you feel like you could fairly decide a case where the victim had a different race from you? (nt)

[frazzled]

12. Hello: the jurors had a different race from the victim ...

Do you think they could decide fairly about justice for him?

[Nye Bevan]

14. How about you? Would you be capable of looking beyond the race of the victim,

and deciding on a fair verdict?

I think I would. Would you?

[Skittles]

5. or a man

I think a lot of men see Zimmerman for the gutless coward he is

[Blackford]

6. I blame the prosecution and especially the cops for a lot.

This is why I cannot trust to be safe in Florida and thus will boycott anything and everything to do with Florida.

[romantico]

7. This

This case WAS about racism, despite what the defense and the Zimmerman fans say. You could hear Zimmerman make racial slurs on the 911 tape. So, I believe at if there was at least one African American who heard that it would have made them see things differently.

[FarPoint]

9. I wasn't really ...

Just look at Herman Cain or Justice Thomas ....those who deny their ancestors history. It's no guarantee of cultural insight.

[gopiscrap]

15. I agree and knew that at that point the defense

was looking for a bunch of ignorant cracker racists who didn't give a shit about Martin or the law for that matter.

[Tx4obama]

16. And IF just one juror had not voted guilty and the jury was hung there would have been a new trial

[Honeycombe8]

17. I heard it explained that a jury is of one's peers, which means people in the community.

Not necessarily those who look just like you, are your age, are your gender, do what you do for a living, etc.

In fact, it's against the law to reject or select a juror based on race. That's called discrimination.