HuffPo: "one hold out (juror) on Count Three that kept Libby from 5 count Grand Slam"

[npincus]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/libby-jury-scooter-fall_b_42794.html

Jane Hamsher spoke w/juror Dennis Collins, before he was deluged by the media. It appears Libby was one juror away from a full 5-count Guilty verdict:


He eventually got dragged before the cameras and said that there was a lot of compassion on the jury for Libby, that they felt he was the"fallguy," and they wanted to know where Karl Rove was in all of this. He was loathe to answer questions about Dick Cheney beyond the fact that Libby was obviously doing whatever he did at Cheney's behest, and the Cheney notes on the Wilson July 6 article seemed especially damning. He wouldn't say whether testimony by Cheney would have helped Libby or not, and seemed unwilling to discuss anything that they were not tasked with deliberating.

He did say that Hannah's testimony totally screwed Libby, and I got a chuckle out of that. At the same time Hannah was talking about how bad Libby's memory was, he also claimed that Libby had an incredible grasp of detail, and the jury believed he just would not have forgotten so much in the way that the defense was trying to claim. They found Russert to be a credible witness but thought there was enough reasonable doubt in the Cooper false statement charge (he said/he said) for "someone" to assume reasonable doubt. It appears there was only one holdout on Count Three that kept Libby from a 5 count grand slam.

It was quite inspirational to get a chance to talk to him, and to hear how seriously the jury had deliberated. You never know what's going to happen with a jury until they come back and all I can say is -- it was worth every bit of effort we put into being here. There haven't been a lot of days in the past 7 years when you could say that justice triumphed, but the system worked and it felt damn good to be there when it did.

The question is -- who is going to press George W. Bush for a commitment that he will not derail justice and undo all the jury's hard work by pardoning Scooter Libby?

[WinkyDink]

1. This bugs the crap outta me: " there was a lot of compassion on the jury for Libby."

WTH?? For a TRAITOR??

[KharmaTrain]

2. Jurors Are Human

Ain't that a bitch.

These people sat through 2 months of testimony...seeing this man in court day in and out. One sits in the juror box and can't help but study the defendant...and should...as that demeanor can say as much about their disposition and credibility than anything they would say on the stand. Surely any time someone testified against Libby, jurors took a good measure of Libby's reactions and responses...the body language that can't be blogged or even televised...only experienced first-hand.

The job of the jurors in that room was to be the "finders of fact" of the specific charges. They weren't given the responsbility for determining if the Iraq invasion was based on lies or if Libby was covering for Shooter...just if he had committed perjury and obstructed justice...and beyond reasonable doubt.

Emotions will play into this process as while deliberating, jurors surely flashed back to the demeanor of Libby during the specific testimony and this had to come into play in the personal feeling of "reasonable doubt" and if what he did reached that threshold. Sympathy plays in here...especially with Cooper, who had gotten his prime info from Rove and that there were others who were just as guilty as Libby, they just weren't on trial.

Once the jury decided to convict on the first charge, the rest of the deliberation now was to judge how severe the guilt was. 4 out of 5 says this was a strong conviction, and that one juror held for the defense on the last charge showed how even the jury played it as they saw a defendant that was guilty, but not a lone wolf.