Jury Duty
So, this week I was called for jury duty. I showed up at the courthouse on Monday morning, before 8:00 a.m. I left my house before I usually wake up for work! :( It was miserable outside - pouring down rain, too windy for an umbrella, and chilly. I had to park in a remote parking lot set up for jurors and take one of the Ft. Worth T-buses to the courthouse. Between the rain, wind, and public transportation, I could have sworn I was back in Aberdeen again. Of course, Aberdeen doesn't have a courthouse that looks like this.
That morning I, along with 59 other individuals, was assigned to District Court 213, with Judge Louis Sturns, and told to report at 1:00 that afternoon. I was potential juror #32 (easy to remember since it was my age). I thought the odds were in my favor - 60 potential jurors, and they pick 12. That means I have an 80% chance of not being chosen. Right? Yeah, not so much. I was the 10th juror picked, which means the next day and a half were spent listening to testimony, going back and forth between the courtroom and the juror's room while the lawyers dealt with various matters of law, and trying not to talk about the case with anyone including my fellow jurors.
Disclaimer: now that the case is over, I am free to discuss it. Names have been changed to protect the "not-so-innocent".
The charge was aggravated robbery. The defendent, "JJ", along with an unnamed friend (who was armed with a concealed shotgun), approached 3 women at an Arlington apartment one night and demanded to know where the drugs were. The women claimed not to know anything about drugs, and the men left. An hour later, JJ drove three friends to that same apartment complex, who chased two of the same three women into an apartment, kicked open the door, and held the women at gunpoint while they ransacked the apartment seaching for drugs and money. Four children in the back bedroom were traumatized by the experience. The men found the money, ran back to the car, and JJ drove them back to his home where they proceeded to evade the police when they came searching for them. The minor, "Chubbyboy", who kicked open the door and held one of the women at gunpoint, made a deal for probation in exchange for ratting out JJ as the "mastermind" of the whole deal. JJ denied any involvement, until late yesterday, when the testimony of all the witness, including Chubbyboy, made him realize he was not going to be acquitted. Then he got on the stand and confessed to everything, shocking even his defense attorney. It was quite an interesting twist.
So we the jury spent all of 20 minutes determining that JJ was indeed guilty of aggravated robbery. (There is no separate category for an accessory in Texas - if you aid someone in committing a crime, you are guilty of the crime. He drove the getaway car and provided the minor with the shotgun, so he participated in the entire act.) We spent nearly 2 hours determining his sentence, which ended up being 15 years in the TX penitentiary. It is a sobering experience to be responsible for sending someone to prison for 15 years, but I truly believe that as a repeat offender who was actually on probation for another crime when this act occurred, he needed a wakeup call. We sent him a message. As I told the other jurors, I was watching him for signs of repentance. Unfortunately, I saw none. I pray that he meets up with a prison chaplain during his time in the Penn who will help him to see the error of his ways, lead him to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and help him to turn his life around. I see no other way for him to break out of his destructive behavior pattern that has consumed the last 10 years of his life, and has now determined at least the location of the next 15.
That morning I, along with 59 other individuals, was assigned to District Court 213, with Judge Louis Sturns, and told to report at 1:00 that afternoon. I was potential juror #32 (easy to remember since it was my age). I thought the odds were in my favor - 60 potential jurors, and they pick 12. That means I have an 80% chance of not being chosen. Right? Yeah, not so much. I was the 10th juror picked, which means the next day and a half were spent listening to testimony, going back and forth between the courtroom and the juror's room while the lawyers dealt with various matters of law, and trying not to talk about the case with anyone including my fellow jurors.
Disclaimer: now that the case is over, I am free to discuss it. Names have been changed to protect the "not-so-innocent".
The charge was aggravated robbery. The defendent, "JJ", along with an unnamed friend (who was armed with a concealed shotgun), approached 3 women at an Arlington apartment one night and demanded to know where the drugs were. The women claimed not to know anything about drugs, and the men left. An hour later, JJ drove three friends to that same apartment complex, who chased two of the same three women into an apartment, kicked open the door, and held the women at gunpoint while they ransacked the apartment seaching for drugs and money. Four children in the back bedroom were traumatized by the experience. The men found the money, ran back to the car, and JJ drove them back to his home where they proceeded to evade the police when they came searching for them. The minor, "Chubbyboy", who kicked open the door and held one of the women at gunpoint, made a deal for probation in exchange for ratting out JJ as the "mastermind" of the whole deal. JJ denied any involvement, until late yesterday, when the testimony of all the witness, including Chubbyboy, made him realize he was not going to be acquitted. Then he got on the stand and confessed to everything, shocking even his defense attorney. It was quite an interesting twist.
So we the jury spent all of 20 minutes determining that JJ was indeed guilty of aggravated robbery. (There is no separate category for an accessory in Texas - if you aid someone in committing a crime, you are guilty of the crime. He drove the getaway car and provided the minor with the shotgun, so he participated in the entire act.) We spent nearly 2 hours determining his sentence, which ended up being 15 years in the TX penitentiary. It is a sobering experience to be responsible for sending someone to prison for 15 years, but I truly believe that as a repeat offender who was actually on probation for another crime when this act occurred, he needed a wakeup call. We sent him a message. As I told the other jurors, I was watching him for signs of repentance. Unfortunately, I saw none. I pray that he meets up with a prison chaplain during his time in the Penn who will help him to see the error of his ways, lead him to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and help him to turn his life around. I see no other way for him to break out of his destructive behavior pattern that has consumed the last 10 years of his life, and has now determined at least the location of the next 15.
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