Jury guilt (murder case @18)
Hi, I just recently finished being on a juror for a second-degree murder case. I couldn’t possibly explain the entirety of the case without typing an essay. But it was a case with two brothers. One was a complete to be honest horrible person (the victim 56). He had past charges surrounding the rape or his first wife and had been sexually aggressive with multiple family members including his sisters. The defendant ( 52) on the other hand had experienced a lot of trauma. He was a correctional officer for 24 years and had experienced the death of an inmate during a cell extraction. This was very hard and traumatic for all of the guards involved. 4 correctional officer committed suicide by self inflicted gun wounds over the duration of four years. Their father ( the defendants and victims) had also committed suicide when the defendant was 21 years old. He was living with his dad and found his father in his room, he had committed suicide by a self inflicted gun wound. All around there is so much more this man had went through throughout his life. Too much to type. But the long story short is. I do really feel like the defendant is a good man he just got dealt shitty cards and was having an emotional break. He was claiming the defense of EED (extreme emotional disturbance). Although after deep thought in deliberation we as a jury came to the conclusion that the defendant did not meet the criteria given by the court. The night after deliberation I couldn’t sleep I was just thinking. Did I make the wrong decision ? Not because I believe he was in an extreme emotional state, but because I do feel some sort of empathy for the defendant. I cried to my mother the morning after I feel so guilty like I locked a man away for the rest of his life. I know it’s truly what needed to happen but I can’t help but feel this heaviness over me.