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Deciding on murder

krahmerkrahmer
edited June 2011 in Buddhism Basics
Bon jour! Tomorrow I will begin my duty as a juror in a murder trial. This is in no way a solicitation for advice. I must follow juror rules. :) Please just send a bit of metta this direction so that I and the other jurors will comprehend the important details, and make the correct decision in the end.

namaste, brian

Comments

  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    metta to you. good luck.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    I have done jury service.

    Stick to Law, and lay all other matters aside.
  • Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
    Good luck. Namaste, Abu.
  • PeacefulAssemblyChurPeacefulAssemblyChur
    You are the last chance for the accused. The accursed is always offered all manner of “deals” to get him or her to take a plea bargain. Often times charges are “trumped up” or exaggerated so as to convince the accused give in. He or she has rejected those tactics and is coming before you, at greater risk to him or her self.

    Words mean things! The system tells us (over and over) that a “defendant” (the accused) should be considered innocent “until” proven guilty, but this is a subtle trick to get more convictions. We should always consider the accused innocent “UNLESS” proven guilty.

    Remember that there will be intense pressure to reach a unanimous verdict.
    Again, words mean things! Your juror instructions will always lean heavily on that you “should” try to reach a unanimous verdict.
    “Should” DOES NOT mean “must.”

    Each individual juror should stay within his or her own conscience and not be bullied into going along with the others.
    Each individual juror will live forever with his or her own individual decision.
    There is no hiding behind the others.

    “It is much better that a guilty person be freed, than for an innocent person to hang.”

    Peaceful Assembly Church endorses each juror knowing ALL of his and her traditional rights - and responsibilities - as a juror because, among other things, it is in line with what both Jesus and the Buddha taught regarding mercy and compassion.

    I've provided links to more information:
    http://www.justicedenied.org/issue/issue_27/juries_m-taub_jd_issue27.html
    http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/history-jury-null.html


    Metta. May Peace be with you.
  • BeachHouseGuyBeachHouseGuy
    Evidence, it should show everything beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • krahmerkrahmer
    Thanks for the replies, folks!

    girllikesam, I have a reply to your post, but can't comment on this at this time since I would consider it discussing the case. :) I will later
  • VincenziVincenzi Veteran
    the title will sound better as "deciding in a trial of murder"... as it is, it seems you are thinking of murdering someone.

    metta
  • krahmerkrahmer
    Vincenzi, you may be correct. You are much wiser than I on the dharma, so I would rebut with a question: is it un-buddhist to say something which is truthful and right speech, yet the meaning could possibly be misunderstood by others? In the end, I will have to decide if someone committed murder or not, hence 'deciding on murder'.

    brian
  • VincenziVincenzi Veteran
    @krahmer

    truth shines through regardless, so better find it (like in your case) and say it.
  • krahmerkrahmer
    Well, it is possible that this man's luck ran out, and his karma kicked in... From my facebook posting:

    I, along with 11 other people convicted a scumbag of murder and sent him to jail for life today. I'm glad the evidence was clear enough to not have to question our decision. I found out after the trial that this guy has 37 felonies on his record. Who knows how many people he has negatively affected in his life.
    http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14786077
    http://165.201.143.205/kasper2/offender.asp?id=2822
  • krahmerkrahmer
    The decision wasn't nearly as hard as I thought, because CO law is pretty simple in that if a person dies while committing a felony act such as armed robbery or sexual assault, that it's automatically Murder 1. The DNA proved the sexual assault and there were no issues with opportunity. The hardest part was offering my condolences to Kristin's mother and her sister after the trial. Very emotional... We had no idea what the sentencing guidelines were during the trial. Only after a verdict did we find out that there is a mandatory minimum of life. There was no prejudice, and he did get a fair trial. He just had no chance.
  • FenixFenix Veteran
    @peacfulassemblychur

    "it is much better that a guilty person be freed, than for an innocent person to hang.”

    wow I really loved this quote. do you remember the auther?
  • FenixFenix Veteran
    the title will sound better as "deciding in a trial of murder"... as it is, it seems you are thinking of murdering someone.

    metta
    vincenzi, hahahaa, lol :D my thoughts exactly
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