That said, I think there's another important note in this. Had I been on that jury, I certainly would have voted for the death penalty. But, having served on many juries (in New York and California), I can tell you that many people get on juries by lying. That is, they have already decided how they are going to vote, and they lie to get on the jury. In this case, these people had decided that if they had to go for a guilty verdict, they were still going to vote against the death penalty, although of course they responded in the jury interview that they had no objection to the death penalty. It's a real problem - I have been on juries with people who suddenly announce that they "can't find anybody guilty because God told us not to judge," etc. They should have been eliminated in the first round of questions to prospective jurors, but they didn't answer honestly. Jury nullification is no joke, and anybody who suggests it or practices it for any reason is not a good American and should suffer whatever consequences there may be. Unfortunately, in many cases, the people who suffer the consequences are those later attacked by the criminals these people set free.
I have been on juries with people who suddenly announce that they "can't find anybody guilty because God told us not to judge," etc. They should have been eliminated in the first round of questions to prospective jurors, but they didn't answer honestly.How sad. If you ever run across this again, please remind this type of mis-informed person that this thinking certainly goes against the Bible (which they are apparently trying to follow.)
For example, in Mathew 18:15, Jesus said,
"If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother."Now how would a person like you describe do this? How could he "judge" whether someone sinned?
Another example. Romans 13 tells us that "governing authorities" are established by God and have certain duties and responsibilities. One of which is described in verse 4:
"But if you do what is evel, be afraid; for it (governing authority) does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil."Thus the process of a jury rendering it's verdict is part of the governing authority doing it's God appointed function.