That is not an easy position, that is not an easy thing to convict someone of, and that is not an easy sentence to hand out.
I think that the meticulous weighing of evidence is where the purest justice comes from. Jurors have a spectacularly important function in our justice system.
When I am summoned for jury duty, I don’t get upset about it, I don’t look to get out of it, I take it seriously. Although 44 years old now, and I have not been selected to serve on a jury yet.
It was plain ole’ scary. It is very sobering to realize that you hold someone’s life in your hand. In my case, the guy was 40 and had spent more of his life in custody than he had out. He killed a 22 year old drug dealer over $400 in bad cocain. He even showed us how he stabbed the guy with an 8 inch blade that went through the heart. Yet, he tried to explain that he didn’t REALLY mean to kill the young man.... even though he admitted he did chase him down and corner him. The guy just should have given the $400 dollars back.
I’ve served on a few, and still miraculously take it seriously.