Ten Guilty Men

The jury is in and the verdict is stunning. Stunning because we have all watched the trial on television; we were there! Not guilty! That's not possible. Everyone is tweeting and posting and positive that an injustice was done. "Just look at her", I've heard several times, "I can tell she's guilty by the look on her face". Must be nice, I have a hard time knowing when my daughter is telling the truth and I've know her for 14 years and talk to her in person daily.
I don't pretend to know if the defendant is guilty or innocent. She sure as hell looked guilty on TV, but I watch other fictional crime shows and try to solve them too. I'm right sometimes and wrong others, it's part of the game. The media gave the score every afternoon so you could know just how well your team did that day. But it's a long series, so there is room for error on either side. Once again it comes down to game 7! I imagine the vendors outside made quite a lot of money.
But anyway you look at it a terrible tragedy occured. A small child's life was snuffed out before it had a chance to really begin. There is not a verdict available that can change that. She's dead. It may be over for the defendant, but it still goes on for the state. After the public outrage of "letting a guilty person walk" dies down, there is still a case to solve. Work to be done.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a lawyer. I could "talk the horns off a billy goat" so it just seemed like the logical step. I could give hundreds of reasons why I never made it, but just plain laziness is the most likely answer. Too much work. Too long to wait. Not enough money to finish, take your pick. But I do believe in our judicial system. Ten guilty men walking the street is worse than one innocent man in jail. I believe this wholeheartedly and think everyone would if wrongly accused. Innocent until proven guilty is easier than it sounds though, it's human nature to think with your gut. Instinct. Hear what you want to hear. Hear what you need to hear.
I challenge everyone that has doubts about our system to take part in it. When that jury duty summons arrives in the mail, don't look for ways to get out of serving. None of us can afford to go, but none of us can afford not to. A jury of your piers. Be a pier. Go with a smile on your face and tell the truth. Be the person that you would hope is seated on your (god forbid) jury. It is much different than you think. Deciding another human being's fate looks easy on TV. It is not.
I feel for the jurors tonight as much as I do anyone. They will be second guessed and called idiots until the cameras are pointed at another high profile crime. You will forget them, but they will never forget what they have heard and seen. Haunted by the binding legal decision they were charged to make...then live with. The life of another in their hands. If you give someone a job, trust them to do it. If you want to bitch...vote. If you want to be a judge...be a juror.