Guilty of first degree murder/verdict watch #2

[hindsight2020]

Did anyone listen to Gracie Calhoun speak?

 

[Madeleine74]

I wouldn't speak publicly either if I were on a jury in a big case. There are enough disgruntled people out there and some downright possibly crazy people. While I would stand tall with whatever my verdict was, it is not the public's business, and my safety would have to come before anyone's curiosity.

Of course as a spectator I'd love to know a jury's thoughts, but in their place I'd want my privacy and anonymity maintained. Maybe in time they will feel comfortable letting some info known.

 

[doubt]

This is the face of domestic violence that people struggle not just to understand, but to even believe when they see it. I said it in a previous post...it's not just some drunk guy staggering around <modsnip>, taking potshots at his <modsnip> wife for having burnt the meatloaf.

It's your neighbor, smiling at you from the mailbox. Somebody you work with. The woman in a track suit jogging with her baby, the guy who goes to work in a suit. DV isn't black eyes and drunken potshots. It's the process of methodically dismantling another human being by whatever means are available. Verbal abuse, emotional abuse, sexual, financial, physical...even courts can be used to abuse. (To wit, the BC case where NC ended up on trial. That is exactly what an abuser does - turns it all back around on their target, and a court can certainly facilitate that process.)

There is an overwhelming wall facing people who are victims of DV, and that is the disbelief of others.

The signs whoosh over the heads of so many at lightening speed. But they're there. We (and by we I mean a substantial chunk of the WS community) could see it clearly in both the BC and JY cases, but there are bezillions of people out there who can't see it. Can't take a person's word for it because it doesn't fit the stereotype. Pshaw it because there's no black eye or broken nose. Believe the abuser, because he or she is so very good at what they do - hey, they roped their victim in, right? Their victims actually loved them at some point.

NC tried to leave. MY would have tried it had she had the chance. People see this in retrospect, possibly, but does someone really have to be dead before its apparent? We need to have some kind of societal zero tolerance attitude, as we do for child abuse, on this sort of thing. We need to do a better job of teaching our kids what constitutes abuse. You can't always see it, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. And it will escalate until it IS visible.

For the folks watching this trial who can't see the DV in any of this outside of a severe beating, there is all sorts of info out there you can read. Red flags, patterns of behavior, the power wheel. The subtleties are myriad. The perpetrators are wily.

I'm so pleased about this verdict, but lord have mercy, the cases just keep coming. I hope people pay attention to this one. I hope at some point courts and juries send a clear message that they're wise to the tricks of the likes of BC and JY and will make them pay for having the audacity to think they can get away with it. We have to be savvier than they are. I think the courts are catching up (i.e. recognizing that courts can actually be a tool of an abuser). Everybody else needs to catch up too.

phenomenal post......extremely well written and just entirely spot on. thank you so much for this.

 

[hindsight2020]

I wouldn't speak publicly either if I were on a jury in a big case. There are enough disgruntled people out there and some downright possibly crazy people. While I would stand tall with whatever my verdict was, it is not the public's business, and my safety would have to come before anyone's curiosity.

Of course as a spectator I'd love to know a jury's thoughts, but in their place I'd want my privacy and anonymity maintained. Maybe in time they will feel comfortable letting some info known.

My sentiments exactly!

 

[pjcitizen]

I want to know their thought process, but I know that *some* people would be all over them saying they just wanted attention.

 

[terminatrixator]

I completely understand your side of the argument (and citygirl posted something similar). I don't think they should be forced to come forward and list their reasons, but I wish they would take it upon themselves to do so. My thoughts would be the same for either verdict. Perhaps its just my experience as an attorney, but putting countless hours into a case, and then having a decision made by someone else, and not knowing *why*, can drive you bananas.

ETA: To be clear, as I have stated countless times, I am not wanting to take the right of silence away from anyone, not even the jury, but I wish they would be willing to state why they made their decision. I am not asking they be forced, or have to sit down and "explain themselves" like they have done something wrong, but I do wish that at least one would step forward and say "this is why we voted the way we did."

I don't disagree with your thoughts. I know that I would want to know why a jury voted not guilty. I know that many of us would be extremely upset today if he was found not-guilty so I appreciate your point.

 

[drip~drop]

Anybody know if Gracie was on Vinnie's show? I didn't see her on there but I might have missed it.

Poor Vinnie just lost his dad. He did a short segment at the end of his show. He cried and I'm sure many of us cried with him. It was so sad. :cry:

eta--- no Gracie wasn't there today.

 

[jackleg]

I'm local to the case and I was a "NG person".

I've been following it since they found Michelle's body, and the really sad thing is that Jason has being blamed since that first newscast.

I partially blame the defense because they didn't try to get the trial out of Wake County. The people here are notorious rubber stampers on perceived domestic murder cases, no matter what the evidence.

I guess at this point I feel like he will lose appeal, since I think the only 2 things he has to push are the instruction that they could consider an accomplice, and the addition to Murder 2 on the verdict sheet when the prosecution case clearly implied Murder 1 and Murder 1 only. The jury could not have, by law, voted him guilty of Murder 2, because if they believed the theory, it was premeditated. Murder 2 was added as a safety net because they thought it may serve as a good safety net in case there needed to be a compromise between a potentially hung jury.

I really hate this state, and I am glad I left Wake County a few years back. It's scary.

Also, to all who think he's guilty - Are any of you concerned that the case is closed when it's obvious that 2 people were involved (whether Jason was one of them is irrelevant) - someone got away with murder.

 

[IlliniFan]

Poor Vinnie just lost his dad. He did a short segment at the end of his show. He cried and I'm sure many of us cried with him. It was so sad. :cry:

I caught that, too. Really touching, wasn't it?

 

[waltzingmatilda]

Poor Vinnie just lost his dad. He did a short segment at the end of his show. He cried and I'm sure many of us cried with him. It was so sad. :cry:

eta--- no Gracie wasn't there today.

I cried with him drip~drop

 

[drip~drop]

I caught that, too. Really touching, wasn't it?

It was. He broke my heart.
Vinnie is just so loveable and his love for his dad showed brightly tonight.
Rest In Peace Mr. Politan

 

[truthbfound]

Thankful the jury not only looked at the evidence but also used their common sense and found JY guilty!

 

[evelyn24]

Yep, they were present for the whole ball of wax.

Amazing they got to hear the judge lay into JY a little.
I'm such a coward. I read on WS the verdict had been reached and immediately went for a run, because my stomach was in knots and I didn't want to hear the verdict yet. It's crazy how these cases can affect us. I eventually got back on to see the good news: JUSTICE.

Sad situation all the way around though.

 

[rockin10]

I'm local to the case and I was a "NG person".

I've been following it since they found Michelle's body, and the really sad thing is that Jason has being blamed since that first newscast.

I partially blame the defense because they didn't try to get the trial out of Wake County. The people here are notorious rubber stampers on perceived domestic murder cases, no matter what the evidence.

I guess at this point I feel like he will lose appeal, since I think the only 2 things he has to push are the instruction that they could consider an accomplice, and the addition to Murder 2 on the verdict sheet when the prosecution case clearly implied Murder 1 and Murder 1 only. The jury could not have, by law, voted him guilty of Murder 2, because if they believed the theory, it was premeditated. Murder 2 was added as a safety net because they thought it may serve as a good safety net in case there needed to be a compromise between a potentially hung jury.

I really hate this state, and I am glad I left Wake County a few years back. It's scary.

Also, to all who think he's guilty - Are any of you concerned that the case is closed when it's obvious that 2 people were involved (whether Jason was one of them is irrelevant) - someone got away with murder.

I don't believe that anyone else was involved in this crime, but JY. I think he planted evidence and wore the size 10 shoes first. I think when he planted evidence and was "out of town" he thought he had committed the perfect murder. imo

 

[Mama-cita]

Amazing they got to hear the judge lay into JY a little.
I'm such a coward. I read on WS the verdict had been reached and immediately went for a run, because my stomach was in knots and I didn't want to hear the verdict yet. It's crazy how these cases can affect us. I eventually got back on to see the good news: JUSTICE.

Sad situation all the way around though.

I couldn't listen either. I had flashbacks of the pinellas verdict in July and I felt as if I might vomit. I was in the movie theater with my kids watching the Lorax, frantically refreshing WS, with my heart pounding so hard I thought the other moviegoers were going to Shhhh me! And I had my iPhone in my popcorn bag so it was a covert op!!!

 

[gritguy]

Anybody who hates the state and is glad to be gone and is gone thats a win win!

This trial went as clean as one can and the judge was fair. If this bothered somebody process-wise then prepare to see the same elsewhere, if you are lucky.

Worthless murderer is finally in jail. The justice system worked. There are some in Wake who perhaps wish JY got away with it, but most could see what happened and appreciate the verdict.

If he had an accomplice, then hopefully that person will run scared until caught. But for now, the person clearly responsible for the murder is where he needs to be.

 

[Stella5]

Also, to all who think he's guilty - Are any of you concerned that the case is closed when it's obvious that 2 people were involved (whether Jason was one of them is irrelevant) - someone got away with murder.

Snipped by me... first of all, welcome to Websleuths jackleg!

:wagon:

IMHO it was not obvious at all that two people were involved... if I'm wrong, I would guess Jason will start singing soon enough and then we'll know for sure; but I've always believe this was a very carefully planned murder. Either way if he had an accomplice it was clearly premeditated having to drive 170 miles to Raleigh, and then 170 back to his alibi of the Hampton Inn, so the 1st degree charge and conviction is well deserved. The only thing that pointed to two people were the size 10 Franklin footprints, and I believe they were used for staging. It happens in murder cases a lot.

 

[pjcitizen]

We can't let one go free because we don't have the other yet! And I don't believe there was an accomplice anyway. Jason used that size 10 shoe to throw people off IMO.

 

[Amster]

I don't think he wore the Franklin....probably just covered the sole with Michelle's blood and made fake prints....I bet he was really PO'd that the HP print was there....

 

[calamityjane831]

May god bless you for this lovely post also!! It sure did bring tears to my eyes!!

This is the face of domestic violence that people struggle not just to understand, but to even believe when they see it. I said it in a previous post...it's not just some drunk guy staggering around <modsnip>, taking potshots at his <modsnip> wife for having burnt the meatloaf.

It's your neighbor, smiling at you from the mailbox. Somebody you work with. The woman in a track suit jogging with her baby, the guy who goes to work in a suit. DV isn't black eyes and drunken potshots. It's the process of methodically dismantling another human being by whatever means are available. Verbal abuse, emotional abuse, sexual, financial, physical...even courts can be used to abuse. (To wit, the BC case where NC ended up on trial. That is exactly what an abuser does - turns it all back around on their target, and a court can certainly facilitate that process.)

There is an overwhelming wall facing people who are victims of DV, and that is the disbelief of others.

The signs whoosh over the heads of so many at lightening speed. But they're there. We (and by we I mean a substantial chunk of the WS community) could see it clearly in both the BC and JY cases, but there are bezillions of people out there who can't see it. Can't take a person's word for it because it doesn't fit the stereotype. Pshaw it because there's no black eye or broken nose. Believe the abuser, because he or she is so very good at what they do - hey, they roped their victim in, right? Their victims actually loved them at some point.

NC tried to leave. MY would have tried it had she had the chance. People see this in retrospect, possibly, but does someone really have to be dead before its apparent? We need to have some kind of societal zero tolerance attitude, as we do for child abuse, on this sort of thing. We need to do a better job of teaching our kids what constitutes abuse. You can't always see it, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. And it will escalate until it IS visible.

For the folks watching this trial who can't see the DV in any of this outside of a severe beating, there is all sorts of info out there you can read. Red flags, patterns of behavior, the power wheel. The subtleties are myriad. The perpetrators are wily.

I'm so pleased about this verdict, but lord have mercy, the cases just keep coming. I hope people pay attention to this one. I hope at some point courts and juries send a clear message that they're wise to the tricks of the likes of BC and JY and will make them pay for having the audacity to think they can get away with it. We have to be savvier than they are. I think the courts are catching up (i.e. recognizing that courts can actually be a tool of an abuser). Everybody else needs to catch up too.

Very very true. I kept seeing posts stating He never hit her or statements to that effect. The physical aspect is just one piece of the puzzle there is so much more.