Jury Foreman Interview on GMA
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jodi-ari...-gma-how-they-reached-verdict-and-then-didnt/
EV: Good morning Bill. Its really great to have you here. You did say you had a hard time believing she would be capable of, just looking at her, that she could be capable of doing this?
BILL: Yeah, thats true. I mean, when I walk in the courtroom the first time, and looked at who the defendant was. You know its hard to put that into perspective when you look at a young woman and think of the crime and then you see the brutality of the crime. It just doesnt wash. So its very difficult to (stammering, thinking of word) divest yourself from the personal, from the emotional part of it.
This was a huge issue on the boards when I was on earlier today. He is NOT (IMO) saying he didnt believe she did it due to her size, etc. He is saying ON FIRST IMPRESSION he was surprised by her size and the brutality of the crime. Clearly he was eventually shown she did do it as he voted guilty for M1.
AGREE
EV: You did find her guilty of killing another man, of taking another life. You said you did not believe her story that she murdered Travis Alexander in self -defense. But you say you do believe that TA did emotionally and mentally abuse Jodi?
(EV is doing a terrible job interviewing him IMO. She makes it sound like there was more than one victim
guilty of killing another man, of taking another life. I know what she means, but the emphasis she places on the word another makes this confusing.)
AGREE
BILL: Im very sure, in my own mind, that she was mentally and verbally abused. Now, is that an excuse? Of course not. Does it factor into decisions that we make? It has to.
He is NOT, as was stated in earlier posts, saying TA physically abused her. He said mentally/verbally. This did shock me, as none of us feel this way. We all feel this was an anomaly. Something out of the ordinary for Travis and due to something major that happened (that we dont know about). However, when I try to take out of my mind all that WE have seen/heard that the jury has not, I can see how he feels this way. They were not allowed to see many other texts, etc. The May text, taken alone, IS abusive verbally he was PIZZED OFF! We see more of the context than they were allowed to see.
Well, first of all, I dont know how he felt she was verbally and mentally abused, other than the 1 email. But even in that email, it was warranted because she obviously did something to Travis for him to react that way. The foreman should have realized that.
The Video part was just JOKING stuff that Jodi was laughing along with. It was not done mean at all.
Secondly, he should NOT have let that "factor" into any decisions because it was just 1 email and there was NO proof of physical abuse at all.
EV: Do you think she did herself any favors on the stand? Uh, theres been a lot of debate of whether those 18 days of testimony helped or hurt her.
BILL: No, I think 18 days hurt her. I think she was not a good witness, um (EV: because?) We go into, we are charged with going in presuming innocence, right? Um, but she was on the stand for so long. There were so many contradicting stories. I think the way the prosecutor, um, was with her. Hes known for an aggressive style. I think it was very hard. I think it would be difficult for anybody. I dont think Id want to sit on the stand for 18 days. Um, but I dont think it did her any good, no. That length of time, no I dont think it did her any good at all.
He took big heat for this. Many feel he was saying Juan was too aggressive. That is not how I interpret this. I think he is saying her being on the stand for 18 days and facing a prosecutor with an aggressive style, hurt her case by bringing a lot of contradictions to light. Also, he shows that JAs Never Ending Craptastic Tale of Woe and Pity was a waste of time.
AGREE
EV: You did say the most gut-wrenching part of this entire experience for you was listening to the family of Travis Alexander talk about their loss. What was that like?
BILL: Yeah, thats a great question, Elizabeth, if only I had a good answer. Until you are face to face with people that have gone through something like that , its something that you really cant put into words. Im six feet away from somebody talking about a horrendous loss and if you cant feel that, then you have no emotion, no soul. And yet we couldnt allow ourselves to be emotional on the stand. We couldnt allow ourselves to show emotional, although Im sure some came through. Im very, very proud of my peers, my jurors that were with us because they did a fantastic job of holding it together. A different story once we got back to the jury room. It was a gut-wrenching thing we had to go through and everybody had to make their own decision.
Some posters were really ticked about this part. Like he was saying he didnt feel for the Alexanders. I dont get that at all. In fact, he is saying they DID feel for them but werent allowed to show those emotions in the courtroom. He actually says you would have no emotion, no soul if you didnt feel for them.
I think they took the jury instructions a little too far. If the witness says things on the stand that cause an involuntary reaction, that would be forgiven IMO.
The part that really concerns me is where he says "we had to make our own decisions"!!! NO!!! Your job as a jury was to try and come to an agreement on the proper verdict as a concensus verdict!!! Yes, everone's individual opinion matters, but it does not mean that you cannot listen to others opinion to see if the proper verdict as a group can be determined. I am concerned they did not understand that the goal was to attempt to come to a unanimous verdict that all jurors could agree to and be comfortable with it being the right verdict. Like, lets say LIFE if you cant accept the DP as a group.
You dont just pass the buck to another Jury to try to do that, unless certain jurors were not willing to agree to the group verdict. I dont think they tried to come to a group decision at all from this statement. Or, perhaps very little trying. Because if this foreman had this as an understanding, then he did not pressure the others enough IMO to try to come to a concensus.
EV: Bill Z., thank you very much for your service on the jury and for joining us this morning. I appreciate it.
BILL: Well, it was my pleasure. Thank you very much.
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