Crime & Punishment.
As a juror in a week-long criminal trial (just this past month) regarding a series of crimes related to attempted murder and assault, I found myself - at times - struggling with the idea that the fate of the innocent (until proven guilty) defendant was in my (and 12 other jurors') hands. Upon the judge's insistence (and, I s'pose, also the law), us jurors were instructed (multiple times) to leave our biases and past experiences at the door (to the court house) and determine the fate of this seemingly calm and collected 62-year-old man as impartially as possible. While not an impossible request to adhere to, our minds couldn't help but (occasionally) wander to its consequences: jail-time versus male-time, walks in a (barbed-wire) playground versus Marine Park, guilt versus innocence. And so the judicial system goes, a not-so-fine line between an all-too familiar struggle between emotion and reason during which we're actually under strict orders to want not what the heart wants (for once). Enjoy!
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A tough call to make. I honestly don't know if I could sit on a death penalty case.
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