Don't Blame the Jury

I served on a jury once. It was actually kind of fun. Witnesses were examined, evidence was presented, and we 12 strangers were given the opportunity to judge a man’s guilt. During the selection process we were all asked something along the lines of: “Can you judge the defendant based solely on the evidence presented?”, and “Can you judge the defendant based on the law as it is written and not how you believe it should be?” Anyone who answered “no” to either question was dismissed and sent home. The trial judge reiterated time and time again that we were to only consider the evidence presented and nothing else when reaching a verdict. It was the responsibility of the prosecution to provide evidence, showing beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant had broken the law. It was our responsibility as a jury to determine whether the evidence did prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The jurors of the George Zimmerman case were given nearly identical instructions as I was. Their duty was to determine whether the evidence admitted into the trial proved that George Zimmerman had committed one of the two crimes he was accused of. The jury ultimately found the State’s evidence insufficient to convict him of either the Murder 2 or Manslaughter charges. In the wake of this decision, many people have attacked the jurors for being racists, while in fact; any reasonable individual in the jurors’ position would have reached the same verdict. The State never had the evidence to convict George Zimmerman of the charges they brought against him.

Though some people may have wanted the jury to convict Zimmerman on principal alone, doing so would have been the furthest thing from justice. You may believe that George Zimmerman is an evil racist who goes around looking for innocent black teens to kill, but you can’t prove it as a fact. Throughout the trial, all the jurors cared about were the facts, beliefs and opinions were virtually useless. The jurors acquitted Zimmerman of all charges, not because of racism, but because they hadn’t been shown any evidence that proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The justice system we have ensures that there are fewer innocent people imprisoned than guilty ones let free. It isn’t ideal, but it seems to be a better option than the alternative. Next time you feel angry at the six women who acquitted George Zimmerman ask yourself, “Would you really want them to have acted any differently?”