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| Re: John White Jury Deliberation story (271607) | |||
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Re: John White Jury Deliberation story |
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Posted by RonInBayside on Mon Dec 24 14:45:54 2007, in response to Re: John White Found Guilty, posted by BMT Guy on Mon Dec 24 14:20:53 2007. NY Juror Felt Pressured in Shooting CasePublished: 12/24/07, 2:26 PM EDT By FRANK ELTMAN RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) - A juror who helped convict a black man of fatally shooting a white teenager said he felt pressure from other jurors and the judge to change his vote to guilty during a marathon deliberating session over the weekend. The jury convicted John White of second-degree manslaughter in the August 2006 shooting of 17-year-old Daniel Cicciaro Jr. White, 54, remains free on bail until sentencing, when he faces a prison term of five to 15 years. He plans to appeal. The case drew national attention after the defense argued that White had feared a "lynch mob" had come to attack his family when a group of angry white teenagers gathered outside his home. The teens had come to fight White's son. Juror Francois Larche, who is white, said he and another holdout juror changed their votes Saturday evening after enduring "a lot of psychological tactics" from fellow jurors on an unusual weekend session ordered by the judge over jurors' protests. Larche, 46, said the stress had become unbearable. "It was a huge burden to bear," Larche told the New York Post in Monday's editions. "It got heated. Some of the men lost their cool. I took a lot of heat." The jury forewoman, Maureen Steigerwald, denied that the judge, a 12-hour deliberating session on Saturday - the fourth day of deliberations - or the holidays played a role in the jury's decision. "The jury did a very careful, conscientious deliberate job," she told Newsday in Monday's editions. The jury told Suffolk County Judge Barbara Kahn on Friday it was deadlocked and that some jurors were not properly following the judge's instructions. They continued deliberations on Saturday. Kahn said the jury would have to return on Sunday if they didn't reach a decision. Several jurors appeared stressed when appearing in the courtroom; one man nearly collapsed in tears and buried his head in his hands early Saturday evening. Larche told the Post the judge also told them a mistrial would leave the families to suffer more and the next jury with a larger burden. He said he and the second juror decided then to change their vote. "I thought about my family and the families of the other jurors," Larche said. "It was not worth it in the end." Larche's home telephone number was out of service on Monday |
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