photograph: prayers by johnny monahan

Friday, January 13, 2012

he who is without sin, cast the first stone

i have a new found respect for humanity.  i think that in general, people are good, lenient, and compassionate. i have seen glimpses of the qualities i believe our Maker would possess... and why not?  why would we not have within us the goodness, mercy, justice, and light of our Creator?

it was more apparent to me after serving on a jury for the past 6 days.  14 people (2 alternates) of different backgrounds, races, socioeconomic status, etc. were chosen to serve as jurors.  all had empathy and showed it in their own way.  i was appreciative of their examples.  nobody seemed to judge the other.  all were friendly.

but what struck me the most was how difficult it was for us to find a man guilty of a serious and grievous crime...(guilty or not so much) of first degree murder.  the burden of doing so weighed heavy on each of us.  many erred on the side of caution for the obvious reason of wrongful conviction but some hoped for a better outcome/chance for the defendant. so we wanted to be extra sure before making a final decision.  tears were shed and great emotion was expressed in deliberation.  consideration was shown toward a person none of us knew but felt a sadness for, a man found guilty.