Friday, August 29, 2008
Juries in Baltimore: Can They Be Fixed?
Rebuilding Trust is Key to Making Juries Work
I can't say I'm surprised at the way my reaction to the Abell Foundation's jury study has been presented ("Jury study raises hackles in city," Aug. 18). Controversy does sell papers. But unfortunately, citizens are again being given a distorted view of a very serious issue. Many of us in the criminal justice system already know what the Abell study has concluded - that Baltimore juries are less likely to convict defendants than juries in Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties.But the study glossed over some of the issues affecting jury decisions. And as the editorial "And justice for all?" (Aug. 21) noted, one critical issue here is citizen trust in law enforcement...
For more information on the Abell report see the following:
Jury study targets very real problemBaltimore Sun, United States - Aug 21, 2008According to reporter Julie Bykowicz's disturbing article on the findings of the Abell Foundation's jury study, Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. ...
And justice for all?Baltimore Sun, United States - Aug 21, 2008Witness intimidation in Baltimore had become such a threat to prosecuting criminals that State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy led a campaign to better ...
Fearful Witnesses, Juror Doubts Work Against Cases
Darryl Neal pleaded guilty to having a loaded handgun in his maroon Acura in South Baltimore's Curtis Bay neighborhood. Maurice Turner pleaded guilty in connection with a shooting that left two men injured in Park Heights.Both suspects had initially been charged with crimes that carried hefty sentences - five years without the possibility of parole for Neal and life in prison for Turner. Both got plea deals and ended up serving far less time. Neal was sent home on 30 months' probation and Turner is in prison for five years.The reasons prosecutors had to accept pleas in those cases - questionable police conduct and uncooperative witnesses - are at the crux of a debate that has long raged through the city and gained even more prominence with the emergence of an Abell Foundation report that publicized what everyone already knew: Convictions are easier in the suburbs than in Baltimore.
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3 comments:
One thing I don't understand:
why does everyone assume that, because Baltimore juries are less likely to convict, that Baltimore juries are the ones not doing their job?
Perhaps we have to at least consider the possibility that Baltimore juries are the ones who ARE doing their job, and that juries in the nearby counties are convicting too readily, and failing to apply the presumption of innocence?
That is an excellent point. I have not actually read the Abell Foundation's Report. I would be interested in seeing whether it compares conviction rates for verdicts rendered by both judges and juries.
No one is assuming anything. Rather, they are looking at cases like the murders of Joel Lee and Officer Kevon Malik Gavin, and seeing racist black jurors who are not only ignoring the facts and the law, but giving obscenely ridiculous rationalizations for their misconduct.
Nicholas Stix
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