In any trial, the jury’s verdict decides the innocent or guilt of an accused.

Therefore, it is virtually important for jurors to be unbiased in their judgment.

The recent murder trial of a 16-year-old who was found guilty of manslaughter on Monday evening has shown the importance of a fair trial, and the fair decision made by the jury.

The jury had returned at one point with a 5-4 verdict, and even though it was not established what the verdict was in favour of, it illustrated how difficult such decisions are to make and how intricate it was to come to a consensus on the case.

The members of the jury eventually returned after an hour and a half of the 5-4 verdict to deliver a 7-2 verdict, finding the accused guilty of manslaughter.

With the trial lasting for eleven days and the jury spending hours  ‘weighing up’ on the evidence, we would hope that they understand the importance of their decision in such a case, or as a matter of fact in any trial.

This is in no way to say that the jurors are not competent of making the right decision or have not come to the right decision. But it would be important, as we all would hope, that their decision, that is the seven jurors, was based on fairness and agreed upon after establishing “beyond reasonable doubt” that the accused is indeed guilty of manslaughter.

As Justice Indra Hariprashad-Charles had explained in her summary of the case to the jurors, it was their role to examine all the evidence that was brought before them. The Judge emphasised it was up to them to believe or not to believe what they want. She also told them that it was up to them to accept or reject any part of her summary.

The jurors were guided by the Judge to look at the witnesses and how they stood up to cross-examination, and told them to bear in mind that not all the witnesses were the same in terms of their intelligence and their comfort level.

She also warned them to only consider evidence that was presented in court and not to listen to anything that was in the media or from any other source. They were also warned not to be affected by sentiment as the case was an unfortunate one and involved two youngsters.

The jurors have to indeed be very strong individuals, to clear their minds and stay focused throughout the trial since the fate of the accused lies in their hands.

It is not easy being a juror, and the pressure from all around is intense as they are aware of the importance of their decisions.

Therefore, even though their verdicts are sometimes appealed, we must respect the job that they are doing and the decision that they make, and their role in ensuring that justice prevails.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment