Jury Duty

As I mentioned before, I was selected for jury duty and had to report on Tuesday morning. Once there my number was drawn as 1 of 24 potential jurors. Of those 24 there would be 12 selected as jurors for the trial and 2 alternates selected as well. Of the 24, I was in the first group of 12 interviewed. Of those 12 I was the first juror selected to hear the trial. After the jury selection was complete we sat in the jury box to hear the opening arguments from both sides.

The case we were hearing was the State of Arkansas vs. M (I don't want to use his name). M was charged with manufacturing meth and possession of drug paraphernalia. A criminal case which had to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The State presented it's case with a very good amount of evidence. After a full day of testimony from various witnesses and experts on meth we recessed until Wednesday afternoon.

On Wednesday we heard closing arguments from both sides and then made our way to the deliberation room. It didn't take long to come to a unanimous verdict but longer than it probably should have. We returned to the court room and the judge read the guilty verdict for both charges. He then gave us instructions on the sentencing phase and we once again returned to the deliberation room to decide on an appropriate sentence. This took much longer to decide than the verdict. M had four previous drug related felony convictions so we were dealing with a habitual offender. The manufacturing meth conviction had a mandatory sentence of 10 yrs to life in prison and the possession conviction had a mandatory 3 to 20 yr sentence and/or fine. We chose a sentence of 24 yrs for manufacturing meth, 5 yrs for possessing drug paraphernalia and a $5000 fine. The judge could decide if the sentences would run consecutive or not.

Now let me tell you that real life court isn't close to what you see on television. There was some drama but a different kind. M made some bad decisions in his life but that doesn't make it any easier sending him to prison for 12 to 30 yrs knowing that he won't have close contact to his pre-teen daughter or his parents. Acting or not it isn't easy watching a 38 yr old man tear up after being convicted of a serious crime. All of this going on in front of his parents who obviously have been through this before with him. What must they be thinking? Are they wondering where they went wrong or what they could have done differently? What does his daughter think of him? Where will their relationship go from here? Is there a relationship?

Our prisons are full of people like M. Some of them will be getting out today with the hopes that the prison system has done it's part in preparing them for life outside those walls. Some of them will choose to avoid the addictions and friends they once knew before prison life. Others will return to those addictions. I don't believe M is a bad person but a person caught up in a life of addiction and bad decisions. He's been involved in some Christian prison ministry courses and hopefully he will continue. Maybe some day he will return from those walls a new man ready to share how Christ has turned his life around.

What can you do? Consider praying for those that are in prison that they will be changed by Christ. Consider praying for those that will be released from prison today that they will not return to the life that brought them to prison. Consider getting involved with the Angel Tree ministry or similar ministries that helps bridge the gap of parents in prison and their children.

One last thing. If you're called for jury duty don't try to find a reason to get out of it. Especially don't use the church as an excuse. I don't know of many church committee meetings that are so important that they can't be postponed for a little bit. If you have a legitimate reason that's fine but make sure it's legitimate. Be proud to be a part of this great country and it's judicial system. The system may have occasional flaws but more times than not justice is served fairly and judiciously.