re: I was a member of the jury on the Garrett Ward trial. AMA.

Grateful that one guy at least wasn’t going to let him get charged with murder.

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Grateful that one guy at least wasn’t going to let him get charged with murder.

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We’ll just never convict anyone of murder ever again.

The, “I was scared,” defense is fricking teflon!

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but it doesn't sound like the state proved its case without a shred of doubt (like the legal standard says)

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Shred of evidence is not the burden of proof in a criminal trial in any jurisdiction in the United States. The burden of proof is "beyond a reasonable doubt" which in all honestly is a nebulous concept but each jury in each trial has to come to some understanding of this.


You have mentioned that this seems to be a slam dunk to be overturned on appeal. I get the feeling you think the court will overturn the finding of the jury. It is extraordinarily rare for the decision of the finder of fact (in this case a jury) to be overturned on appeal in a criminal case. Appeals courts outside of jury tampering and the like almost never "retry the facts". Successful appeals are almost always a result of the appeals court finding the trial judge erred vs the jury erred. The appeals court doesn't see nor hear the testimony both parts are a significant part of determining the veracity of the evidence. When a trial doesn't go my client's way my last concern is the jury verdict itself. The real meat is the trial judge's interpretation and application of the law.

At a point where the main reason for appeal is that the jury erred in their finding of fact you have basically lost.

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Can you tell me why the Hubble space telescope can see a freckle on a frog's arse from 5 billion light years away, but can't take a photo of the Apollo 11 landing site on the Moon?

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So in your opinion, was this just an impulsive attack done for virtually no reason ? Drunkenness? Sociopathic tendencies? Time bomb waiting to explode ?

Did you wear any Perlis clothing at any point during the trial?

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We thought everyone lied to some extent except the couple who saw Jackson walking down the street and subsequently saw ward beating on him.

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What is the race of the witnesses and the jury?

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Bottom line is this- no evidence for either story. It turned into a fight for some reason. Self defense took place. No matter that age of each, both are capable of killing one another. 30 years is absolutely insane for a fight without weapons where one dies from injuries when ppl are murdering and getting less! Horrible And think of it this way- if Ward was passed out in the bushes and woke up to some stranger over him whatever he may have been doing, your first reaction is flight or flight. Your brain isn’t caught up to what is actually happening so you panic. He was prob freaked out and fought out of fear. And to top it all off, he was prosecuted by someone that should be in jail himself

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I believe it was less than 10 minutes from when the woman called 911 while following ward to the garage before the cops and ems showed up.

The witnesses were a pretty mixed since they brought up his girlfriend and her conworkers who were all white. Jury was 11 black 1 Asian 2 white including the alternates.