“I guess I based my [decision] on race.”
This was the response provided by Juror #6 to the prosecutor during a post-trial investigation of the Olympic Murder case in Schenectady, New York. The above-board prosecutor then informed the Court of the juror's statement, which the juror subsequently tried to explain away by asserting that he had been drinking at the time. The judge handling the case, however, overturned the defendant's guilty verdict despite his belief that the defendant did indeed committ the crime ("After sitting through the trial, there is no doubt in my mind that you committed the crimes as proved at the trial"). The judge stated "[s]uch a statement of a race-based decision of guilt in a criminal case should not and cannot be excused due to intoxication or joking."
Apparently, the prosecutor was conducting the initial investigation to discover whether one juror during deliberations improperly influenced other jurors by holding himself out as a gun expert.
Judge tosses Schenectady verdict after racist remark -- Page 1 ...
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