I was on a jury for the last 4 weeks, and it was not a pretty subject.
This is a Civil case for whether or not a man qualified to be put away under a new California Law
This was not the easiest thing in the world to listen to, or have to read back to the jury. I was the foreperson, so I ended up reading evidence to the entire panel on several occasions during deliberations. I was glad to give this guy a fair trial though.
This guy was a chronic liar. He was mentally ill in more than one way-- he was a diagnosed pedophile who liked little girls, and he also had a personality disorder that labeled him as a SEVERE narcissist, so he was a compulsive liar to make himself look good. He lied on every test imaginable, and he lied to every doctor, every lawyer, everyone. He used those lies to lure in the little girls. Over 21 years, he had six victims. Every time he was let loose on parole, he absconded from supervision and did it again
So we had to listen to statistic after statistic to decide three things--
1) Convicted of two or more sex offenses that qualified under the law (He had at least 6 victims)
2) Diagnosed with a mental disorder (We agreed that he was a Pedophile Under the Law)
3) Would likely reoffend (Hell yes!)
The first point they stipulated too, which was nice, however, we still had to hear all the gorey details because we had to decide if he was a pedophile or not. That part was pretty easy.
The third part took us a while to deliberate, because some people needed to understand more about the case and listen to all of our opinions. Based upon his past history more than the statistics the defense attorney wanted us to agree upon, we said that he needed to return to the hospital to get treatment for his disorders. Even though he's done good things to better himself, he needs to return and get the help he asked for when he molested the first girls, and never got for himself.
We had to listen to four expert witnesses, and the State's witnesses were prepared, knew their facts and had reviewed their documents to make sure they understood them. The respondent's experts were wishy washy. The first expert for the respondent actually said he asked Mr. Thomas Gabba if he was a pedophile, "and he said he wasn't." and basically stated he believed him! Dr. Oliver Glover also testified, and I liked the guy, he saw both sides of the case, but he wasn't prepared, and didn't do certain tests right, and invalidated them, and had been lied to by the defendant and quoted those lies until corrected by the DA.
It wasn't just about locking up a criminal, he's served his time under the law-- it was about getting him mental help, versus letting him go into the community without treatment. As a group we decided that we were saying "Dude, get some help, you're on the right track, but we'll give you another chance once you get the help you need."
We were presented alot of data and statistics, but ya know what? Those statistics only played a small role in my opinion. The fact of the matter that this guy re offended at every opportunity he was given, asked a sex offender in prison what the sentence was for doing it, and his entire history shows he's a liar who won't finish anything for himself showed me that he needed treatment, because he wouldn't do it on his own.
I personally would love to lock away every pedophile with a gun and watch them blow their brains out after a while of being in isolation for a month, but while putting that aside and understanding the law and applying it to this case, we achieved something, and that was bettering the life of an offender and protecting the community.
It was VERY odd at the end of the trial-- the judge, DA and Defense Attorney all came out to talk to us, and asked us what worked and what didn't work-- what we felt, how we decided, and how could they present their cases for the next time. The judge even asked us what we used as our tools in decided, etc...
This thing affected my way of thinking and my mood since it started. While I consider myself someone who is a patriot, and I enjoy serving my country, I wish this stuff never happened and wish it would go away. I'm emotionally tangled up in the grief and compassion of it all, and even though I know I did the right thing, that was quite a ride.
Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading. I may distant for a while, I 've got a lot to sort out in my head.
This is a Civil case for whether or not a man qualified to be put away under a new California Law
This was not the easiest thing in the world to listen to, or have to read back to the jury. I was the foreperson, so I ended up reading evidence to the entire panel on several occasions during deliberations. I was glad to give this guy a fair trial though.
This guy was a chronic liar. He was mentally ill in more than one way-- he was a diagnosed pedophile who liked little girls, and he also had a personality disorder that labeled him as a SEVERE narcissist, so he was a compulsive liar to make himself look good. He lied on every test imaginable, and he lied to every doctor, every lawyer, everyone. He used those lies to lure in the little girls. Over 21 years, he had six victims. Every time he was let loose on parole, he absconded from supervision and did it again
So we had to listen to statistic after statistic to decide three things--
1) Convicted of two or more sex offenses that qualified under the law (He had at least 6 victims)
2) Diagnosed with a mental disorder (We agreed that he was a Pedophile Under the Law)
3) Would likely reoffend (Hell yes!)
The first point they stipulated too, which was nice, however, we still had to hear all the gorey details because we had to decide if he was a pedophile or not. That part was pretty easy.
The third part took us a while to deliberate, because some people needed to understand more about the case and listen to all of our opinions. Based upon his past history more than the statistics the defense attorney wanted us to agree upon, we said that he needed to return to the hospital to get treatment for his disorders. Even though he's done good things to better himself, he needs to return and get the help he asked for when he molested the first girls, and never got for himself.
We had to listen to four expert witnesses, and the State's witnesses were prepared, knew their facts and had reviewed their documents to make sure they understood them. The respondent's experts were wishy washy. The first expert for the respondent actually said he asked Mr. Thomas Gabba if he was a pedophile, "and he said he wasn't." and basically stated he believed him! Dr. Oliver Glover also testified, and I liked the guy, he saw both sides of the case, but he wasn't prepared, and didn't do certain tests right, and invalidated them, and had been lied to by the defendant and quoted those lies until corrected by the DA.
It wasn't just about locking up a criminal, he's served his time under the law-- it was about getting him mental help, versus letting him go into the community without treatment. As a group we decided that we were saying "Dude, get some help, you're on the right track, but we'll give you another chance once you get the help you need."
We were presented alot of data and statistics, but ya know what? Those statistics only played a small role in my opinion. The fact of the matter that this guy re offended at every opportunity he was given, asked a sex offender in prison what the sentence was for doing it, and his entire history shows he's a liar who won't finish anything for himself showed me that he needed treatment, because he wouldn't do it on his own.
I personally would love to lock away every pedophile with a gun and watch them blow their brains out after a while of being in isolation for a month, but while putting that aside and understanding the law and applying it to this case, we achieved something, and that was bettering the life of an offender and protecting the community.
It was VERY odd at the end of the trial-- the judge, DA and Defense Attorney all came out to talk to us, and asked us what worked and what didn't work-- what we felt, how we decided, and how could they present their cases for the next time. The judge even asked us what we used as our tools in decided, etc...
This thing affected my way of thinking and my mood since it started. While I consider myself someone who is a patriot, and I enjoy serving my country, I wish this stuff never happened and wish it would go away. I'm emotionally tangled up in the grief and compassion of it all, and even though I know I did the right thing, that was quite a ride.
Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading. I may distant for a while, I 've got a lot to sort out in my head.
