Originally posted by SOB
"This and other passages the jurors considered do more than simply encourage jurors to follow the instructions of the court. The passages mandate that death be the penalty for murder,"
No, it is not pointless. A passage from the bible is not our law, and having a juror basing his/her decision on it because they think it is our law is a problem.
SOB
Yes .. it's pointless. Jurors arrive at their decisions via reasoning that
can include personal morals and beliefs ... as well as evidence and the the law. These personal morals and beliefs can be Christian or non-Christian. A Christian juror can influence other jurors (or not) using his moral belief based on anything he wants. Lawyers remind jurors on a regular basis on what their case is based on and it's legal validity. They can't, however, dictate to a jury what the verdict or recommended sentence should be. They can only present their case. Nor can a Judge dictate to a jury what their verdict, recommendation of sentence or basis for such should be.
The time for a lawyer to try to make sure that there are no Christians on the jury is during jury selection. And even then he's hard pressed to reveal that as his basis for exclusion.
So if you think it's a major problem for jurors who deliberated this case to arrive at the conclusion that the defendent deserved the death penalty based on their moral and religious beliefs .. let me assure you that there's much worse to worry about.
