The C-Murder trial just WON'T go away quietly

So. Looks like people just can't leave well enough alone, can they?

According to the times-picayune:
A Metairie woman who served on the jury that convicted Corey "C-Murder" Miller of murder said she changed her vote to guilty to end deliberations in defense of a young juror who felt the rapper was innocent but who emotionally and physically crumbled under the "brutal" pressure heaved by other jurors.

"This thing had to come to an end for this girl's health, her sanity," said Jacob, executive director of a group that advocates for families and the disabled, of the 20-year-old Xavier University student who voted for Miller's innocence. "I believe what happened to Steve Thomas on the floor of the Platinum Club happened to her verbally.

"I was more worried about this little girl than I was about Corey Miller," Jacob said. "Corey Miller will survive whatever happens to him."

"They literally made this 20-year-old girl so violently ill," Jacob said. "She was shaking so bad. She ran into the bathroom. She was throwing her guts up. She couldn't function anymore. That's when I decided, the judge don't want to listen to me, doesn't want to listen to us? I told them, 'You want him to be guilty? He's guilty, now let's get the hell out of here."

ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME. So...even though the jurors looked very happy-go-lucky every time they walked in the courtroom, and even though this "emotionally fragile" 20 year old student somehow managed to change her toenail polish color every day, the jury deliberations were actually a re-creation of Lord of the Flies? I don't buy it. These jurors don't look like they could tie their own shoelaces, let alone collude to emotionally torture a 20 year old to the point of physical illness.

Also, way to compare the verbal torture in jury deliberations to the murder of Steve Thomas. All class.

Here is why I am calling B.S. on this whole situation. 1) They deliberated, for...i'm not even kididng, a total of like 8 hours. That is an average person's workday. Do you know how much abuse a person learns to take during an average workday? 2) These jurors looked like they were all BFFS every time I saw them. Laughing, giggling, etc. 3) They got free meals, and free parking, and they had to sit in a room and argue. I don't know about you - but this sounds like heaven to me. Read more

Hiatus

Readers...I want to apologize for my hiatus. I have been traveling about doing anonymous law school things, but I will be back to the NOLA tomorrow (tuesday aug 18).

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The jurors didn't just cry....

According to a times picayune article, the jurors (who deliberated for a grand total of 13 hours...) Were so upset/nervous/anxious that some of them started vomitting. You CANNOT make this stuff up.
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Some Photos

Dear All,

I thought that pictures might be in order to give faces to the names from the last few days. These pictures are courtesy of the times-picayune website.

Here we have DA American Flag Pin (the first chair) and DA Vampire Nails.



Here's Mr. Magoo! He, apparently, has no comment.



C-Murder's family looks....displeased.

Unfortunately, there are no photos of Judge Blagojovich-hair. Trust me...I searched the ends of the internet looking for one. Read more

GUILTY

At 1:40pm, the verdict came finally came in, after a morning ripe with drama. C-Murder has been found guilty of second degree murder, and will now serve a mandatory life sentence. Judge Blagojovich-hair accepted this verdict, so it is valid. Read more

Can we just speak frankly for a minute here?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE JURORS? They have only been in the deliberation process since yesterday, at 1pm. And they stopped at 8:30pm by screaming, "SHUT IT DOWN." Now they're crying in the courtroom in front of everyone, doing things to get themselves thrown off, etc? When they were voir-dired for this thing, they knew this trial might run for at least 2 weeks. So far they've been seated approx 4 days. AND they had the weekend off. Why are they acting like passengers who have been left on a plane on the tarmac for 203 hrs? As far as I know, they're getting all their meals paid for, they are allowed to take smoke breaks and restroom breaks, were given a bed to sleep in...where's the fire here? One time I was at work for 34hrs straight. Truth. And I am of weak constitution. If these jurors can't work for 8 hours straight...well, I'm just not sure what to say. Read more

Jurors Crying, A verdict, Judge Blagojovich-hair smacks it down

C-Murder has been convicted guilty of second degree murder. BUT, that's not the end of the story friends. Judge Blagojovich-hair said, "No, No, Nannette" and sent them back to continue deliberations because he believed one juror only came to that decision as a means to end the whole affair. The verdict was 10-2 for conviction (which, under Louisiana Law, is all a jury needs to convict on second degree murder).

By way of back-story, earlier in the day, a juror sent a note to the judge asking that she be removed from the jury because she had been sleeping during the trial (true story - I saw that with my own eyes), praying loudly, and bringing a bible into the jury deliberation room. I think the last two are things this girl did to get herself thrown off. No way is she a religious zealot. She had a different nail polish color every day of the trial, and was chit-chatting with all the other ladies sitting around her. She was also like 22 years old. She obviously got wise as to what she would have to do in order to get herself thrown off, and started doing it. BUT - Judge Blagojovich-hair would have none of it, and told her she had to to stay and continue deliberating. She, and the foreman of the jury, STARTED CRYING. A short time later, they came back with their verdict. Judge Blagojovich hair said he thought that the juror who had suddenly changed her mind, had done so under duress to end the proceedings.

Whatever happens next, the defense has just gotten an early christmas present by way of material for appeals. Read more

The Jurors would be unable to hack it as paralegals.

Well, tonight the Jury decided they didn't want to work no mo'.
At approx 8:30pm, Judge Blagojovich-hair told the jury that they either had to keep working to come to a decision, or they were going to be sequestered in a hotel for the night. Apparently working past 8:30pm seemed unconscionable to the jurors, and they all yelled "Shut it down" in unison. That is actually not a joke. They *actually* all said "shut it down" together.

So....8:30pm is a breaking point? Shut it down? I guess this jury is unaccustomed to working the hours typically associated with an entry level job in New York. Because let me tell you -- 8:30 is not a "shut it down" time. 8:30pm is a "have a dinner break, scan facebook on the computer to see what happier people who work fewer hours are saying, sending gchat messages while you eat at your desk" time. These jurors didn't even start working til 10am. I mean R E A L L Y (emphasis added). Read more

The Jury Deliberates: An Update!

They're deadlocked! As of 3pm today, the jury told Judge Blagojovich-hair that they were deadlocked and could not make a decision. It had only been 3 hours of deliberation. Judge Blagojovich-hair (rightly) told them they needed to work a little longer. Obviously the jury started to get hungry, some of them wanted to watch the "Jon and Kate plus 8" marathon on TLC right now, etc.

But if you ask me...the real story has to be the crazies commenting on nola.com. Some gems below:


"you think its about justice?the whole thing was about money jp thought master p was going to pay them off an when it didn't happen jp got pissed off and found anyone that came along to testify and lye under oath that they saw cory miller shoot that kid and now the thomas family are still filing a civil sult against mr miller for what there no money no money if he had any money this case would be over by now no money no justice" Hmm. So...that argument seems...logical.

Jazzymytrang chimes in with what appears to be some inside information:
"let me clarify
i am not sayin cj is guilty or innocent
im sayin i know 4 a fact he knows who the shooter is & he'd rather presume his innocence rather than a family find justice
that is not fair
& those are the rules from the streets
no rats
his image is more important than the truth
shallow thinking
tough world we live in
again
on the strength of the real truth beholders we will never know the truth" I wonder if he meant to write that in the form of a poem?

Let's file the following comment under..."Broken Caps Lock"
SUM1 I WAS CLOSE TO WAS ON TRIAL FOR A MURDER IN JEFFERSON PARISH AND GOD KNOWS THEY DIDNOT KILL ANYONE.I DONT KNOW WHERE THEY FOUND THE WITNESS BUT THE WITNESS HAD GOT HOOKED UP,IT CAME OUT AND THE PERSON IS FREE TO THIS DAY.NA YOU FIGURE THE REST OUT YOURSELF.MY PERSONAL OPINION THE SAME THING HAPPENING HERE.THIS WHOLE SITUASION AND HOW ITS GOING IS AMAZING!AND THE HOUSE ARREST PLP TOO,THEY FULL OF IT THAT MAN WAS AT HM ON THOSE DAYS HE WAS OUT OF RANGE,WHATEVA.TRUST ME WE NOT DUM THEY PROBABLY HAD PLP WATCHING THAT MAN.THOSE MACHINES NEVER WORK RIGHT ANYWAY AND I KNOW THAT FOR A FACT.ALL ABOUT MONEY!!!
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I forgot to post this, but, did you know that C-Murder recently pleaded no contest to multiple attempted murder charges from a 2001 incident?

Oh yes, faithful readers. By the time that C-Murder rolled into the Platinum club back in January of 2002, he had already tried to shoot the bouncer at "Club Raggs" a Baton Rouge Nightclub. C-Murder pointed the gun at the bouncer, and pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed. The thing about this crime? He was on videotape..so..no denying that one. The DA is going to recommend 10 years for that charge, so C-Murder is headed to Angola regardless. Read more