UNEXPECTED LIFE EXPERIENCE FOR MJ

It all started with a little piece of mail. The letter began with you have been selected for jury duty. Those words would reek havoc in my world over the next few days. The usual thoughts go through your head, I don't have time for this right now, what can i say or do to get out of this? In the letter it said that you have a 1 in 4 chance of being selected for the jury. Monday I show up at the courthouse with a drink, egg mcmuffin, iPod, laptop, and a bag full of work. After watching this lame video about how it our duty to serve as jurors, we had to stand up in front of the other 35 people and tell about ourselves. What we do for a living, how many kids we have, what we like to read, watch, and do? After that we were taken and individually interviewed by both attorneys the judge and the defendant. Then we waited and waited some more. Then they all came back into the courtroom and read off a list of 8 names. I sat there in disbelief as my name was read. What are the odds? Oh yeah 25%! That sucks! They immediately began the trial and all the fun began. We were told that this was a criminal trial for the sexual abuse of a child. From the moment I walked into the courtroom, I got the heeby geebies from one of the men sitting at the table. He turned out to be the defendant. No one explains to you the pressure and emotional stress that jurors go through when deciding the rest of someones life. At the end of each day I would come home and squeeze and kiss my kids. Then I would be so exhausted I would want to crash on my bed. I kept thinking how could sitting my butt in a chair all day doing nothing make me so pooped. I soon realized that emotional stress makes me more tired than hours of kickboxing. It was heartbreaking to hear this 15 year girl tell how her step dad started abusing her when she was 6. He would turn on Sponge Bob and Bob the Builder in her room in the morning and abuse her before school. Her mother, while not involved, was just as disappointing. It is very sobering to realize that these situations exist everywhere. It is not a wonder that our world is going to hell in a hand basket. This experience has opened my eyes and given me a different perspective. So many of the people who end up criminals or drug addicts, never had a good start to life. Their childhoods are horrific and unfathomable to most of us! The breakdown of the family is responsible for a majority of our societies woes. I didn't sleep very well the night before we had to decide on a verdict. The evidence was minimal and the witnesses contradicted each other. So it came down to, who do you believe. We were deciding the fate of two people. The defendant and the victim. I was very lucky to have amazing people to work with on the jury. Several of the women were in tears. After about 5 hours of deliberation we decided that he was guilty. Then we had to go into the court room to face the defendant, the victim, and all of their families. You know in cartoons when they show their heart jumping out of their chest. That is what I felt like. The court clerk read the verdict and the victim let out a big cry. She had been pretty unemotional throughout the trial. It was good to see the reaction. I was nervous about the reactions of his family. His son was waiting in the parking lot after and watching everyone leave. I was a little freaked for the next couple days, thinking that he was going to show up at my house. I would like to thank all those that helped with my boys! This experience will not soon be forgotten.