Really? Why not LWOP? I hope we get to hear from some of the jurors, curious how/why?
Apologies for quoting my own post ...
JUROR: “The evidence was not wrong. Our decision was based upon the evidence presented. He didn’t question the evidence; he questioned the motive behind the evidence — was that he was being set up. But when your DNA is under the victim’s fingernails, that’s a clear signal as well.”
KJP: [Was it a] preposterous conspiracy theory?
JUROR: “Yeah, and the prosecution asked the right questions. It’s like, if they wanted someone killed, why wouldn’t they just kill you?”
KJP: What was the biggest moment in the trial for you?
JUROR: “For me, it was the penalty phase. I wasn’t prepared for that mentally, and so …”
KJP: For being tasked with the responsibility of deciding his fate?
JUROR: “Mhm. “
KJP: That was a big ask of you?
JUROR: “Mhm. Mhm. It was. And then I respect German’s family in that they shared who he was as a man, sibling, and an uncle, and a reporter. What helped with Telles, in my opinion, is his mother’s testimony in her saying to us, ‘I accept the verdict, but please allow him to have a life with his kids.'”
KJP: So that worked.
JUROR: “For me it did. “
KJP: Did anyone in the room, after the penalty phase, say we shouldn’t let this guy out of prison ever?
JUROR: “Yes. Yes. The initial vote was two for life without parole, two for 50 years, and the rest were life with the possibility of parole.”
KJP: So you essentially met in the middle?