The pictures were horrendous; I am continually shocked at the inhumanity displayed by Jodi Arias. It's foul, and poor Travis ....well. I don't think there was anything he could have done, once she set her sights on him, to avoid what happened to him. It's so, so easy to be taken in by a sociopath/psychopath. And it's so, so hard to get away.
But Travis's jurors are human, plain and simple. They are flawed--as he was, and you and I are--and make mistakes, sometimes grave. This one was relatively benign, in terms of impact to the case, thankfully. And thankfully, no accident occurred as a result of the juror's impairment.
Right now, we don't have enough information to draw conclusions. Stress, exhaustion, and something as ordinarily innocuous as Benadryl (or any of a thousand prescription or OTC meds) can lead to a DUI charge. We simply do NOT know what substance the juror was influenced by if any. All we know is that he was charged with DUI, and, during the course of the arrest, identified himself as a juror in this case, leading to his dismissal from the jury.
Judgment error? Certainly. But until we know more, we just can't fairly draw conclusions. It's pretty easy to find yourself groggy and in no condition to drive when stressed, exhausted, and walloped harder than you expect by...well, whatever substance.
I am not excusing driving while impaired. At 19, I was hit by a truck driven by an impaired driver and have had pain every day since and lost my first career, ultimately, as a result. In 1999, a truck driven by a drunk teenager plowed through my garage into my living room, sending my husband to the ICU and my kids into ...well, kind of a lifetime of insecurity at bedtime! And I have a handful of alcoholics in the family who created a childhood and adolescence during which I was not only scared every time they left in a car, but scared to get INTO a car with them. Trust me, I have NO affection for drunk or otherwise impaired drivers.
But at this point, we don't know what occurred. I feel horrible for the man---I wonder whether this case contributed to his error in judgment, and know that NO human should have to endure what he and the other jurors have had to do in the name of justice. I wonder how any of them sleep at night, with this monumental task resting on their shoulders. And I suspect that, after spending four months on this case, he is furious with himself for botching his ability to make the contribution to justice he prepared for as he sat in that jury box day after day after day. Or, perhaps it was a cry for relief---the only way he knew to escape the trial. I don't know. I just know that I feel bad for him----he's in trouble (which may be well-deserved), and I can't help but think that Ms. Arias is responsible for it, too.
I am very grateful he did not harm anyone else, or get hurt himself. Thank goodness for alert law enforcement.