oceanblueeyes
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Rutgers Verdict Repudiates Notion of Youth as a Defense
The failure of the jerky-kid defense is likely to change the legal landscape by showing that jurors can conclude that the verdict showed that the notion of innocent youth as a shield to culpability might not hold as much sway as it once did in court, Marcellus A. McRae, a former federal prosecutor, said. “Jurors will say their kid or kids they know are more sophisticated than that,” Mr. McRae said. “For jurors, it doesn’t pass the common-sense test.”
Leverett said he initially doubted that Ravi had committed a hate crime, but after reading the statute of law presented to the jury, everyone agreed Ravi's crimes met the criteria.
"In my opinion I didn't think it was a hate crime until we were presented with an indictment (that explained the law)," Leverett said.
Lynn Marie Audet ... third juror to speak
Lynn Marie Audet, another juror, said the jury did not reach their decision easily.
"Every topic was taken very seriously. We did not jump to any decisions. We did the most thorough job that we could. There was nothing that we just said 'guilty' immediately,"
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/n...diates-notion-of-youth-as-a-defense.html?_r=2
The failure of the jerky-kid defense is likely to change the legal landscape by showing that jurors can conclude that the verdict showed that the notion of innocent youth as a shield to culpability might not hold as much sway as it once did in court, Marcellus A. McRae, a former federal prosecutor, said. “Jurors will say their kid or kids they know are more sophisticated than that,” Mr. McRae said. “For jurors, it doesn’t pass the common-sense test.”
Leverett said he initially doubted that Ravi had committed a hate crime, but after reading the statute of law presented to the jury, everyone agreed Ravi's crimes met the criteria.
"In my opinion I didn't think it was a hate crime until we were presented with an indictment (that explained the law)," Leverett said.
Lynn Marie Audet ... third juror to speak
Lynn Marie Audet, another juror, said the jury did not reach their decision easily.
"Every topic was taken very seriously. We did not jump to any decisions. We did the most thorough job that we could. There was nothing that we just said 'guilty' immediately,"
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/n...diates-notion-of-youth-as-a-defense.html?_r=2