**Verdict Watch** 3-2-2012; deliberations started at 1016am

[cody100]

Tracy Cline is terminated as DA in Durham County. Now there is a no brainer.

 

[3doglady]

He got the highest ratings of all SC judges from the NC bar Assoc.

His brother is also an attorney isn't he?

 

[jrb0124]

WRAL twitter if you want to get update alerts (incl JY trial):

http://twitter.com/#!/WRAL

 

[Just the Fax]

His brother is also an attorney isn't he?

Identical twin brother...Ronald.
Also a Superior Court Judge in NC (retired)

 

[Turnadot]

I already feel so nervous, so scared the jury will get it wrong. Can't imagine what Michelle's family must be going through. Pure agony.

 

[Skittles]

Will abc show a live courtroom all the time or just when something is happening?

They come back when the jury has questions.

 

[tarheellvr]

Ok WS friends....what is your prediction? If guilty, first or second?

I'm confident he will be convicted, but am trying to decide if I think jury will go for first or second.

Justice for Michelle Marie Fisher Young.....and baby boy Rylan.

 

[raisincharlie]

Absolutely!!! A dark sweater with a light stripe, those darn elusive hushpuppy shoes... and of course jeans! Where are those pesky things?! Probably blew off in the 20+mph wind when he was smoking his cigar and checking day old sport scores in USA Today :innocent:

I have always wondered why one would change clothes after checking into a hotel late in the evening before running back down to the desk to get a day old newspaper , um going to smoke a cigar...um...or other things

 

[cody100]

I think G of 2nd degree. Now I have no logical reason to say this, but it could be a compromise for jurors if they are undecided. There is a reason JS has added the 2nd degree charge.

 

[happy2binNC]

I firmly believe he is guilty. Having said that, I think the condoms are irrelevant to the case. Also, I think if we see a verdict on murder 2, that will be an indication that the jurors used that as a compromise of sorts. If he's guilty, it was premeditated, plain and simple. This was not an accident or a spur-of-the-moment decision.

In the Cooper trial, HC stated in his closing that Brad Cooper that the reason he was G of murder 1 was because he could have stopped strangling her at any time during those three minutes. JLY could have turned around and gone back home at any point during the 2.5 hour drive. But he did not. He continued on to Raleigh where he brutally murdered his beautiful wife and unborn son. If that isn't premeditated, I don't know what is.

MOO, of course.

 

[fifteen89]

WRAL twitter if you want to get update alerts (incl JY trial):

http://twitter.com/#!/WRAL

Know of any that are just a text when the verdict is in?

 

[LOMom]

I have always wondered why one would change clothes after checking into a hotel late in the evening before running back down to the desk to get a day old newspaper , um going to smoke a cigar...um...or other things

Actually, that's a very good point. Why did he change clothes? The 2nd set of clothes didn't appear any more comfortable.

 

[fromageball]

Am I correct that Klink said in closing something to the effect of "the hushp shoes may have been there or were there (crime scene) but JY's feet were not in them? I want to make sure I heard that right. When I go back to listen to it I'm trying to find it without hearing the entire argument. If he did say what I *think* I heard why would Klink say that knowing JY testified that MY gave them away to Goodwill? That threw me for a loop. Maybe I will have to listen to Klink's portion again.

IIRC JY wasn't sure what happened to the hush puppies, but he thought MY donated them. I don't think Klink would have said that if JY had said he was certain that the shoes had been donated.

I think the point was supposed to be that the shoes are a mystery, they could have been there or not, it's just not certain that the print at the crime scene came from JY's foot steps.

JMO

 

[happy2binNC]

Know of any that are just a text when the verdict is in?

You can sign up on WRAL.com for breaking news texts. They will include all breaking news but you can opt out of sports, weather, etc. and just get the top stories, and then cancel the subscription once we get a verdict.

 

[dja230]

I believe they will come back with 2nd degree in order to compromise, it is 1st degree! What is penalty for 2nd degree in NC?

 

[calamityjane831]

I have a very logical brain and JY behavior after his wife's murder DEFIES logic. It is very difficult for me to get past that. IMHO no innocent person would act that way. Even if you hated your spouse, if you were innocent you would ask questions. You would want answers, if for no other reason than to be able to go on with your life. He totally acted like a guilty person from the very beginning. And I will go further to say his family acted guilty as well. Of something, even if it was just covering for him. What family who had a murder so close to them would not have discussed it all the way back to Raleigh??? Hours in the car, and none of them said to each other, "I wonder what happened? How did she die? Who would want to murder her?" Even THEY had NO questions? He even talked to his own mom about his sex life with his wife, but he couldn't ponder possibilities about what had happened regarding his wife's MURDER? DEFIES logic. I'm sorry but his mom makes the hair stand up on my arms. This family is not okay.

MY sounded like an amazing person. So many of us have made bad decisions about who we've connected with and only by some dumb luck or something some of us have not had the same ending.

I will say that the part of the defense argument was incredibly strong. Either way this goes, JY cannot say he didn't have the best defense possible. If he gets convicted it will NOT be because he was not properly defended.

I will also say that the parts of the prosecution argument I heard was sadly not as strong. Power Point versus random scribbling on a flip chart which I think maybe is ok bc I feel people tune out Power Point sometimes but the scribbling that did not even include the strongest evidence...the SHIRT that disappeared. Even the defense didn't attempt to explain it. They just tried to deflect it by mentioning the lack of blood in the vehicle. Thank God the PT did point out that there was no blood downstairs, but I'm not sure they quite connected the dots with if it wasn't down there it wouldn't have gone in someone's vehicle either. I hope the PT was stronger in the parts I didn't get to hear.

There is so much about this case that will probably never be explained. Cassidy. (has ANYone asked that child directly if she saw anything or WHO "spanked mommy for biting"? Or did she see anything? This was a smart little girl. Did she take her socks off? Did she go potty in the toilet? You could ask a kid all kinds of things without traumatizing her. Did ANYone talk to this kid? Or did they but none of it helped the case? The jury needed to be told, imho. (although the doll evidence was better than nothing)

I do believe he did it. He had enough reasons. LOGIC says he did it. You don't go on a trip and not bring home the shirt you were seen wearing on a camera. You don't not close and lock your hotel room door unless you're up to something. It's harder to think about propping open your door than it would be to just use your frickin card to go in and out.

Ebay. Yes JY you were very clever to think about that alibi. Who would be thinking about buying his precious wife an anniversary (late) present via a closed ebay auction, then conveniently leaving the papers behind. Speaking of which. Who would PRINT something like that anyway? Ebay has the convenient 'WATCH' that you can use. You don't EVER have to print anything. Did the prosecution point that out? I don't think so. But goodness knows they've had their hands full.

Okay, I've rambled long enough. Hugs and prayers to all of you fellow wanting-justice folks. However this goes down, we must remember that justice can take different forms. By that we know that none of this went down the way he would have wanted it. As he pointed out himself, he lost "everything". (didn't mention his wife and unborn child), but he did lose friends, jobs, etc. To him that stuff is apparently what's important, so that can be justice.
....IMHO

 

[tarheellvr]

I think G of 2nd degree. Now I have no logical reason to say this, but it could be a compromise for jurors if they are undecided. There is a reason JS has added the 2nd degree charge.[/QUOTE

I agree.....the jurors who think he's guilty, yet don't want/can't (for whatever reason) vote for first will have another option. I think second as a "middle ground" will aid/help some of the jurors vote guilty.

 

[Madeleine74]

I think 2nd degree would be a wrong choice and I don't know why it's an option here since the murder was intentional, was premeditated, and with malice.

Regardless of whoever you believe murdered MY, they certainly intended to do so and knew their actions would kill and continued to do it anyway.

To me it's either 1st or nothing.

 

[Stella5]

I have always wondered why one would change clothes after checking into a hotel late in the evening before running back down to the desk to get a day old newspaper , um going to smoke a cigar...um...or other things

And let's hope the jury is questioning that too! Why the need for the change?! It's bed time! I wouldn't be so suspicious if he was in pajama pants & a sweat shirt (yeah I've done that a time or two at hotels to sneak a cig late at night).

 

[johnfear]

I think 2nd degree would be a wrong choice and I don't know why it's an option here since the murder was intentional, was premeditated, and with malice.

Regardless of whoever you believe murdered MY, they certainly intended to do so and that was the point of being in the house.

To me it's either 1st or nothing.

I'm with everything you just said and I'll go a step further that I think it's a mistake to include it.