Deceased/Not Found GA - Shannon Melendi, 19, Atlanta, 26 March 1994

[concernedperson]

You are way cool, Angelmom. Just so you know.

 

[angelmom]

You are way cool, Angelmom. Just so you know.

:blushing: It's contagious...I got it from hanging out at WS!

Too sweet :blowkiss:

 

[mysteriew]

:clap: Angelmom, you said everything I wanted to say but couldn't find the words for.

 

[Bobbisangel]

:clap: Way to go Maddy! Thank you for speaking out. Don't worry about what the defense has said. Most of us here laugh at the defense attorney's (when we aren't calling them bad names) No one here felt that the juror's did anything less than a good job. I am especially reassured by the fact that you started with the idea that he was innocent, then followed the evidence to your conclusion. Give yourself a pat on the back from me!

I agree. Thanks for the insight and for using common sense while on the jury. Sounds like you were a very level headed group....I'm so glad. Welcome to WS.

 

[maddie]

Thanks, everyone! What a nice, thoughtful group of people you have here! I was surprised at just how stressful it was to have to make a verdict in a high-profile case like this and then listen to all the second guessing from the media and friends.

Anyway, the stress has mostly drained away. My thoughts now are solely for the Melendi family. Even some of the men had tears in their eyes the day they testified. I know they've waited a long time for this, but they still don't have the answers they deserve. My heart goes out to them. I cannot imagine a worse thing to go through.

 

[maddie]

Since the jury was never shown in the media, if Angel's Lil Sis posts again, she can probably confirm that I was actually on the jury. There were two white females on the jury. I'm the one with the dark hair (the other was an alternate), in the front row. Oh, no! Now I've really outed myself!

 

[Angel's lil sis]

Hi Maddie,

What a relief!!! I understand and respect your opinion for not speaking to the media, but it was a little frustrating for my family and I not to know what went through the jury's mind throughout the trial. I'm Shannon's sister, Monique, btw. I wanted to hug and kiss each of you individually. Thank you so much. As Shanny's sis, I obviously have a different outlook on the way you came about the verdict. All I care was that it was guilty. There were a lot of facts that were not disclosed to the jury that my family and I had known for years. There was never a doubt in our minds that he murdered Shannon. I prayed every night that you all would see through BJ's disgusting tactics of character assassinating Shannon. Jurors like you are a testimony that the system my sister Shannon so vehemently believed in actually works. We are eternally grateful. Thank you and God bless all of you.

 

[Angel's lil sis]

I think that any sentence can be appealed but it usually doesn't go anywhere.
Hopefully the Prosecutor was careful and made sure that all of his/her eyes were dotted and tees were crossed. These creeps can appeal all that they want but unless their attorney can find a technicality of some sort the appeals go nowhere. Wait a minute...didn't he get life w/out parole? That should mean that he never gets out. That's odd. Are you in Canada by any chance? I can't remember.

My advice for what it is worth...I believe that God had His hand on this trial and that that creep was found guilty because that was the way it was supposed to turn out. Write your letters but try to put the whole thing in God's hands. It isn't easy but it gives a person some peace to just say "here Lord, you take care of this appeal stuff. It's in your hands now."

I'm really not crazy..lol. When my daughter's killer was on the run for those 8 years that is what I had to do. I had to give it to God otherwise it would have driven me crazy. I figured the killer would be caught in God's time...not when I wanted it to happen. Our lead detective and I talked about it and we wondered if God wasn't waiting until my grandaughter was older so that she could attend the trial and give a victim impact statement. The killer was caught when she was 13 yrs...sentenced when she was 14 yrs and giving her victim impact statement...directed to her father...impowered her and helped with her healing.

You and your family take care and try not to worry. If you want some letters written I would be glad to write one to the board. Let me know what I need to [email protected]. I'd be happy to help in any way that I can. Barbara

Thank you for your kind words. No, he was sentenced to just life (w/ parole). I do agree putting it in God's hands, but I also feel that by being given the opportunity to fight this is by doing just that.

No, I do not live in Canada. I live in Miami, FL.

 

[Angel's lil sis]

Since the jury was never shown in the media, if Angel's Lil Sis posts again, she can probably confirm that I was actually on the jury. There were two white females on the jury. I'm the one with the dark hair (the other was an alternate), in the front row. Oh, no! Now I've really outed myself!

Hi Maddie,

I know exactly who you are. ;0)

 

[concernedperson]

Hi Maddie,

What a relief!!! I understand and respect your opinion for not speaking to the media, but it was a little frustrating for my family and I not to know what went through the jury's mind throughout the trial. I'm Shannon's sister, Monique, btw. I wanted to hug and kiss each of you individually. Thank you so much. As Shanny's sis, I obviously have a different outlook on the way you came about the verdict. All I care was that it was guilty. There were a lot of facts that were not disclosed to the jury that my family and I had known for years. There was never a doubt in our minds that he murdered Shannon. I prayed every night that you all would see through BJ's disgusting tactics of character assassinating Shannon. Jurors like you are a testimony that the system my sister Shannon so vehemently believed in actually works. We are eternally grateful. Thank you and God bless all of you.

Just so you know I am here in Atlanta and I saw your family's grief in the pics at ajc.Your pain was so raw and my heart filled with grief for you. I am so glad there are the Maddie's in the world as we have seen some really bad juries in other states.I am proud of the work they did as well as the prosecutors and your family....for never letting this go away.

Shannon's spirit soars and will guide you in ways that you don't even realize now. Big sis is always going to know you, Monique.

 

[maddie]

Hi Monique,

I'm glad you were able to read this. We all knew, and regretted, that it would be hard for your family not to know what the jurors were thinking, but we were all aware that there would probably be an appeal. We all came to the conclusion that Hinton is guilty (and it's a conclusion we each felt strongly about), and I, for one, didn't want to risk any sound bite that didn't give the whole picture of our deliberations or that could be twisted into something it wasn't and possibly be used in support of an appeal. I think the others were similarly concerned. BJ argued that the case shouldn't be decided emotionally, and it wasn't. That doesn't mean that we didn't feel tremendous pain for your family and that pain would have surely shown in an interview. The day you and your mother testified, we went back to the jury room in tears and sat there in silence. If you have any questions about how we reached our decision, you're welcome to email me.

I will tell you that, for me, one of the most compelling pieces of evidence was the above-mentioned phone call he made Friday. I sincerely believe that woman was his originally intended victim. Your family should also know that Shannon's character was never in question with us at all. She sounded like a typical college student insofar as the issues BJ brought up, and overall, she sounds like she was a remarkable young lady.

I have a younger sister with whom I was, and am, very close. Our relationship was like you described yours and Shannon's. Would you believe I even let her tag along on dates when I was in high school? (I had some very understanding boyfriends!) When you were on the stand, I could only think that had such a tragedy struck my family, that could have been my sister or me on the stand. You're a beautiful, courageous, and very poised young lady, btw. I know your sister still watches over you. As a doting big sister, I would let neither heaven nor hell come between me and my little sister.

 

[christine2448]

Maddie...please don't think I didn't believe you were on the jury. I think maybe I posted my statement wrong :slap: and I apologize if I offended you in anway. I wanted to direct people to your posts because I found them incredibily interesting and informative. I send you love and hugs for all that you have done! :blowkiss:

I too am in Metro Atlanta and my thoughts and prayers have been with the family and all involved, including jurors throughout.

Kindest regards,
Christine

Since the jury was never shown in the media, if Angel's Lil Sis posts again, she can probably confirm that I was actually on the jury. There were two white females on the jury. I'm the one with the dark hair (the other was an alternate), in the front row. Oh, no! Now I've really outed myself!

 

[maddie]

Maddie...please don't think I didn't believe you were on the jury. I think maybe I posted my statement wrong :slap: and I apologize if I offended you in anway. I wanted to direct people to your posts because I found them incredibily interesting and informative. I send you love and hugs for all that you have done! :blowkiss:

I too am in Metro Atlanta and my thoughts and prayers have been with the family and all involved, including jurors throughout.

Kindest regards,
Christine

Hi Christine,

I wasn't offended in the least. This community has impressed me with its kindness and its supportive nature. You people really are fabulous!

With the Internet you never know for sure who's posting. Since I know Monique is here and that her family hadn't been able to hear anything at all about what the jury was thinking (and if I were in their position, I would find that beyond frustrating), I realized she deserved to know the post was the real thing.

 

[christine2448]

Hi Christine,

I wasn't offended in the least. This community has impressed me with its kindness and its supportive nature. You people really are fabulous!

With the Internet you never know for sure who's posting. Since I know Monique is here and that her family hadn't been able to hear anything at all about what the jury was thinking (and if I were in their position, I would find that beyond frustrating), I realized she deserved to know the post was the real thing.

I think you sharing with her, and all of us, your story while serving on the jury is GREAT. We appreciate it! Insider information such as what you are able to share is rare. Thank for taking the time to share with Monique and all of us here at WS. This IS an awesome group of people! I love WS and all of the wonderful people I have met here. I hope you stick around an get involved in some of our other forums.

 

[maddie]

Thanks! I'll admit I had originally only intended to post about this trial, but since then I've been reading through the other topics, and I think I'm hooked! And as I said, the people here are wonderful!

 

[christine2448]

Thanks! I'll admit I had originally only intended to post about this trial, but since then I've been reading through the other topics, and I think I'm hooked! And as I said, the people here are wonderful!

LOL! It's easy to get hooked! WELCOME and ENJOY.

 

[Bobbisangel]

Thank you for your kind words. No, he was sentenced to just life (w/ parole). I do agree putting it in God's hands, but I also feel that by being given the opportunity to fight this is by doing just that.

No, I do not live in Canada. I live in Miami, FL.

I couldn't agree more. I don't understand why he was given Life w/parole though. The murder was premeditated I would think. He knew what he was going to do when he followed her and abducted her. Was that the only choice the jury had aside from finding him not guilty?

Won't you guys be able to attend the parole meeting? I think it is very rare when a person gets paroled the first time they go up for parole. If he refuses to admit that he murdered Shannon he won't ever get paroled. The parole board expect a person to admit what they did and to feel remorse about it.

Here in Washington state they don't have parole boards anymore. Now a person is sentenced to a certain amount of years and they have to do so many of them. My daughter's killer was sentenced to 27 yrs and it is mandatory that he do 20 yrs. So we are screwed in trying to keep him in there the full 27 yrs. That is upsetting to me. If the judge sentences a person to 27 yrs they should have to do the full 27 yrs. If we are lucky someone will do him in before the 20 yrs are over :bang: Take care.

 

[mysteriew]

Thanks! I'll admit I had originally only intended to post about this trial, but since then I've been reading through the other topics, and I think I'm hooked! And as I said, the people here are wonderful!

Maddie, I welcomed you in trials. I read your post there and really appreciate the info you gave. I hope you do stick around. This board is amazing in that you can not only find the most updated info in cases (ususally), but that you can also discuss the ones that interest you with others. Your experience as a juror in a high profile case would be very much appreciated and provide a nice balance.

Angel's lil sis. I hope that you will continue to come back to us. There is much that can be done in spreading info about the missing, keeping them in the media, and supporting families who come here. Your personal experiences could be very helpful to someone else. And we care- about your sis and about you too. Thank you for being here, helping to keep us updated and so forth. I hope that you are able to go forward in your own life now. You are living for two, so make her proud.

 

[maddie]

I couldn't agree more. I don't understand why he was given Life w/parole though. The murder was premeditated I would think. He knew what he was going to do when he followed her and abducted her. Was that the only choice the jury had aside from finding him not guilty?

The jurors were not told the sentence before deliberations, and were, in fact, told that we were not to concern ourselves with the sentence. After the verdict, the judge told us that the sentence was a mandatory life sentence. I don't know the criteria for "life" vs. "life without parole," but this case was based on circumstantial evidence, and that might have had something to do with the sentence. It's apparently the first conviction in Georgia in which there was no body and no crime scene. Legally, it's a huge problem not to have a crime scene or body, not only for lack of evidence, but for jurisdiction of prosecution. I would not be surprised to see that used as grounds for appeal.

The charges we were to decide were "malice" murder, felony murder, and kidnapping (the latter only if we found him not guilty of the two aforementioned charges). We found him guilty of the first two.

 

[angelmom]

The jurors were not told the sentence before deliberations, and were, in fact, told that we were not to concern ourselves with the sentence. After the verdict, the judge told us that the sentence was a mandatory life sentence. I don't know the criteria for "life" vs. "life without parole," but this case was based on circumstantial evidence, and that might have had something to do with the sentence. It's apparently the first conviction in Georgia in which there was no body and no crime scene. Legally, it's a huge problem not to have a crime scene or body, not only for lack of evidence, but for jurisdiction of prosecution. I would not be surprised to see that used as grounds for appeal.

The charges we were to decide were "malice" murder, felony murder, and kidnapping (the latter only if we found him not guilty of the two aforementioned charges). We found him guilty of the first two.

I think there is also something about the law when the crime was committed. We just had this discussion when BTK was sentenced...something about the maximum penalty under the law at the time. It was infuriating. The law has come a long way as far as LWOP in 11 years.