From the second link:
"As
Blind Justice
discusses in detail, jurors are manipulated in capital cases in many ways:

Their deeply held personal views on capital punishment are picked apart and used as a
litmus test of their ability to serve as member of the jury. Those adhering to beliefs
preventing a death sentence will be rejected, even though those beliefs are well within the
mainstream of public opinion."
I'm anti-death penalty and can appreciate the position of Blind Justice, but this statement seems illogical. If you reside in a death penalty state, it seems to me that there's nothing illogical or unethical about choosing a jury in this fashion. To eliminate the problem, the state needs to get rid of the death penalty law.
BBM: I agree...if it is a DP state and a DP eligible case, it is ridiculous to think the state should be willing to accept anti-DP persons on the jury. I do not understand how any thinking person can refer to rejecting anyone who states they are anti-DP as juror manipulation.
What I do see as manipulation is potential jurors who state in no uncertain terms during jury selection that they are anti-DP being pressured into saying they could set aside their personal beliefs and administer the very penalty that they have taken a stance against. If you hammer at a person long enough they will eventually say what you want to hear even if they do not believe it. That is what I saw happen during jury selection in the Casey Anthony case and that case is, IMO, a perfect example of what can go horribly wrong when a judge spends too much time trying to convince citizens who state honestly that they are against the DP that they must forego their beliefs, simply because it is inconvenient to continue searching for qualified jurors, i.e., those who do not need to be swayed one way or the other.
(Sorry for the rant but I am still angry about that particular injustice.)