thenine

Spent the last 4 days on jury duty. It was kind of a surreal experience all in all.

The case was the state vs two brothers. They were accused of sexual assault charges against their younger cousins. The alleged incidents occurred 10+ years ago; when the young boys would have been 5-6 y.o. Gross.

Alas, for the criminal justice system. The state, having the burden of proof, dropped the ball something awful. There was NO evidence presented that would allow the jury to convict either defendant on any of the 5 counts against them. Leaving us no choice but to find them not guilty.

So, I'm left feeling like a total dick for judging two men "not guilty" based on the lack of cold evidence. Meanwhile, I'm pretty damn sure in my heart and gut that they did something to those poor boys. And there isn't a damn thing to be done about it. Makes me feel a bit sick. And doesn't inspire much confidence in the justice system.

I just feel so bad for the family involved. It's horrible. They have so much pain. It was hard to listen to everyone testify and find out how clueless even the parents were about it.

Sigh. So, much pain.