so what do you think of our trial system
huh
i don't really know what to think about it
but i do know that they're not
you know they'll give somebody twenty five years and they'll serve what eight months
yeah
have you noticed that
yeah i have noticed that that that
that kind of stuff does seem to happen quite a bit um
uh-huh
yeah i don't i don't i don't even know what to do about that sort of thing
and uh
but i think trial by jury is it's a lot better than leaving it up to one person
yeah i think trial by jury is very good i actually they said i think the tape said something about changing uh
changing it such that or leaving sentencing up to the judge only i think that's actually good idea
so it
leaving it up to the judge
well just just sentencing not the trial itself
oh okay
um because i think that that that that judges are probably more informed as to what is
yeah well right because
how serious the nature of the crime is and stuff like that and
the general public doesn't know that if if if they're sentenced to life that they won't serve life of course the judge will know when he'll be up for parole and all that so yeah
right
right so he'll be able to give them the maximum sentence in some cases there
okay
i must not have understood the whole thing because i didn't hear them say that but yeah
oh yeah they they they give that as as an example of something that
uh-huh
that might happen
but i think if
the entire trial was left to one person i've got a four year old that you can hear but um
oh yes
i don't know you people too many people can take vendettas out on people
right right
and everything
or just you know there are two people who say well he just looks guilty um
right but that's true
that's actually that's a wonderful way to get off jury duty you know
someone says to you you know when they ask you if you uh if you want to be on you know when you're called called for duty say oh yeah i want to be on jury duty because i can spot a guilty person a mile a way
yeah
they quickly let you off jury duty i hear um
right because they they know that you're biased
oh yeah that that that that that's that's the way it works there um anyway i think that probably for for having it what about you know about being unanimous
i mean that's sort of a strange case because i wonder what happens when eleven people thinks someone's guilty and one person doesn't one person thinks that that they're not guilty and they can't decide for hours unless they convince that one person you know
does it have to be unanimous
i believe it does have to be unanimous actually
well then they consider it a hung jury i guess i think and then they uh
have a retrial or do they
yeah i think they either have a retrial eventually or or they call it a mistrial or something i haven't been to law school so
uh-huh
no me neither
so i don't know much about that i just know that um i wonder because sometimes i think about it actually i think well what if i were that one person and i was completely convinced that that that that this person wasn't guilty you know
well you don't have to be really convinced that he's guilty it's just if they can't prove he's guilty because
right uh but i mean what if eleven other people are saying one thing you know and you're you're the one person saying the other thing
yeah
i would hate to be that person because you would be uh
you know would you give in
you know bombarded by all the other eleven jurors
yeah saying
to you know just say he's guilty so we can get out of here and go home
yeah
yeah
yeah
i wonder about those things you know or even if it's you know i i guess if they were to say well it doesn't have to be unanimous what's the cut off number seven five you know six six you know how do you decide
um-hum
is it you know how do you decide what number of people have to say that
i know it's too bad one of us don't have some knowledge on this huh
but but um
i don't
i just hope if i ever go to court that they all
unanimous on not guilty well you've seen like these TV movies Kyle i'm talking hush but uh
yeah
well how they'll you know the through the whole movie you think this person's i don't know but one thing that i thought was pretty weird is how somebody can't be trialed tried tried uh excuse me twice for the same crime
yeah i've never quite understood that um
well i just think it's it's weird because i've saw well of course soap operas i'm an soap opera fanatic this one guy had uh framed himself to make it where which he really did kill the person but then he
okay
set it up where it looked like somebody was trying to frame him and he was on trial for it and then you know it came out that he was being framed so then he was found not guilty and then just directly after the trial they found out he really was guilty and he couldn't be tried again
right and they can't do anything about it
yeah because
yeah i often wonder about that i wonder if
if maybe you know i i i don't i don't i don't know the law on that but if they have new evidence can they can they try retry or can they you know bring you back
no i don't think they can you know i saw it on LA Law too
oh actually that's true i've seen the same thing on LA Law as well
yeah about that woman
yeah well so i wonder and then i wonder why that you know there there must be some sort of deep seeded reason for that you you know something like
yes but yes
something like well you can't be tried for the same trial because that would bias the the the the jury or something or you know
right and i'm sure that you know it's the lawyers
yeah
uh after the uh defendant defending
the defendant's lawyer and the prosecuting attorney i'm sure the prosecuting attorney could make a real good case if he you know knew all the details of the defendant's you know case
in in of the defense in advance
yeah well well there's also the issue of for instance you can't um
you can't uh very often you can't um
when someone is is on trial for something you can't bring up prior convictions
right like if they're on trial uh trial for rape you can't have any you can't bring up the sexual assaults and stuff or whatever
which
right that's completely beyond me i mean that's just
yeah i know if it's related they should be able to
i wonder yeah
yeah i mean if this man is is accused of raping someone then i think that something like sex you know the fact that he sexually sexually assaulted someone is a crucial bit of evidence
yeah
right yeah
that adds to the fact and i i i
but they're not allowed to do that
i i often i never understand you know having again having i'm sure there are some deep seated reasons you know to i mean often times i wonder about rules like this and i'm sure that that that there are some reasons
well that one does seem that one does seem out of it though
for good
because it's it
well you're allowed to show their character do you know what i mean and if it shows that their character's you know
right
capable of lesser assaults like that and stuff
then right then then
right that that lead led to that
then they should be closed yeah i mean that's what i think but i don't um
but i don't quite understand
tell you what we need to do is go into law and then we'll be able to or vote do you vote yeah do you vote
do i vote
oh yeah i vote yes
okay we you'll help out a little bit
yeah
putting the right people in the office that's a lot to do with it too a lot uh a lot of the politics will pass laws and stuff that the um general public wants so they'll be revoted and all that
oh yeah
well that's that's that that's very true but then again often often times they don't as well often times they don't uh they just go you know they're you've got people like who are uh
right
right
who are you know lame lame ducks and they sort of don't care about anything and just want to go ahead and
right they sit on the fence so
well
oh i talked about this the other day
they won't say yes and they won't say no to just certain issues just because they don't know what the public wants or the public's split on it
that's true that's true i often i mean that that like you say that's another discussion but i have had that discussion before as well where you weren't i i wonder about the politics politics of it all so
yeah
right because most of it is politics even in the courts
yeah
well even in the courts you well well they're all appointed
right
i mean that's even another another issue you know should should should judges be appointed you know and or or um often times i look at friends we had uh a serial killer around here who killed eleven women
uh-huh now was that the um green some guy that was attacking women jogging
choking oh and and choking them yeah uh his name is Arthur Shotcross
no
well did they have a T V movie about him
i'm not sure if they had one yet but i'm sure they will um because he was he was on some sort of news special though he was
he was uh
he killed because he was just on trial like maybe a year ago
well well how was he killing the women
um he was strangling some of them
were they jogging on a
oh no usually they were prostitutes actually
oh okay
because he was he was actually this is a very sad case the man was let out he was in prison for um sexually assaulting two children
oh see that's what i mean then they let them out and then they're able to do it again
right he he they let him out and then and then he wasn't he wasn't allowed back in the town where he had done this so he came to our he came to Rochester instead and they they they realized later he he'd killed about between eleven and twelve women at least
i think my sister is married to a guy from Rochester
and
oh really way up north here huh
yeah
yeah way up north well uh i'm originally from Kentucky
oh okay still way up north sort of um
so yeah i i'm i was up north too but uh that's one of the reasons i think judges should be the ones to sentence people because they do know you know if you sentence them to three life times then they probably won't get out on parole
yeah
won't get out exactly yeah this this this man was sentenced to i think like three life times
but he was you know it was just horrible because um
his his his trial was you know was it was it was televised and this and that and what they were pleading was um they were pleading insanity
uh-huh
i mean it's clear to me the man is insane and should just be locked up for life
well of course but they just need to do something with him he needs to be annihilated
right i mean i don't know what you do with them at that point if you're that crazy but what what struck me is you know they had a psychiatrist testifying for hours and hours
and by the end i realized that maybe it would have been better if they had
it wouldn't have been a jury of his peers but if they had a jury of psychiatrists instead
to sort look at it you know i mean i don't think it's feasible but it would be an interesting thought if you're
yeah
well it's supposed to be a jury of your peers they couldn't have a a bunch of psychotics up there
no or right right exactly but give them a bunch of psychotics but at least have a have a have a bunch of psychiatrists you know just sort of look at him and decide i mean there was the issue of
uh-huh
did they have a trial by jury for him
what's that yeah they did
huh well
they had a regular trial by jury for him and and
