Hi All,

I thought I'd catch you up on what's consumed my life for the last week and a half.  I've been on jury duty since last Monday, and was put on a case on Tuesday.  The trial started Wednesday and we finished this evening about 5:00PM and then we went in for the reading of the verdict, followed by a question and answer session with Judge Jose Villanueva, the prosecutors, and the lead detective back in our deliberation room at the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas court in the Justice Center.  It was a very long day.

We found our defendant guilty.  Of aggravated murder, no less.  Can you believe my first ever jury service is on a MURDER case?  I was thinking "what are the odds?", but wow…I was flabbergasted!  I don't know if it's been on the news at all or anything, but now that I'm allowed, I've started checking (we were told to stay away from the news, newspapers, or any other source of information we shouldn't see.  And although we weren't sequestered, I truly believe all of my fellow jurors were careful about making sure that we followed his instructions about not looking at the news.)   We found him guilty of aggravated murder in a shooting that took place at E. 53rd and St. Clair at the China House Restaurant and bar last May.

We couldn't even talk to each other about it, much less to anyone else, so I've just kind of been biding my time until I could.

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I also found a mugshot of the guy we convicted.  His name is Alan Bryson and this was the day he was arrested on another charge after the murder. (He's been in jail ever since):

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(We heard about this only tonight after the whole thing was over and we got a chance to talk to the prosecutors, the lead detective, and the judge.  They answered a lot of questions about things we couldn't solve and about things that weren't admissible during the trial.  It really did make us all feel better that we had made the right decision, especially for the two jurors who initially couldn't decide.)

What an experience and a privilege it was to do my civic duty.  I learned a lot, and actually came away with a good feeling about how (at least this part) of our justice system works.  I got home at 7:00 tonight, and I am pretty psychologically pooped like the rest of my fellow jurors.  It was a big decision that thankfully didn't include the death penalty, but he will get life plus six years…and he's only 22.

Okay…I'm done thinking about this for now…I have to give my mind a break.

Have a good night everyone, and sleep tight.  I know I will.