Friday, July 6, 2007

It's Friday -- must be a guilty verdict

Anyone surprised Donna Moonda was found guilty in the plot to killer her husband along the Ohio Turnpike? Judging by the day of the week, you shouldn't be.

My experience has been that jurors hate to be sequestered on a weekend, and that they'll usually come back with a guilty verdict on Friday afternoon rather than give up their off time. That's not to say that this group of 12 didn't come to the right decision or in some way made their verdict with some sort of agenda, but hang around the courthouse long enough and you'll see lawyers, court officers, and media out in the hallways betting that the verdict will be done by Friday's close of business. By today's wagers, the Moonda verdict came in right on schedule.

I guess there are some who thought Donna Moonda might get off with the Cynthia George defense: "yeah, I talked to the killer before and after the murder but since you can't prove what we talked about, you can't prove that I was in on the plot." It worked for CG, at least on appeal. Still, unlike Damian Bradford's burst of a conscious, CG's lover, John Zaffino, is maintaining his innocence while stuck behind bars. Had JZ rolled over on CG like DB did on DM, CG and DM might be working on a two-girl act for the sequel to the musical "Chicago."

Instead, CG is free to roam Medina County and beyond with her family while DM is now facing a possible death penalty in federal prison. Hard to believe the triggerman gets a definite term with parole while the wife convicted of hatching the plot is the one facing the grim reaper.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm up for jury duty this week. This is disheartening, that I'll convict on Friday just to go home. I'm hoping I don't make the cut at all.