Partially impartial

By Nancy Black

You hate getting it but, then again, you kind of hope you get picked when you do. I’ve been chosen to make that drive downtown many a time. Always a prospective juror, never a member of the actual jury.

It’s a good thing. I am way too opinionated. And I absolutely love any type of criminal show available for viewing these days, so I think I’m a really good armchair criminologist, which is probably not ideal for a jurist. My love of the law started with the old, evening line up of crime shows in the 70s: “McMillian and Wife,” “Perry Mason” and, of course, “Columbo.” I loved Peter Falk! Enter “Charlie’s Angels” and, well, I’ve been a fan of catching bad guys (and girls) ever since. 

Being on a real-life jury, though, doesn’t sound so much fun anymore. After following the State of Texas vs. Amber Guyger trial non-stop since it started, I’ve noticed my blood pressure rising. I can only imagine what the jury must feel. And I, personally, want to see all their faces when they come out of being sequestered in Dallas and find out what is going on in the justice system in America! They are in for quite the shock!

I would like to think I could keep an open mind if seated on a jury. The citizens of Dallas who are on the highly publicized trial should be applauded for their service to our county. They came back with a verdict of guilty, which not only eased the minds of the Jean family but also created a collective sigh of relief across the country. If you enter someone’s home, regardless of their race or your rank, and shoot them dead in the heart, you will, ideally, be convicted of murder.

I eat ice cream all the time. It’s one of my comfort foods. But ever since the murder of Botham Jean, I have found myself making sure our house’s doors are locked before I head back to my bedroom to watch “Forensic Files.” Yes, I’m dramatic. And, yes, I make sure my doors are locked all of the time. But it’s that double-checking instinct that kicked in once the details of this crime were revealed that stick out in my mind. I actually think of Botham Jean, a man I never met, when I turn the deadbolt.

And now I am going to go enjoy a big bowl of Blue Bell ice cream in his honor! It may not be as much as the jury did for him, but it’s the best I can do. Those jurors, on the other hand, deserve free Blue Bell for life!