In her appeal, Maxwell’s lawyers said prosecutors scapegoated her because Epstein was dead and “public outrage” demanded that prosecutors pin blame somewhere.
The lawyers also said the government waited too long to bring charges, and that Maxwell was immune under a 2007 non-prosecution agreement between Epstein and federal prosecutors in Florida.
In addition, Maxwell’s lawyers said the trial was tainted because one juror failed to disclose he had been sexually abused as a child.
Prosecutors believe the appeal is meritless.
Idk, that one actually seems pretty cut and dry. It’s hard to stay objective when the crime seems extra-heinous to you
I’d argue that’s exactly who we want on the jury. Who would know better exactly how heinous the crime is than someone who lived through it?
You don’t see the issue with someone who has personally suffered the exact type of crime that they are judging?
Maybe just a little bit of bias towards conviction “ just in case”
I forget sometimes that the function of a jury is to establish the fact of guilt and nothing else. Deciding appropriate punishment is not within their domain, that’s for the judge.
In that context I do agree with you and I suppose I retract my earlier statement.
By that logic, no woman could ever sit on a jury of a rape case
No, by that logic, no woman who has been raped could sit on the jury. Being a victim of a specific crime is an extra level of negative association, and are often looking to punish people, overlooking evidence that exonerated them.
Do I think Maxwell is innocent? Absolutely not. Is there a chance for a mistrial here? Definitely a chance.
The “joke” is that virtually no woman hasn’t been sexually assaulted.
Why? I’m not following
The “joke” is that virtually no woman hasn’t been sexually assaulted.
What about people who married someone who was abused? Or has a child that was abused? Or a niece or nephew or parent or sibling or friend or…
Gonna be a pretty small jury pool!
I’ve served on a jury. There’s no convenient, private moment to raise your hand, in the middle of a group of strangers, and say “yes, sorry, I was raped as a child,” and such a person shouldn’t be expected to air their greatest traumas in a public setting.
You’re right. That’s a competent attorney’s job to ask it.
I was never abused, but raping kids still seems extra-heinous to me
It hits much different when you have personal trauma. Take your disgust and multiply it by a factor of 1,000. Then double it.