Life or Death

When I was called for Jury Duty last month, it turned out that all the potential jurors were being considered for one trial--a murder case with burglary as an "aggravating circumstance." One by one, each juror was interviewed in the presence of the judge, attorneys for the defense and the prosecution, various court officials, and the defendant himself.

I'm not usually tongue-tied, even in public speech, but this setting made me quite uneasy. As you can hear, the words just didn't want to come out. And, stealing glances at the defendant when I could, I knew I did not want to sit in judgment of him.