Right outcome, wrong method

[4_marks]

While I am glad that someone has been spared capital punishment, I am troubled by the Colorado case which threw out the conviction because someone on the jury read from the Bible. Apparently, God’s Word is off limits in the American judicial system. That would explain the decisions coming from judges over the past few years.

 

[Werner]

That is easy.
People should be judged by the laws of the land, not by the bible.
In case we start judging them by the bible we will soon have to begin with stonings and burnings like sharia countries do.
Would you really want that?

Werner

 

[demolitionman65]

That is easy.
People should be judged by the laws of the land, not by the bible.
In case we start judging them by the bible we will soon have to begin with stonings and burnings like sharia countries do.
Would you really want that?

THis is one of the more obscene generalizations I have read in some time.

So, Werner, since I read my Bible, I automatically am tilted towards stonings, et al in judging others?

 

[Zooey]

demolitionman65:

THis is one of the more obscene generalizations I have read in some time.

So, Werner, since I read my Bible, I automatically am tilted towards stonings, et al in judging others?

Thank you for saving me the trouble of scolding him myself. You did it better>

 

[patg]

I’m not sure what the law is BUT if jurors are not allowed to refer to any physical document except the presented evidence, then reading from the bible (or anything else) would be clearly illegal.

 

[demolitionman65]

I’m not sure what the law is BUT if jurors are not allowed to refer to any physical document except the presented evidence, then reading from the bible (or anything else) would be clearly illegal.

Perhaps. But answer me this: If the juror had not consulted his Bible directly, but instead simply relied upon his previous knowledge of Scripture to inform his decision. . .and this somehow got out, isn’t it at least possible (if not likely) that the same reversal would have taken place under the much abused separation of church and state clause?

Any way it is cut, it comes back to an assault on Christian virtues in the marketplace and public square.

 

[chicago]

demolitionman65:

Perhaps. But answer me this: If the juror had not consulted his Bible directly, but instead simply relied upon his previous knowledge of Scripture to inform his decision. . .and this somehow got out, isn’t it at least possible (if not likely) that the same reversal would have taken place under the much abused separation of church and state clause?

Any way it is cut, it comes back to an assault on Christian virtues in the marketplace and public square.

That’s a very good question. After all, similarly, wouldn’t any Catholic who takes the pope’s and bishops’ call for preferring life imprisonment to imposition of the death penalty also be excluded from the jury at vior dire?

 

[patg]

demolitionman65:

Perhaps. But answer me this: If the juror had not consulted his Bible directly, but instead simply relied upon his previous knowledge of Scripture to inform his decision. . .and this somehow got out, isn’t it at least possible (if not likely) that the same reversal would have taken place under the much abused separation of church and state clause?

I doubt it - all sorts of personal opinions come out in the jury room. This incident sounds more like a simple violation of evidence rules than a deep left wing conspiracy.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

First let me be the loan dissent on this thread.

I am not all that sure that this is the right outcome but it doesn’t really bother me that much, the overturning the death penalty that is.

Also I am not so sure that this was the wrong method. See the rest of my reply below.

demolitionman65:

Perhaps. But answer me this: If the juror had not consulted his Bible directly, but instead simply relied upon his previous knowledge of Scripture to inform his decision. . .and this somehow got out, isn’t it at least possible (if not likely) that the same reversal would have taken place under the much abused separation of church and state clause?

I do not think this would have caused the same reversal.

From what I heard of the decission written by the judges to overturn the death penalty the issue was not that a juror consulted his Bible nor that he used that to make his decission. What the issue they had was that these verses were discussed by the jury. The judges were concerned that these Bible verses may have convinced a person to vote for the death penalty when they would otherwise have not voted for it.

So I can see the judges’ point. You can not use facts not in evidence in the decission to vote for or against the death penalty.

The jury went to far when they included a discussion of Bible verse in their deliberations.