Brothers

As of this writing, I have just completed three days

as a juror on a disturbing case involving the sexual abuse

of a 6-year-old girl, allegedly by her stepfather. The trial

ended in a hung jury, 11 guilty, one not guilty. To be sure,

it was not an easy case to listen to, or decide. After

reporting to the Judge (the first time) that we were 10 to 2,

we were instructed to go back and re-examine our

individual positions and see if we could come up with the

necessary unanimous vote, either guilty or not guilty. We

went back to the jury room, but hours later ultimately

reached an 11-1 impasse.

What troubled me, and most of the other jurors,

was that the holdout repeatedly said that he was 60-70%

sure the defendant was guilty, but could not bring himself

to convict. As Catholics, we are schooled at an early age

about the nature of being conscious, and the necessity of

having a "well formed conscience". What I learned from

this otherwise disappointing experience was two lessons.

One is that besides having a well-formed conscience, we

also need to have "the courage of our own convictions" to

make a real difference.

The other is the real difference that one vote can make.

God Bless,

Phil LeBlanc

Grand Knight