Prometheus 6

The jury that included a guy who said

"If we let him free, Mr. Cicciaro [Sr.] will kill John White himself," the juror shouted, according to another juror, who asked not to be identified.

As his aghast peers fell silent, the male juror paused for 15 seconds, then said, "If it was my son, I would do the same."

...is not unique. Not even in its inclusion of a really confused negro.

The affidavits signed by Juror A, Juror B, and Juror C, Huffman, say that three other jurors made racially charged comments about McCowen and blacks in general repeatedly during deliberations.

For example, Juror A, a black woman, complained that Juror Y, a white woman, said it was obvious that McCowen bruised Worthington during a struggle because "when a big black guy beats up on a small woman," such injuries would result. Juror A said Juror Y also made snide remarks about her cornrow hairstyle and questioned her educational background.

At one point, she accused the white juror of racism, nearly resulting in a fight , the affidavit says . The two other affidavits corroborated that account.

Juror B, a white man, said in his affidavit that another white female juror described McCowen as "the big black guy" and expressed fear that the defendant was staring at the jury.

Huffman, who is white, said in her affidavit that a black male juror made racist comments about blacks in general. He told her that his brothers had married white women, that he hung around with whites, and that he did not like blacks because "look at what they are capable of," Huffman said.

McCowen was convicted by a jury of 10 whites and two blacks after seven days of deliberations during which jurors complained of being deadlocked.

In addition to alleging racial bias, the three jurors who filed the affidavits said members of the panel appeared to ignore some of Nickerson's instructions. During lunch and cigarette breaks, for example, jurors discussed their deliberations with alternates who had been kept separate to prevent that, the jurors said in the affidavits.

The white male juror also said in his affidavit that he was bitterly upset when, after the verdict, Nickerson privately thanked jurors and informed them that they could have remained deadlocked if they had chosen. Both he and the black female juror said they would not have changed their votes to guilty if they had known they could continue to hold out.

"I slammed my hand on the table and said I should not have caved in, but the judge told us that we had made the right decision and that the defendant would appeal," the male juror said in his affidavit.

What is unique in this case can be summed up in a single word.

Affidavits.

This is the first time I've heard of such a case actually being pursued.