It’s quite possible a 20 year old man was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison simply because the jury was tired and hungry, the man’s lawyer says.
Jurors deliberated until 10pm without food or access to medication after the trial of Devonte Walker in Orlando, Fla., according to an appeal filed by Walker’s lawyer.
A courtroom bailiff who was watching over the jury said jurors were ‘grumpy and hungry’ by the end of the night, according to court filings.The jurors stayed so late because they were deadlocked and trying to reach a verdict that night. When 10pm rolled around, they went home and returned to deliberations the next day.
Prosecutors were dismissive of the defence claim, but the judge, C. Jeffery Arnold, took it seriously enough. He has stepped down from the case, fearing he might be called as a witness. And the chief judge in the county, Belvin Perry, chastised Arnold for his treatment of the jurors.
‘If a juror is going to be in this courthouse after six o’clock, we feed them, if they want to be fed,’ Perry said.
Do you think the jurors made the decision b/c they were hungry, frustrated? Should the judge issue an appeal?
