Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 47.djvu/393

Rh The second day he tried to remember all that the witnesses said, and its bearing on the case, and at night was very weary and went to bed early, but was wakened and disturbed by the other jurors. The third day his head ached, and he could with difficulty follow the testimony. His appetite was poor and he was drowsy. The fourth day he was astonished to hear opposing evidence; statements which had been made by apparently honest men were affirmed to be false. He was shocked, and his first impressions and personal interest were disturbed. His head ached, and he felt weak and nervous; his appetite and sleep were broken. The fifth day he gave up all efforts to follow the testimony, or to understand what was said. He felt stupid and excessively tired. The other jurors began to complain of the food and the sleeping rooms, and had several quarrels with each other on religious and political matters. Foolish stories were told, and card-playing and personal boasting filled up the evenings. They all manifested disgust at the trial, and longed for the end, and declared they would never be caught in a similar case. On the sixth day the case was closed. The arguments of attorneys and the judge's charge seemed very dull and wearisome. He felt sick, looked forward to a release, and his interest in the case had died out. He could not understand why so much was said that was contradictory, and why the judge should not tell them the real facts of the case. In the jury room no discussion took place: each one voted "guilty" or not "guilty"; and when they found the majority was "guilty," most of them followed the majority. Two of the minority became angry, and refused to vote for over a day, except in favor of the prisoner. They gave no reasons for their belief, only saying that they were right and the rest of the jury were wrong. Finally, one of these men was accused of having some personal object in voting for the prisoner, and after a short altercation he changed, and the other man followed him, and the verdict "guilty" was agreed upon.

In my experience as an expert witness I have frequently noted the change of feelings in a moderate-drinking juror. If the prisoner was an inebriate, and the crime associated with excessive use of alcohol, the first two days of the trial all moderate-drinking jurymen manifest strong feeling for the prisoner. Later, when they become tired, dull, and debilitated by the surroundings, all this feeling changes to severity and desire to punish, no matter what the evidence may be. All natural sentiments of sympathy and kindness are replaced by the coarser, lower motives, as the brain becomes disordered and weakened. If any of the jury have had a similar weakness or committed a similar crime, they usually urge most severe punishment, and especially after they lose their mental vigor in the bad air of the court room. In some