Dec 26, 2007 11:35 am US/Eastern
Juror: I Felt Pressured To Change Decision
Says She Didn't Feel Right After John White's Conviction
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) ―
-
-
John White was convicted of killing of a white teenager during a racially charged encounter outside his home.
CBS
A second Long Island juror who convicted a black man of shooting a white teenager in a racially charged encounter now says she felt pressured by fellow jurors to change her vote to guilty last weekend.
The juror, Donna Marshak, told the New York Post in Wednesday's editions that she was so distraught when the verdict was read that she turned her face away so she did not have to look at 54-year-old John White as he was convicted of manslaughter in the Aug. 9, 2006 shooting.
The verdict came after 12 hours of deliberations Saturday, the fourth day in which the jury considered defense arguments that White feared a "lynch mob" had set upon him when a group of angry white teenagers gathered outside his home in Miller Place, a predominantly white community on eastern Long Island.
The Post had previously reported that another juror, Francois Larche, decided to change his vote to guilty after Suffolk County Judge Barbara Kahn told jurors after 8 p.m. Saturday that they would have to return on Sunday if they did not reach a verdict.
Marshak, a 63-year-old white retiree, said the decision by Larche, who also is white, to change his vote left her as the lone holdout. She said she did not believe she could change the minds of any other jurors.
"I haven't felt right since the trial ended," she said. "I definitely have some regrets about not sticking to it." Marshak said she was heartsick afterwards.
"I was driving home and I just had to stop," she told the newspaper. "I started crying."
Jury forewoman Maureen Steigerwald told Newsday over the weekend that she thought the jury did a "very careful, conscientious deliberate job."
White, 54, was convicted in the shooting of 17-year-old Daniel Cicciaro Jr.
He remains free on bail until sentencing, when he could face a prison term of five to 15 years. White has said he will appeal.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Gotti Jury Signals Deadlock Yet Again 17 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Comments