About two weeks ago, the prosecutor in the Raynella Dossett-Leath murder trial asked the judge to investigate one of the members of the jury that "hung." I've written before about the issue of public perceptions of hung juries. I truly believe the term "hung" refers to what most people would like to do to a juror who votes against the majority in a high-profile murder trial.  I recommend that prospective jurors read this page from www.knoxnews.com (Knoxville News Sentinel), if you doubt there are risks to serving on a jury.

I'm truly frightened by the public vitriol directed against both the defendant and the jury in this case. Take a look at the comments submitted to the above webpage. Doesn't this sound like a "change of venue" situation?

Not only is the public convinced Ms. Dossett-Leath is guilty of murdering her second husband, they're convinced she murdered her first husband, too. Then there's the fact that the county prosecutor in this case had to step aside because of a conflict of interest. (Why didn't his conflict of interest prohibit him from indicting this woman? Or maybe the same "special prosecutor" who handled the trial also led the grand jury, too.) Even a probate judge has prohibited Ms. Dossett-Leath from inheriting her husband's estate on the grounds that you can't profit from a crime (in this case a murder that may be a suicide and certainly is not a crime for which Ms. Dossett-Leath has been convicted).

Fortunately, last Thursday, Judge Baumgartner declared the jury investigation closed. He found there was no juror misconduct. It's interesting to note that this WBIR blog post also states that Ms. Dossett-Leath is accused of killing two husbands and has what must be a mugshot as well. The rhetorical purpose is clear.