If people could read minds, we would all know what the jurors in the Alvaro Castillo trial are thinking right now. Of course, we can’t. And neither can the jury ever really know what Alvaro Castillo was thinking on August 30, 2006, when he shot his father, videotaped the aftermath, and then went to Orange High School nearby and fired into the building.

According to TruTV/CNN reporter, Beth Karas, today the jury requested a replay of two videos made by and of Castillo that day, apparently in their attempt to discern whether or not he knew right from wrong when he committed these crimes. They also asked to take with them into their deliberations copies of several psychiatric reports. So, we know that one thing the jury is thinking is that they had better examine the evidence very carefully before reaching a verdict.

As I said yesterday, the jury heard a none-too-veiled threat from the prosecutor that a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity verdict would be viewed critically by “the state,” meaning not only the prosecutor who represents the state but also the entire population of the State of North Carolina. Any juror who did not take that warning to heart is foolish. The fact is that juries are universally condemned when they find a verdict that flies in the face of public opinion.

Ms. Karas also noted today that the highly educated jury (six graduate degrees among them) had chosen as foreperson someone who had once worked in a state crime lab.

This also tells me that the jury is concerned about how the verdict will ultimately be received.

At first I thought this choice of foreperson indicated a law-and-order sort of jury personality. While this may be the case, I soon realized that the choice might also be evidence that the jury felt threatened yesterday.

If you are concerned that a not-guilty verdict of any sort will subject you to public outrage, what better choice of a person to stand up in court and read the verdict than someone well-versed in the criminal justice system?

The more I think about what the prosecutor said to the jury yesterday, the more foolish I think it was. He had no need to antagonize an intelligent jury in that way. My guess is that he has underestimated these people.