FROM NO RUNNY EGGS: TIRE-SLASHING JURY AT 9-3 WHEN MC CANN CUT HIS DEAL

If there was any more proof needed that Milwaukee County DA E. Michael McCann didn't want to prosecute the thugs who slashed tires on the vans rented by the Republican Party of Wisconsin to get voters to the polls on Election Day 2004, the text of a letter sent to McCann by one of the jurors should suffice.

The juror, serving on a jury for the first time, walked away disillusioned at best with the process. With the jury at 9-3 in favor of conviction and moving toward a unanimous verdict, McCann pulled the rug out from under them.

Here is the text of the letter sent to McCann as read by Mark Belling on his Friday afternoon radio show:

Dear E. Michael McCann,

My name is (BLANK). I was one of the 12 jurors on the tire-slashing case. After just turning 18 this past summer, I was very honored to be summoned for jury duty on such a high-profile case. I feel that serving on a jury is one of my fundamental rights as a U.S. citizen. The experience has left me totally disgusted with our justice system in Milwaukee. I endured a lot of personal sacrifice to serve on this jury as the spring semester of college started in the middle of the case, so now I'm behind in my classes.

I was shocked that after only 7 1/2 hours of deliberation, the case was taken out of our hands by you and plea-bargained away. When we began deliberation, it was 7-5 favoring not guilty; but by the time we handed the judge the note stating that we were hung, the vote was 9-3 favoring guilty to being party to a crime.

What ever happened to sequestering a jury? I feel you never gave us the chance to deliberate properly. I feel the plea bargain you gave these individuals is a total travesty of justice, and I hope you have trouble sleeping at night thinking what crimes these individuals will do next.

This cross-posted at Texas Hold 'Em Blogger.