Yes. It hinges upon the lawyer's presentations and their PT
   Barnum abilities. I'm not a fan of the jury system either. I
   don't like it - it's flawed. It hinges on a questionable
   conceptualization of Reason - that of "the Reasonable Man" - or
   "Common Man". Well, these are common people.

   All evidence was circumstantial and yet they had to decide "what
   really happened". I was impressed that they were clear on the
   distinctions between whether he pulled the trigger, or was
   equally culpable by not acting "reasonably" - that is, as a
   synonym for "like a regular person would be expected to behave".
   It's not reason in the way that you know reason.

   More of my complaint about the English language using the same
   words for quite different concepts and getting them mixed up...
   happens _so so much_.

   I wish there _was_ a better way. But this ship is a floating
   ship whose planks have to be repaired carefully lest it sinks...
   no new land in sight and the current jury system is what we
   have.

   Monday when new cases are tried, will a new and better system
   replace it? No. All those cases will be tried with the same
   system. Will they next week change? Next year?
   Likelyhood=marginal percentage points.

   So given the system _as it exists_ - which is likely to *not*
   change anytime soon - given ALL THE FLAWS of the system being
   _as they are_ and not likely to change....

   ... this jury was as good as I've seen interviewed on TV.

   It doesn't mean one shouldn't shoot for change based on a
   different set of ideals. But... they don't change quickly. I
   hate always having to pull my head out of the clouds and put my
   feet on the ground. But this is one of those cases where I do.
   Police brutality against blacks isn't changing right now, no
   matter how eloquent anybody's words are. Magic fixers don't
   exist. Juries are fucked up. Words, drawings eloquent speeches,
   appeals to better politics... this doesn't change things.
   Swaying people towards agreement with you _can_ change things
   [hence the power of lawyers to juries in trials, or politicians
   looking for votes, or religious leaders with followers]... but
   even those changes are transient ... affects one person here,
   one person there.

   Real change is entirely different. I've never seen real change
   happen in my life so far. People are still the same.