Laws spell out what society believes is right and wrong. Sometimes people disagree with the law enough to break it - protesters who block a building, pacifists who avoid the draft out of a heartfelt objection to war. Still, most people who break the law do it out of rage or greed or desperation. And the vast majority of us are willing to do what the law books say, except where it comes to doing 70 in a 55 zone. In the Carruth courtroom, the question has flesh and bone and blood.
Jurors have to give life and death equal weight.
And, of course, the jury might decide that Carruth is innocent. But jurors have to be able to cast the vote for death if the law leads them there. And so each person in the box faces the same question. Most said the death penalty doesn't clash with their religious beliefs. One man worried that the death penalty is biased against minorities.