Opinion ID: 78401
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Jury Deliberations During the Penalty Phase of Jefferson's Trial

Text: We pause briefly to describe an incident that allegedly occurred during the jury's deliberations over Jefferson's sentence, because it is relevant to Jefferson's cross-appeal. Relying on deposition testimony taken from a juror fifteen years after the trial, Jefferson claims that during the deliberations, when the jurors were each offering their opinions on an appropriate sentence for Jefferson, an older, female juror selected and read a passage from the Bible. Berry Dep. at 7-9. The juror who testified to this incident, Richard Berry, could not recall the name of the female juror in question and was not familiar with the passage she read, but believed that it was approximately a paragraph in length. Berry Dep. at 9-10, 11, 13, 18-19, 21. Although the juror read the passage out loud, the jurors did not discuss the passage, and it had no impact on Berry's sentencing decision. Berry Dep. at 20-21. Berry was unclear whether the juror made any comments about the passage when she read it, but it appeared to Berry that she was looking for divine guidance and justification for her position on Jefferson's sentence. Berry Dep. at 10, 19-20. One of Jefferson's habeas attorneys testified that he and another attorney interviewed at least five of the jurors from Jefferson's trial. Ertel Dep. at 24. None of the jurors besides Berry recalled the incident concerning the Bible. Ertel Dep. at 24-25. Jefferson's counsel were unable to locate the juror who, Berry said, had read from the Bible. Ertel Dep. at 24.