![]() ![]() “It’s another way to humanize the individual to show this is the environment they lived in. Murdaugh’s could also lead to disdain for his wealth and privilege, which prosecutors have argued helped him hide embezzling from clients and legal partners. But, she added, bringing jurors to a large property like Mr. Simpson case were allowed to see a trophy room in his house where the former N.F.L. ![]() Valerie Hans, a law professor and jury expert at Cornell University, said jury visits can help to humanize defendants or show a different side to them, such as when jurors in the O.J. Vanoy said she found the visit helpful in understanding the physical distance between points in the school that had been discussed at trial. “Your gut is to say, ‘Oh my God, did you see X?’ But you can’t. “You cannot naturally process your emotions in the moment,” she said. Vanoy said it was a unique experience to walk through and process such a disturbing scene without speaking to her colleagues. Jurors are typically not allowed to speak with each other about the case until deliberations begin, and Ms. “But in going, I think it was helpful because it brings the case to life.” Vanoy, a vice president for diversity and inclusion at a health care company. (She was among a minority of jurors who voted for the former.) Vanoy said the visit was disturbing but important as she considered whether to sentence the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, to life in prison or to death. Melody Vanoy was among the jurors who toured Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which had largely been left untouched since 14 students and three employees were killed there in 2018. the trial of a Louisville, Ky., police officer who was charged over the fatal Breonna Taylor raid and, perhaps most famously, the O.J. One juror could be seen standing in the door of a small feed room, where Paul Murdaugh was killed.īut the visits can also help jurors visualize a scene, and jury visits have been held in several high-profile cases, including the sentencing trial of the school shooter in Parkland, Fla. ![]() Jurors spent roughly an hour on the property, walking between the dog kennels and a nearby shed and examining the outside of the main residence, about a 500-yard drive away. The jury visit on Wednesday morning was to be followed by closing arguments from the prosecution and defense, after which 12 jurors will begin deliberations. Murdaugh carried out the crime in a failed effort to conceal his longtime embezzlement of millions of dollars. Murdaugh, 54, his family’s legal influence in the region and the fatal shootings in June 2021 that left his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their younger son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, dead near the property’s dog kennels. Testimony concluded on Tuesday after more than 75 witnesses took the stand over about five weeks. On Wednesday, jurors weighing the fate of Alex Murdaugh, the prominent South Carolina lawyer charged with murdering his wife and son, traveled past the “no trespassing” signs to see where the double murder took place, one of the last stages of the trial before they begin trying to reach a verdict. The vast estate is as idyllic as it is secluded, its fishing pond, expansive farmland and four-bedroom home shrouded by trees and a winding driveway that keep it all out of view from the highway. ![]()
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