Serving on a Jury

Some people see serving on a Jury as a good thing.

However, for me, "Judge not lest ye be judged" is supremely important in my life.

How can I judge another and cause harm to them (such as incarceration or execution) and remove them from their families possibly for life with out Judging them?

So, from this point of view I realized I could not in good conscience serve on a jury. In my own case I would have no problem shooting someone who was hurting or killing another innocent person. That likely wouldn't bother me because justice would be served there.  However, if I was asked to sit on a jury I did not witness the crime. Also, witnesses are notoriously wrong. Look at how many people have gone to jail who are innocent. It is at the very least 25% of all supposed criminals are completely innocent of what they are convicted of.

I cannot live with incarcerating an innocent man or woman. That's just me. Morals and ethic actually mean something to me. I value each and every human life. So, I cannot convict anyone unless I saw them commit the crime in person. But, that's just me.

So, when I'm called to Jury Duty I tell them the truth. I will not convict anyone unless I personally saw them commit the crime myself. This is how I can sleep at night still at 68 by having ethics.

Also, after going through a divorce and custody battle for my then 5 to 7 year old daughter in the mid 1990s I have realized justice really doesn't exist even in our legal system. Everyone who went to court and was involved in that legal battle was wounded and justice was not served for me, my daughter, or even for my ex-wife in court. So, this even more shows me why I am ethically right to tell a judge or district attorney or defense attorney that if I haven't witnessed the crime I cannot convict anyone.