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A woman was thrown off an Old Bailey jury after complaining her fellow jurors were treating a murder trial as a "joke".
The juror claimed that the six women and five men were ignoring the judge's instructions, refusing to let her speak and laughing as they discussed the case in a private room.
The trial involved two men accused of stabbing a man to death in front of his girl- friend during a drugs raid at a Brixton tower block.
The woman, who cannot be identified, sent a letter detailing her concerns to Judge David Paget, QC, only half an hour after the jury was sent out to begin its deliberations last week.
The other 11 jurors were ordered to stop deliberating while her allegations were examined. They apologised for what had happened and told a court official: "We are in a no-win situation."
In a move that many lawyers believe to be unprecedented, the judge then called the entire jury into court after a three-hour delay and gave them a series of questions to answer about the claims.
All denied they were treating the trial as a joke and insisted they were taking full account of the judge's instructions.
The judge accepted their answers and agreed to the woman juror's request to be discharged, while allowing the case to continue.
Today the 11 jurors unanimously convicted Chesham Walters, 29, of murdering Rastafarian Luthan Leandre, 35. He was given life. Jermell Josephs, 20, was cleared of murder.
Both were found guilty of robbery, and Josephs will be sentenced next month.
Reader views (2)
A close friend of mine was a member of the jury. He believes that the woman in question clearly had an agenda. He maintains that the rest of the jury were decent, honest people, who treated this case with the utmost respect.
- Sammy, London, 27/07/2009 21:30
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Sounds like a simple case of bullying.
- Trunk, US, 27/07/2009 17:27
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