I don't mind it. All part of the give-and-take, checks-and-balances system we have set up. I like knowing that a jury's decision isn't necessarily the end-all-be-all decider of someone's outcome. People are stupid.
I remember my roommate got called for jury duty on this trial for a woman who embezzled $30,000 from the business she worked for (which might seem like a lot of money, but frankly is nothing in the grand scheme of the business world). Anyway, when they were going through jury selection, they were asked if they would be comfortable sentencing her to as much as 20 years is she is convicted of the crime. Everyone basically nodded as if to suggest that seems reasonable. My roommate interrupted and was like, "uhh... are you people out of your minds?! 20 years?!? It's not like she stole $30 million." They promptly dismissed him from the jury pool.
|