Better late than never.
Nine members of the jury that convicted Occupy Wall Street protester of felony assault of an officer have signed a letter asking that the judge not sentence her to any prison time.
As the jurors point out, the damage is already done, and they did it.
"We feel that the felony mark on Cecily's record is punishment enough for this case and that it serves no purpose to Cecily or to society to incarcerate her for any amount of time."
The judge is unlikely to give a FF, however.
Judge Ronald Zweibel has not shown sympathy for McMillan; he sent her to Rikers without bail after the verdict (and denied her appeal), denied a request to unseal evidence that may have cast more doubts on Officer Bovell's credibility, imposed a gag order on McMillan's attorneys, and on more than one occasion acted angrily towards her supporters in the courtroom.
How these jurors could have reached their conclusion of felonious intent "beyond a reasonable doubt" based on video like this is, well, beyond reasonableness.
They probably relied on the testimony of officers, which, by definition, given what people should know now about police testimony, is not enough to convict anyone of pulling the tag off a mattress, let alone a felony.
May 6th, 2014.
From: the jurors on the Cecily McMillan case.
To: Judge ronal Zweibel
Re: Petition to the court for leniency on sentencing
Dear Judge Zweibel:
We the jury petition the court for leniency in the sentencing of Cecily McMillan. We would ask the court to consider probation with community service. We feel that the felony mark on Cecily's record is punishment enough for this case and that it serves no purpose to Cecily or to society to incarcerate her for any amount of time. We also ask that you factor in your deliberation process that this request is coming from 9 of the 12 member jury.
Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles Woodward, Juror #2