PHILADELPHIA (PA)
City of Angels
Kay Ebeling
I wonder if we’ll find out some day there was jury nullification in the Philadelphia trial of Monsignor William J. Lynn and Father James J. Brennan. It only takes one juror to prevent a verdict, and God knows, the Catholic Church has enough attorneys and investigators to find one person on the panel who was vulnerable and would stymie any efforts to convict.
“I don’t know what the problem is,” Judge Theresa Sarmina said to attorneys after the jury reported it was hung on all counts except one. (Per Reuters today).
The judge spoke out of earshot of jurors, waiting until they left the room to continue their twelfth day of conferring. Because honest people in this country still go through the motions of justice, even when it’s obvious justice will not be carried out. Honestly, how much more evidence did the jury need? Read the best coverage of the Philadelphia Trial at Philadelphia Abuse Trial Blog by Ralph Cipriano.
Meanwhile, for another good summer read, go to Abused by Fr. James Robinson, a blog by Geoffrey Smith of Ireland, relating his experience testifying as one of the victims in the Robinson case in the UK in 2010. You remember Robinson, the priest who was located living on the lam in California, receiving generous paychecks from the Church while about a dozen victims were trying to experience justice in England?
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