Monday, a jury convicted Richard Allen of killing two teenage girls in the Hoosier city of Delphi on Valentine’s Day 2017. Carroll County and the state of Indiana owe the 12 jurors their gratitude.
The judge, Allen County Superior Court’s Fran Gull, and jury in the case came from Allen County. All made sacrifices to participate in the trial, which began Oct. 18 in the hometown of slain teens Liberty German and Abigail Williams, where Allen, 52, lived and worked as a pharmacy technician.
Jurors and alternates heard 23 days of testimony, viewed dream-haunting images, and deliberated for 18 hours. They were sequestered from the public and press in a hotel, 95 miles from their homes, families and jobs for nearly a month. They were not allowed to watch television, read newspapers or use social media.
A jury of one’s peers is a right guaranteed to all Americans. Those who participate as jurors have an important job. In Allen County, more than 31,000 cases are filed in criminal courts every year.
“Simply put: If people are unwilling to participate, the system will not work,” Gull told The Journal Gazette Wednesday. “The residents of Allen County know this, demonstrated clearly by the extraordinary numbers of them who appear for jury service when called upon.”
Two years ago, in a podcast entitled “Doing Your Civic Duty — Serving on a Jury,” Gull said Allen County is “light-years ahead” of other jurisdictions in its rate of residents who show up for jury duty. She also said our county is the “envy of courts,” not just here in Indiana, but across the country.
“Our show rate of 80% to 81% makes me very, very happy,” she said. “Most courts are lucky to see 25% to 50%.”
Gull believes Allen County’s exceptional jury duty participation rate is partly a result of the court system’s simple and streamlined process. Years ago, Allen County purchased software that allowed jurors to text local court officials with questions and concerns, one of the first jurisdictions in the country to offer the service.
“We recognize that the wave of the future is technology, and we’re trying to make it easier for people to serve and make it a more pleasant experience,” Gull said of jury duty. “And I think we’ve done that because when I do talk to jurors, they are surprised that it isn’t what they expected — even in murder cases, not exactly a pleasant experience, but a rewarding experience and something that people can feel proud of having done for their community.”
For her efforts to improve communication between jurors and court officials, Gull was awarded the National Center for State Courts’ G. Thomas Munsterman Award in 2015, presented annually to states, local courts, individuals or other organizations that improve jury procedures or innovate their operations.
Every year, nearly 32 million U.S. citizens receive jury summonses. Just 8 million report for duty, and 1.5 million are selected and impaneled, according to the National Center for State Courts. Jurors take a solemn oath to perform this vital civic responsibility, and in doing so, they directly participate in the democratic process of the governance of the nation.
Our judicial system is only as fair and just as the people willing to serve as jurors. When community members are chosen to hear the facts in a criminal or civil case, deliberate among themselves, then cast votes to decide the fates of other members of the community, that’s democracy in action.
