A Juror’s Thoughts

I sat down for an interview with a juror from the Dixie Shanahan (Duty) trial.

Q. Are you aware of the decision handed down by Gov. Vilsack as his final official act while in office concerning Dixie Shanahan (Duty)?

A. Yes I am.

Q. Could you explain the action that Gov. Vilsack took?

A. Gov. Vilsack commuted her sentence. Originally she was sentenced to 50 years in prison and she had to serve a mandatory minimum of 35 years before she would be eligible to be considered for parole. Since her sentence has been commuted she still has a 50 year sentence but now she has to serve a mandatory minimum of 10 years before she is eligible to be considered for parole.

Q. How do you feel about Gov. Vilsack’s action?

A. According to the definitions of the verdicts that were given to the jury by the judge during the trial, I believe that we returned with the proper verdict of second degree murder. That being said, I also believe that some of the facts that were revealed during the trial warranted the action taken by Gov. Vilsack.

Q. Why was a second degree murder conviction the right decision considering some of the facts that were revealed.

A. The jurors were given written definitions of each possible verdict. There were several questions in each verdict that we had to consider and we had to answer, “yes” to all questions in order to arrive at a verdict. We were told to start with the first degree murder definition and go item by item to decide if this verdict was appropriate. If we found even one question that we answered, “no” to then we were to go to the next verdict until we found a verdict that we all agreed on. Once we were able to answer, “yes” to all questions within a verdict we were instructed to stop and let the clerk of the court know that we had reached a decision.

Q. What were your thoughts when you heard that Dixie Shanahan (Duty) was given a 50 year sentence and had to serve a mandatory 35 years?

A. I felt that a mandatory 35 year sentence was too long considering all of the circumstances. The judge had no choice in the sentence that he gave her because in Iowa if you are convicted of second degree murder you must serve 35 of the 50 year sentence before being eligible for consideration for parole.

Q. Did the jurors know that this would be the sentence?

A. No, we were only given the definitions of each verdict not the sentence that went along with them.

Q. Was it difficult being a juror during this trial?

A. When you are one of 12 people deciding the fate of another human being, it is very important that you weigh all of the facts very carefully. This is a huge responsibility to have. I couldn’t talk with anyone about the trial, couldn’t read any articles about it, and couldn’t listen to news or radio stories about it. It was very difficult.

Ryan 3rd hour