Good Jurors, Bad Laws

After convicting Occupy activist Cecily McMillan of felony assault on a police officer on May 5, twelve jurors walked into the light and discovered that they had, perhaps, condemned the twenty-five-year-old to turning thirty on Rikers Island. “Most just wanted her to do probation, maybe some community service,” said one juror to the Guardian. “But now what I’m hearing is seven years in jail? That’s ludicrous. Even a year in jail is ridiculous.” The trial was a travesty, as has been reported elsewhere: the judge was prosecutorial, the officer's history of violenc ewas disallowed in court, and the crux of the case--whether Cecily had intentionally elbowed Officer Grantley Bovell in the face as he cleared the park of Occupy activists on the movement's six-month anniversary--was supported only by a blurry video.