First off, I was glad Koenig finally addressed potential anti-Muslim sentiment in this episode. There were so many blatant stereotypes described by Koenig that I feel it had to have played a negative role in the court for Adnan. For example when his teacher says "Can you imagine the things he has been taught about womens rights?", or the other teacher who said "Maybe my prejudice is showing through, but who in their right mind lets their daughter date a man named Adnan Musud Syed?"
These statements to me sound ridiculous, but I can see at the same time how jurors could have been swayed by the idea that Adnan's cultural upbringing played a role in his relationship with Hae.
It is also shocking how close Adnan was to being acquitted in the first trial. I feel like it really did just come down to a case of bad luck, especially because I think Gutierrez went with the only strategy she
could: blame the other potential suspects to give Adnan's guilt reasonable doubt. I think that says a lot about our justice system, and how things like prejudice and luck and timing can play a much larger role than facts and truth.
That being said, I think it is also clear how she was falling apart as the second trial went on. Koenig mentions that she had diabetes and MS, and I think that she was no where near in the right state to effectively deal with her cases by the tail end of Adnan's trial. I also agreed with the fact that although she was well intentioned, her execution of her points did not leave the jurors with an effective picture of what she was trying to prove. Maybe in her mind the inconsistencies and irregularities were so obvious, but her failing health and stress made it impossible for her to communicate that effectively to the court.
Finally, I want to talk briefly about Jay's pro bono lawyer. I wasn't too sure about it at first so I googled it, but basically the prosecutor set Jay up with a private practitioner, making it seem as of Jay was paid by the state for his testimony. That was a sketchy point that I feel the judge wrote off too quickly; was it that easy to assume Jay knew nothing about this benefit?
Overall I think this is one of my favorite episodes; it brought up several different threads of discussion that for once focus not on the supposed guilt of Adnan, but on interesting details of the case and real issues in the courtroom relevant to a greater discussion about the overall justice system.
Regarding Jay's lawyer: when I first listened to this episode in December, I told my dad about how Jay got a pro-bono lawyer thanks to the prosecution, expecting him to be shocked. But he told me this kind of thing happens all the time, no matter how many prosecutors deny it. Defense lawyers actually complain about that kind of thing all the time-- it's yet another way the prosecutors can hold power over the defense. So when I listened to the episode again, knowing what my dad told me, I thought that maybe the judge dismissed the idea that it was affecting Jay because if Jay knew other people who had to testify or go through trial, they probably had heard of this, so he probably thought it was completely normal as opposed to thinking he was receiving some benefit from the prosecution.
ReplyDeleteI believe you strike several valid points. Finally the danger of anti-Muslim sentiment was addressed in full and vivid detail (many of the statements being quite shocking and disturbing to hear, if this is what the jurors were thinking while they were watching Adnan's trial). It is something that cannot be entirely escaped or surpressed -- when the jurors said that they didn't factor in bias to their outlook on Adnan, I saw that as completely false. It is (unfortunately) an ingrained part of society when we look at and judge a person. With the extreme notions that the jurors associate with a Muslim like Adnan (or even just someone of his culture, since the jurors were slightly more adamant when they said religion didn't factor into their decision), such as what Adnan may know of women's rights from his upbringing, it is little wonder that Adnan was found guilty.
ReplyDeleteI also think what you point out about Adnan nearly being acquitted in the first trial to be quite important. Adnan, despite the odds against him, especially in the preceeding paragraph, was in favor. There was enough doubt being cast on the whole case. But then, Gutierrez goes too far, and the judge puts her down. It is such a violent blow against her that even the jury gets wind of it, which of course is a tremendous blow against Adnan in their eyes. It is bad luck, perhaps, but I think it also had a lot to do with Gutierrez's ineffectiveness, which I feel cannot be excused by her ailing health. Even though this attorney is supposed to be highly recommended in the field, if she is being plagued by health issues, that is not someone you want to have defending you (especially when you are trying to avoid a life sentence) in an environment that requires a lot of attention to detail and proper strategy. She may have had good intentions as you say, but at the end of the day, what matters is how effectively she communicated the message of Adnan's innocence to the jury: a message that, for all reasons considered, simply did not reach the jury effectively enough.