“Racist” Juror Sentenced to Life (Well, For Now)
A Brooklyn woman called to serve jury duty in the death penalty trial of New York city mob boss Vincent Basciano may not have been being entirely honest when she wrote in her jury questionnaire that the people she least admired were "African-Americans, Hispanics and Haitians," and that police officers are "lazy."
It isn't uncommon for potential jurors to put offensive statements in their questionnaire in hopes that will get them disqualified from the trial, and Juror 799 was removed from the Basciano case.
However, once presiding Judge Nicholas Garaufis concluded juror number 799 was deliberately trying to shirk her civic responsibilities with her answers he slapped her with an unusual sentence: indefinite jury duty.
"She's coming back [today], Thursday and Friday -- and until the future, when I am ready to dismiss her," Garaufis declared in court, after blasting the juror's questionnaire as "an outrage."
No word yet on whether she'll try to appeal.