Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror

By Hazel Thornton

Book Overview

More than two decades after serving as a juror on the high-profile seven-month murder trial People v. Erik Galen Menendez, Hazel Thornton updates her book Hung Jury with a new preface and a postscript essay of observations about the Menendez brothers' second trial. Don't miss NBC's "Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders" about Erik and Lyle Menendez.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1631681621
• ISBN13: 9781631681622
• Release Date: January 2018
• Publisher: Graymalkin Media
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Nice job!

Hazel Thornton was an ordinary juror on an extraordinary trial. She doesn't share the bitterness of some of the OJ jurors, probably because she was reasonably well-treated. Her employer continued to pay her full salary. She was free to go home and to work at her job during breaks. In a way this book is a testament to the stress imposed on an ordinary, upbeat juror, because Ms Thornton began keeping a journal to deal with her own pressures. Yet she comes through as a cozy female figure. I was surprised to realize she's only thirty-six as her attitudes suggested someone in their forties or even fifties. What comes through is that Ms Thornton admired Leslie Abramson (who's well worth admiring!) and was swayed by evidence of the brothers' abuse. Her description of the male comments are disheartening and I'm impressed with her ability to keep perspective. Wrightsman's comments, as a legal psychologist, add depth and context to Thornton's account. However, like most researchers, he focuses on juries as instruments in the justice system. We still need research on the jury experience itself. For instance, everyone gets concerned about bias -- but a juror's reasoning process can be altered by mood and social environment. And we could use some research on what jury service does to a juror's life.