NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and WeatherJurors on High-Profile Cases Reflect on Process

The jury in the Huguely case had a lot of evidence to sift through. Often, jurors in cases with hefty charges like murder can find deliberations a tough chore.

The trial itself can last several days, or weeks, and during that time, they cannot talk to anyone about the case.  We talked to a couple of people who served on other high-profile cases.

A lot of us are summoned for jury duty. It is a civic duty, and while many people are dismissed for a variety of reasons, those chosen face a job that can carry a lot of weight.

Michelle Hooper is one of 12 people who sent Eric Abshire to prison for life for killing his wife Justine and leaving her body on a back road in Orange County.

Hooper said, "I just wanted to be able to make the right decision. I was very serious about wanting to, um, you know, listen to all the evidence and make a decision that I could stand behind."

Michelle and her husband John came to Charlottesville to talk to us about the trial, which took several days and carried an emotional toll.

Hooper said, "I couldn't talk to my husband about anything and I always talk to him about everything so that was, uh, that was so hard."

Juandiego Wade also served on a murder trial with a lot of publicity. In 2004, he helped convict Andrew Alston of voluntary manslaughter for the stabbing death of an Albemarle County volunteer firefighter.

He says he can sympathize with jurors in the Huguely case. Wade stated, "Somebody is going to be negatively impacted by this and you know in our case someone had lost their life and so it's really emotionally draining."

Wade says he remembers when deliberations first began. "It's like okay, what's next and then you just really have to take it piece by piece - the orders that the judge has given you," he said.

Hooper and her fellow jurors deliberated three hours.  She said she remembers how she resolved her struggle with doubt. "You can doubt anything, especially when you have professionals bringing that to you and we need to use our common sense."

In the end, they both agree, these difficult decisions are imperative to our system of justice.

Wade stated, "You know that it's your civic duty to do it.  Even though it took a week or two of your time, that if you were in this situation, you would want your fellow citizens to do it for you."

Hooper brought up one other interesting fact about the Abshire case. She felt so strongly about the verdict and the sentence recommendation, she went to the final sentencing to make sure the judge gave Eric Abshire life.