Juries and the King case

The jury in the Rodney King case has been accused of racism for finding the police innocent. We still seem not to understand that the life experience of most of that jury prevented the jury from understanding the life or perceptions of Mr. King. The one Hispanic woman among the jury members understood and tried mightily to counter the weight of the dominant mind set of the white members. She failed and therein lies the lesson for all of us.

Overt racism can be addressed, but until we find ways not to lock out the experience of the underclass from the body deliberating verdicts involving that class, justice will fail. Patricia A. Keefe, Oklahoma City

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