By Lee Fox | Guest Contributor
Commentary
The Lindsay Clancy lone juror left Gayle King visibly stunned when she learned that the only juror who would not vote to acquit Clancy was a Black man.
“Whoa, I have to sit with that for just a second.”
That is what King, Oprah Winfrey’s longtime friend and a broadcast journalist for CBS News, said when she discovered the racial identity of the holdout in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy.
Those of us who advocate for individual liberty could not have cared less about the racial makeup of the jury. We wanted justice for everyone involved. Race was never a legal factor argued during the trial. Why, then, is the Left, as evidenced by King’s unsettled response, so fixated on the age and racial makeup of the jury—and so stunned that a Black man was the one person who insisted Clancy was guilty?
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Racial Division
It is well established that nonwhite Americans are expected to sign on to and support the Left as it uses race to divide Americans with baseless claims that America is defined by systemic racism in favor of whites.
One need only look at prominent Black conservatives and how they are treated by the Left to understand that the consequences of deviating from progressive narratives on race can be severe. The Daily Signal recently documented attacks on Sen. Tim Scott and Justice Clarence Thomas as two prominent examples.
When Thomas was nominated for the Supreme Court, the Left engaged in the politics of personal destruction and accused him of sexually harassing Anita Hill. Hill testified in graphic detail about comments she said Thomas had made. Thomas denied the allegations and was confirmed to the Court. The U.S. Senate’s official record lists his 1991 confirmation.
More recently, Joy Behar complained that Scott does not understand “the systemic racism that African Americans face in this country and other minorities,” adding that neither does Thomas and “that’s why they’re Republicans.”
The examples are endless.
The Lindsay Clancy Lone Juror
The attacks on the Lindsay Clancy lone juror continue. Some reports have highlighted domestic-violence allegations in his past. Allegations are not convictions, and they do not decide whether his judgment in this case was right or wrong.
One must admire the courage it takes for a solitary Black man to stand firm in the face of overwhelming pressure. Other jurors later described him in harsh terms. One said, “He was very arrogant. He really did not take anything that anybody said.” TODAY reported on the jurors’ criticism after the mistrial.
The jury’s role is not to follow the crowd. It is to weigh the evidence, apply the law and reach an individual judgment. That principle also runs through my earlier 4Liberty commentary on the presumption of innocence in the age of Flock surveillance.
Innocent?
Why is the Left so determined to see Lindsay Clancy found not criminally responsible for the killing of her children?
One juror explicitly said the trial was a turning point that could make life better for women:
“Even though we didn’t know what was going on outside of our little bubble that we were in, we knew that this was a turning point, and this would be something that could change something to make it better for other women in the future, for other families.”
That is what 65-year-old juror Paula Devlin told CBS Saturday Morning. Fox News reported that a legal analyst called that reasoning problematic because jurors are supposed to apply the law, not make it.
Never mind that jurors are supposed to decide cases on facts and law. Is making it acceptable for women to be held blameless for killing their children really a societal good?
The Lindsay Clancy lone juror did not deliver a verdict; the 11–1 split produced a mistrial. The Associated Press reported that the defense later asked the judge to prevent a second trial. The legal process is not finished.
The Victims
There is something horribly malicious about a jury deciding that a woman should be held blameless for the killing of her children.
Where was the empathy for her victims?
Cora, Callan and Dawson.
How can there be justice for them if these jurors get their way?
About Lee Fox
From U.S. Air Force veteran to performing musician to marketing professional and writer living in Southern California, Lee Fox brings a unique focus on liberty. Read his recent 4Liberty commentary on government surveillance inside public housing.
The views expressed in this guest commentary are those of the author.
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