2 Draper Jurors Have no Regrets
SEMINOLE (AP) – Two of the jurors who convicted House Speaker Dan Draper and Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon of vote fraud say they have no regrets about their decision and feel justice was served.
“The people can say what they want, but we did our duty to the best of our ability,” said Harvey Young, a Seminole insurance agent who was foreman of the eight-man, four-woman panel.
The jurors concluded the nine-day trial late Thursday, finding Draper guilty of one conspiracy and 10 mail fraud counts. Fitzgibbon was convicted on one conspiracy and eight mail fraud counts, and was found innocent on one count.
“We took the facts presented and came up with a decision that I am totally satisfied with,” Young said. “I have no regrets.”
Another Seminole juror, Roberta Coble, said the jury was unanimous in its verdict. One juror said the panel actually needed only two hours of the seven hours it deliberated to reach a verdict, the rest of the time being used to study U.S. District Judge Frank Seay’s instructions and the evidence.
“We made our decision based on the law and evidence presented,” Mrs. Coble said. “I believe they got due process.”
The retired business woman said the jury took its time reaching a verdict because “you had two defendants involved, a number of counts against them, and it would have been unfair to have hurried.”
Mrs. Coble said the jury was in a better position to decide the case than lawmakers and other observers who have questioned the verdict in light of trial testimony reported by the media.
“Anytime anyone sits through the whole thing they are going to have a different impression than someone who gets the information in bits and pieces,” she said. “We did our duty to the best of our ability.”
Both jurors said they were not unduly influenced by testimony in support of the defendants by Gov. George Nigh and U.S. Rep. Wes Watkins.
“I respect these people and their positions, but they were just like any other person testifying to me,” Young said.
“They are just people like you and I,” Mrs. Coble said. “The only reason they have the power and position they do is because you and I have elected them to office.”
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