Poor reasoning by jury

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/12/13/peterson.case/index.html

This is not very recent, but it has always troubled me, and the problem it presents has not disappeared.

Scott Peterson is the man who was found guilty of killing his pregnant wife, and sentenced to death, on the basis of circumstantial evidence. I would guess he probably did it. But it seems to me that when there is only circumstantial evidence, the death penalty is not appropriate. Especially troubling is the reason some jurors gave for deciding on the death penalty in this case.


Three jurors spoke at length in an emotional news conference after issuing the verdict, saying Peterson's own lack of visible emotion during the trial helped convince them it was the correct decision.
"A big part of it was at the end, the verdict -- no emotion, no anything. That spoke a thousand words," juror Richelle Nice said. Three jurors spoke at length in an emotional news conference after issuing the verdict, saying Peterson's own lack of visible emotion during the trial helped convince them it was the correct decision. (Full story)
"It just seemed to be the appropriate justice for the crime, given the nature and how personal it really was, against his wife and his child," said jury foreman Steve Cardosi.
"A big part of it was at the end, the verdict -- no emotion, no anything. That spoke a thousand words," juror Richelle Nice said.

I have seen similar comments reported in other trials, sometimes in regards to people who were retarded or psychotic.
This makes no sense to me. Children, especially boys, in our culture are often taught not to express emotion. I have often seen little boys who have been hurt being told to be a man, not to cry. I saw a baby girl, old enough to crawl, but not even yet a toddler, whose when the mother was leaving, and the baby started to show unhappiness, the mother scolded her and insisted she smile. I felt so sorry for the baby. I myself remember one time when I was feeling really miserable, people kept telling how good I looked! I have seen a study that found that some women who insist they are never unhappy, and who give the appearance of being happy, have high levels of stress hormones, and increased risk of death. The researchers felt the women had learned to suppress their awareness of negative emotion so they were not consciously aware of it, but it still had negative physical effects. I have had this happen myself. But someone smart enough to serve on a jury, which decides the fate of other people's lives, should know that you can't necessarily tell how a person is feeling by their outward appearance. Unfortunately, it's not the only cases that makes one wonder about the competency of the jurors.