Insult to juror missed the point

I am stunned by the disparaging and disturbingly un-American Fence Post letter by Bill Hurlbutt of Lincolnshire that recklessly characterizes the lone holdout on the Blagojevich jury as a "pawn," whose purpose was to "undo any possible justice or penalty."

Serving on a jury is a constitutionally sacred duty that too many citizens attempt to evade. For two months, without fail and without complaint, this juror, a 67-year-old grandmother, made the long commute from the western suburbs. Instead of being ignorantly insulted, she deserves nothing but praise for her devoted and indispensable service to our judicial system, the greatest ever devised by the mind of mankind.

Ironically, this juror, whom a fellow panel member observed as being remarkably conscientious when it came to examining and considering the evidence, is being attacked by Mr. Hurlbutt, who has no evidence whatsoever to substantiate his "pawn" accusation.

In this admirable juror's own words, reflecting on the jury's deliberations: "(While) some people saw black and white ... I saw... shades of gray. To me, that means reasonable doubt."

If you are an American who believes in our system of justice, you are duty-bound not to vote for criminal conviction if you find reasonable doubt after analyzing all the evidence.

Mr. Hurlbutt, however, thinks this tenet makes us the "laughingstock of the world" in any case in which the outcome does not correspond to his prejudices. Indeed, in his concluding sentence, he makes a laughingstock of himself by equating Rod Blagojevich to Al Capone.

Thorn Randall

Libertyville