MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A group of jurors in a recent Shelby County death penalty case say they engaged in “deep soul-searching” that may have forever altered some of them.
Forty-three-year-old Calvin Rogers, along with another person, was charged in the Sept. 17, 2010, robbery and murder of a 21-year-old New Yorker. Victim Ameer Althaibani had gotten engaged and traveled to Memphis to spend time with relatives before he was to return home for his wedding.
Althaibani and his two cousins had taken the wrong exit off the interstate and stopped at a gas station in Binghamton when they were confronted by Rogers and his cousin, Scott Lee.
Prosecutors said Lee fired the fatal shot, but they argued that Rogers also fired at the vehicle. Under state law, Rogers could be considered criminally responsible for the death even if he didn’t fire a shot.
Jury foreman Dominic Desiderio told The Commercial Appeal (https://bit.ly/1fODqzD) that after closing arguments, the jury deliberated only about an hour and a half before one of the jurors began to shake and insist she didn’t understand what was going on.
She was sent home and Commercial Appeal business reporter Tom Bailey, an alternate, was picked to serve in her place.
Deliberations began anew, taking three days and more than 13 hours before they reached a unanimous verdict of guilty to six charges, including first-degree murder.
During the penalty phase, jurors learned that Rogers had prior convictions for second-degree murder and aggravated assault, although they were not told the specifics.
Desiderio later said that news was surprising. He also said jurors were affected by testimony from the victim’s father, seeking justice for his son, and from the defendant’s disabled adult daughter.
“When someone who is the daughter of anybody looks at you and says, ’Please don’t kill my Daddy,’ that’s just extremely powerful,” Desiderio said. “For myself, that did not sway any decision that I came to, but that was just brutal.”
The youngest juror, 21-year-old Kevin Wilson said he went to the bathroom and sobbed.
Rogers faced a possible death sentence, but in the end jurors agreed on a life sentence.
Desiderio said testimony that Rogers was mentally disabled was a key factor in deciding against the death penalty.
Juror Chuck Plesofsky said a day after the sentencing, “I just didn’t realize I would feel emotionally sad. I’m not the kind of guy who feels gushy and tears up, but I guess we all reached deep inside ourselves and it affected us.”
Desiderio said he expected the trial to be an inconvenience but did not realize how much it would affect him and his fellow jurors.
“I don’t think there was one juror who didn’t break down and cry at some point,” he said.
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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, https://www.commercialappeal.com
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