Monkey business
By Brandon Astor Jones
"The Simiadae then branched off into two great stems, the new world and the old world monkeys; and from the latter at a remote period, man the wonder and glory of the universe, proceeded." — Charles Darwin in Descent of Man, chapter 6
It has been said that jury duty is the highest social calling a citizen can aspire to. I agree; there is hardly a calling more complex than having to pass judgment on another human being. Those chosen for the task therefore ought to be of high moral character.
That ought to be especially so in the present political and social climate with regard to race, when the defendant is an African-American, and nine of the 12 jurors are Caucasian, and the trial takes place in Marietta, Georgia.
If there is an absence of moral character — in even one juror — then "Trial by jury, instead of being a security to persons who are accused, will be a delusion, a mockery, and a snare", according to O'Connel v. The Queen, September 4, 1844. Lord Denman would have gotten no argument from me for that observation.
Let me tell you about some of the sights and sounds to be found in a Marietta, Georgia, courtroom.
During my jury selection the man who was eventually selected as the jury's foreman, while undergoing defence pre-trial questioning, was asked if he had a particular phrase, motto or creed that best described his approach to life. In his first response, he said that he did not.
However, in what I suspect was to him a humorous afterthought, he went on to say words to the effect that, if he were to have such a motto, it would be something like "Why bother talking to the monkey when the organ grinder can tell you all you need to know?"
Under other circumstances, what he said could easily have been considered innocuous, but Marietta, Georgia, is one of the USA's most racist cities. When the juror made that statement, defence attorney Tony Axam (an African-American) was looking down at his notes so as to proceed with his next question. In that same instant, the juror looked over at the prosecutors, and all these — almost inaudibly — chuckled and exchanged very telling smiles with one another.
For the practised eye, it crystallised yet another moment of legalised bigotry, little more than a wink and a nod. As Tony Axam began his next question, the juror turned his attention back to him and the smile was, of course, gone by then.
Some who will read this will no doubt think that the juror's words were innocent — such readers are probably naive enough to think that people who burn crosses at night do so to keep their hands warm. When the other jurors raised that juror to jury foreman my so-called trial by jury became a "mockery" and a circus.
When he made his "monkey" remark, as I sat to be judged in the heart of Georgia's Bible Belt, I found myself wishing that I had a handful of peanuts to throw on the floor of the jury box. I am now reminded of Saint Bonaventure's words taken from the Conferences on the Gospel of John, "... the monkey: The higher it climbs, the more you see of its behind."
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He welcomes letters commenting on his columns. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G2-57, Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA. The Brandon Astor Jones Defence Fund is raising money to pay for Brandon's appeal against his sentence. If you can help, please make cheques payable to the Brandon Astor Jones Defence Account and post to 10 Palara Place, Dee Why NSW 2099. Donations to the Brandon Astor Jones Defence Account may also be made at any Commonwealth Bank, account No. 2127 1003 7638.]