John White was going to face justice – one way or another – according to one of the jurors who convicted him of killing a 17-year-old
white teen, Daniel Cicciaro Jr..
“If we let him free, Mr. Cicciaro [Sr.] will kill John White himself,” the juror shouted, according to another juror, who asked not to be identified.
As his aghast peers fell silent, the male juror paused for 15 seconds, then said, “If it was my son, I would do the same.”
At another point he added, “If there is a hung jury, I will go over to Daniel Cicciaro [Sr.] and apologize to him,” according to another juror.
It was shortly after 8 p.m., on Dec. 22, the fourth day of deliberations, when Juror 10 snapped.
Earlier, he had left the 16-by-18-foot jury room after punching a wall.
According to Juror No. 12, Richard Burke, the deliberations had begun with whether race was a factor in the case.
White’s defense had argued that the black construction foreman was defending his family from a white lynch mob spewing racial slurs. The prosecutors said
the shooting was not about race but about White grabbing an unlicensed pistol to go meet the teens in his driveway rather than calling 911.
The seven men and five women went around the room discussing their pasts.
Eric Snell, the lone black juror, started by saying “how he hates the ‘N word’ and what it means for his race to hear that,” Burke recalled. “But he was the
first one to say, ‘Yes, it’s not racial.’ ”
They all agreed and moved onto the second-degree manslaughter charge, where the deliberations turned messy.
While all 12 jurors raised their hand when asked if White had acted recklessly, they hit an impasse on whether his actions were justified. In order to
convict on manslaughter, both elements must be proven.
“From the beginning it was 10 to 2,” said juror No. 8, Donna Marshak, 63, of Miller Place. She and Francois Larche were the pair who felt White
may have been justified.
“In his mind, if he felt threatened, even if he was mistaken in his thoughts, he could not be found guilty,” Marshak said.
Most jurors were certain that White wasn’t justified.
“All [White] had to do was call 911,” Burke said.
When they came back from a dinner break, 11 hours into deliberations on Dec. 22, Larche – the more vocal of the two holdouts – had changed his mind.
“Francois said, ‘You know what? You’re right. He is guilty. I’m sorry,’ ” Burke recalled.
Marshak did not agree, but accepted the verdict.
“She said, ‘OK.’ ” She didn’t even put her hand up,” Burke said.
By JAMES FANELLI- John White was going to face justice – one way or another – according to one of the jurors who convicted him of killing a 17-year-old white teen, Daniel Cicciaro Jr..
“If we let him free, Mr. Cicciaro [Sr.] will kill John White himself,” the juror shouted, according to another juror, who asked not to be identified.
As his aghast peers fell silent, the male juror paused for 15 seconds, then said, “If it was my son, I would do the same.”
At another point he added, “If there is a hung jury, I will go over to Daniel Cicciaro [Sr.] and apologize to him,” according to another juror.
It was shortly after 8 p.m., on Dec. 22, the fourth day of deliberations, when Juror 10 snapped.
Earlier, he had left the 16-by-18-foot jury room after punching a wall.
According to Juror No. 12, Richard Burke, the deliberations had begun with whether race was a factor in the case.
White’s defense had argued that the black construction foreman was defending his family from a white lynch mob spewing racial slurs. The prosecutors said the shooting was not about race but about White grabbing an unlicensed pistol to go meet the teens in his driveway rather than calling 911.
The seven men and five women went around the room discussing their pasts.
Eric Snell, the lone black juror, started by saying “how he hates the ‘N word’ and what it means for his race to hear that,” Burke recalled. “But he was the first one to say, ‘Yes, it’s not racial.’ ”
They all agreed and moved onto the second-degree manslaughter charge, where the deliberations turned messy.
While all 12 jurors raised their hand when asked if White had acted recklessly, they hit an impasse on whether his actions were justified. In order to convict on manslaughter, both elements must be proven.
“From the beginning it was 10 to 2,” said juror No. 8, Donna Marshak, 63, of Miller Place. She and Francois Larche were the pair who felt White may have been justified.
“In his mind, if he felt threatened, even if he was mistaken in his thoughts, he could not be found guilty,” Marshak said.
Most jurors were certain that White wasn’t justified.
“All [White] had to do was call 911,” Burke said.
When they came back from a dinner break, 11 hours into deliberations on Dec. 22, Larche – the more vocal of the two holdouts – had changed his mind.
“Francois said, ‘You know what? You’re right. He is guilty. I’m sorry,’ ” Burke recalled.
Marshak did not agree, but accepted the verdict.
“She said, ‘OK.’ ” She didn’t even put her hand up,” Burke said.