“The jury, passing on the prisoner’s life, may in the sworn twelve have a thief or two guiltier than him they try.”
Not much happened in that little town. So just about every serious crime that was committed or alleged got all the in-depth coverage a rookie reporter such as myself could muster.
I would sit, sometimes for most of a day, watching local prosecutors and defense attorneys, often not much older than I was, question potential jurors about whether they knew anything about the case, anything that might cause them to prejudge the matter.