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Tyco Juror Would Have Voted to Acquit

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Tue Apr 06, 2004 at 11:04:12 PM EST
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Ruth Jordan, the now famous Juror No. 4 in the Tyco trial, says she did not flash the "ok" sign in court and she would have voted to acquit on all counts. Her statement contradicts other jurors who have spoken out and said she agreed to find the defendants guilty a few two counts. Ms. Jordan, in an interview to be broadcast on 60 Minutes II tonight, describes the letter she received that led to the declaration of the mistrial:

She had read a letter she received in the mail from a stranger criticizing her supposed unwillingness to consider the possibility of the defendants' guilt. She recounted that the typewritten note — which she said was "disturbing," but "wasn't threatening" — stated that "Dennis and Mark are huge criminals, and how could I have failed to see that or something like that." The note, she said, asserted that "it was very sad that I had brought disgrace on my family and it would be there for generations." The letter, like an anonymous telephone call the previous weekend, had come after The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post broke with journalistic convention and published her name in their accounts of the jury turmoil.

Like some of the other jurors, Ms. Jordan also criticized the prosecutors for dwelling on the defendants' lavish life styles:

"I feel very strongly throughout this whole process that even ugly people deserve justice. Even people who have bad habits deserve justice. People who have repellent lifestyles. Even greedy people — if they are greedy. Even people who have so much they don't know how to spend it, and still want more. Even they deserve justice when it comes to whether or not they committed a crime."

Nor did she buy the testimony of Tyco directors:

"I did not have confidence in the directors' testimony," she said, explaining that they all had a vested interest in blaming the defendants because — as the jury was told in court — they themselves are facing a raft of civil suits.

We are very impressed by Ms. Jordan. She should be commended, not criticized, for refusing to bow in to pressure and for sticking to her convictions. She deliberated in good faith and came to a different conclusion than the others. She didn't think the Government proved criminal intent. She did her job.

Near tears, she said she would not change her mind about the case if she could serve on the jury again. "If I had voted against my conscience and said, `All right, they're guilty,' when I don't believe it, then why can't anybody else do the same thing?" she asked. "And that's an absolute destruction of what the jury system is about."

Ms. Jordan is 79 years old, sharp as a tack, a former teacher and lawyer. In response to being called a "wealthy Manhattanite" she says:

"I live in a one-bedroom apartment in a rent-stabilized building," she said. And contrary to news reports that she had taken a chauffeured limousine to the courthouse each day, she said that most of the time she rode the subway. "I get the half-fare" as a senior citizen, she said. (She said she had used a car service for only two days, after hurting her hip toward the end of the trial.)

We can't believe the newspapers published her name during deliberations. We think it's awful that her life is being examined as if she's the one on trial. We hope Ms. Jordan continues to hold her head high. She's earned that right.

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