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October 2008
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Sitting in the courtroom

6:02 PM Thu, Sep 18, 2008 |
Deanna Morgan
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It seems like just yesterday this story broke. One year and 10 days after University of Arizona freshman, Mia Henderson,was killed 12 jurors have the hard task of deciding whether or not Henderson's roommate, Galareka Harrison, was the one who killed her. I wasn't able to sit in on the entire trial. We have too small a staff for that. I covered opening statements Friday of last week and today I covered closing statements. Outside of the facts of the story, I figured I'd give my perspective on what it's like to sit in on this murder trial. I say "this murder trial" because they're all different. They all stir different feelings. This one felt very cold. The courtroom wasn't packed, but I was lucky to get a seat. I tend to wonder what the families of the victim and defendant are thinking during trials. Most of Galareka Harrison's family sat sternly, never smiling, quiet -- probably still shocked by what's happened. Mia Henderson's family and friends smiled some, but not much. They were also very quiet. In fact, it was quiet in the courtroom even when court wasn't in session, except for some whispering here and there. One thing I noticed was Galareka never looked back at her family before, after, or during the trial-- not that she's supposed to. Jurors seemed to be very interested in everything that was said. They seemed to follow the testimonies and evidence very well. Should they have any questions, Galareka Harrison told the judge she wanted to be present when the questions were presented to counsel. Juror deliberations begin tomorrow morning -- possibly as early as 8:30am. It's anyone's guess how quickly they'll come to a verdict.




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