Hello, I'm Michael Swaim and welcome back to Tales from the Pit.

This week I got to speak to Hazel Thornton, the Number Nine Juror from the Menendez Brothers Murder Trial,

to discuss the trial and her experiences serving on the jury.

This is part of a planned trilogy about the Menendez brothers.

The next episode will be an interview with Bob Rand, who is their official biographer,

and was a primary source for the recent

law and order special about the case.

For now, let's talk to Hazel.

I very much appreciate Hazel coming by and sharing her experiences.

But first, the comedic intro.

The jury system evolved in either the 10th century in ancient Rome or the 12th century in Europe, depending on how

you slice it.

At either time, the punishment for a guilty verdict, often by our standards, range from barbaric to being flayed alive

depending on how they sliced it and I bring this up because along with democracy

private property and looking directly at eclipses, the system of justice

by which a jury of your peers, or European male landowners, determined your fate in front

of a judging body is one of the oldest societal

traditions that remains intact to this day. It's the shark roach of systems and one we often take for granted but you know who

doesn't? Lawyers, prosecutors and defenders because the system as old as this one as

you might expect has been game to hell by now.

I mean, it's shark roaches and ladders up in here.

Doesn't make a lot of sense.

...