Widmer Jury May Have Overstepped

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports a juror in the Ryan Widmer murder trial has stated other jurors may have acted inappropriately in determining Mr. Widmer's fate. The juror alleges that other jury members did their own fact-finding as to how long it takes a body to dry after a bath. In response to this news, defense attorneys for Widmer supplemented their motion for a new trial with an affidavit from the juror.

Simply put, prosecutors and defense attorneys are responsible for presenting the evidence at trial. Then, a judge or jury makes a determination based on the evidence presented as to guilt or innocence. The jury should not do its own evidentiary analysis, as the juror alleges happened here.

Mark Godsey, a UC Law professor and the director of the Ohio Innocence Project, thinks what this juror has brought forward should be enough for a new trial to be granted.