JNS BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Jury Composition In The Brian Flowers Murder Case

Photo By John Hoff

Mainstream media have extensively covered the Brian Flowers murder trial but I, for one, find most newspaper and television stories lack enough details to keep me satisfied.

Let's face it, some folks want EVERY NUGGET OF INFO THEY CAN GET about certain stories. Knowing the blogosphere could contribute something, even on a story covered well by the other media, I ducked into the Flowers trial yesterday during a break in State of Minnesota vs. Larry Maxwell. With a sense of entitlement, I took a seat in the row marked "For Media Only."

Wow, I thought. Now there's a jury that looks like it will put Brian Flowers away for a long, long time...

Why, it almost reminded me of...the jury in State v. Maxwell!

While a prosecution witness testified about blood evidence tracked all through the house and 3639 1st Ave. S, and images flashed on a screen of--among other things--a smashed television set used as a murder weapon against a child--I wrote down the vital vitals about the jury and alternates.

There are fifteen of them, which means three are alternates. They consist of eight white males, five white females, one young female who looks (to me) Hispanic, and one young female who looks (to me) Asian or Amerasian. Here are their descriptions and, of course, the nickname designations readers have come to expect.

# The Close Sitter. You've heard of Seinfeld's "close talker?" Well, this guy is a close sitter. A college aged male wearing a red shirt, he doesn't have a regular jury seat but a chair placed so close to the witness stand and the evidence projector screen that he will surely be scarred for life from these proceedings. Voted most likely to wake up screaming during proceedings.

# The Tennis Fan. A white woman in her early 50s, she moves around more than the other jurors. As questioning takes place, she glances back and forth at the verbal exchanges. Sometimes she will even look over in ANTICIPATION of a response, as though looking for an expected reaction. She crosses her arms, uncrosses them, shifts in her seat. Voted most likely to annoy her fellow jurors by talking more than other people.

# Mr. Grim. A white male, not overweight for his age but just very LARGE, probably Scandinavian. His arms are VERY crossed and his expression is GRIM. If, moments after Flowers is convicted, (I'm calling it, here) there were a request for volunteers to thrash Flowers within an inch of his life before sending Flowers off to prison, Mr. Grim looks like he would step forward and teach that little punk the meaning of pain.

# The Rogue. A blonde woman whose age shape-shifts in front of me. First I think early 30s, but then I think she could surely pass for late 20s. There are deliberate and extreme blonde highlights in the hair above her forehead, reminding me of the X-men comic book heroine "Rogue." However, it takes more than individualized hair to hang a jury: "Rogue" is on the side of good, not evil. The murderous Mr. Flowers will not escape the wrath of Rogue.

# The Bearded One. A man in his 50s with an immaculate gray "Colonel Sanders" style mustache and beard. Looks like he may care deeply about things like lawn care and picking up litter. Voted Most Likely To Participate In Civil War Re-Enactments Playing The Role Of Stonewall Jackson. If not for the EXTREMELY grimmy nature of "Mr. Grim," this guy would be Mr. Grim.

If Mr. Grim volunteers to thrash Flowers within an inch of his life, The Bearded One would step in and take leadership, make sure the thrashing is ORGANIZED so it lasts a while.

# Miss Respectable. Possibly in her late 40s, but she could easily pass for mid to late-30s. Dresses like a person with money and status. Her white sweater--possibly cashmere--is long sleeved so as to cover even the bottom of her palms, and has a turtle neck, too. She wears an understated dark necklace. I thought I saw a wedding band before she moved her hand. Elegantly thin but not anorexic, with smartly-coifed short dark hair, she appears to be wearing a look of suppressed horror.

But other times, there are hints of other expressions: loathing and contempt.

# Miss Casual. A young female who seems Hispanic, she leans back into her chair, almost using the back of the chair for a pillow. She is more casual than any of the other jurors. She looks like she is trying to chew gum without making it obvious, or working a small candy like a Tic Tac around in her mouth. None of the evidence seems to be having much of an impact on her. She's probably watched too much television.

# Mr. Decent Shirt. A college aged male with straw colored hair, he wears a long sleeved white dress shirt, possibly new, not tucked into his blue jeans. He appears to be making an effort to look decent despite not having a lot of formal clothing. Whenever a new spectator enters or leaves the room, he looks over to see what's up, unlike the other jurors. Part of this is because of his position so near the spectators, but he's not REQUIRED to turn and look. It seems to me he is influenced by the opinions of others rather easily, and will go along with the crowd.

But, for that very reason, he might be more inclined to be sympathetic to Brian Flowers. The evidence appears to show Flowers didn't do most of the heavy work during the murder, but went along with his friend.

# Miss Horrified. Late 40s or early 50s, she has glasses which she wears to look at things far away, projected on the screen--and she dresses in a gray suit which appears like it might be a jogging suit. She's not in shape. She looks like she's spent a lot of time in her life doing things for others instead of for herself. A handful of times, I see the expression on her face: horror.

# The Model. Perhaps 19 to 22 years old, very thin and pretty enough to be in fashion magazines, wearing a skirt that comes up above her knees, Asian or Amerasian unless I miss my guess and she's Hispanic. The model is taking more notes than anybody else, clearly she has looks as well as brains. Classic overachiever. Sympathizing with Flowers PERSONALLY will be almost impossible, but she's probably read some social science stuff and may have a sort of impersonal, abstract sympathy for him.

But that won't go very far. A long time ago, The Model learned you don't hang out with friends who are going to be a bad influence on your grade point average. She takes notes like she's in a criminal law class and none of this is PERSONAL. Voted Most Likely To Read And Understand The Jury Instructions.

# Back Row Boys, 1 through 4. In the back of the jury is a solid row of four mature white males, very attentive and quite willing to lean forward to see images of evidence projected on the screen, like they're all looking together at a rattle-y engine and figuring out how to fix it. If Mr. Grim and The Bearded One were going to give Flowers a thrashing, the Back Row Boys would jump in, together, and truly make it a mob.

The last juror--and most worrisome of all to the prosecution, I would think:

# She Who Can't Be Seen. In the deepest corner of the jury box sits a female--not young but not old. Her hair MIGHT be in a bun, or it might not. It MIGHT be gray or it could be dark blonde. It was obvious I couldn't see her well but then I realized she can't be seen well from most angles--judge, witness, defense and prosecution. In fact, she's actually sitting directly below the court camera, so she's truly invisible.

Did she engineer that seating arrangement purposefully, or was it random? WHO IS THIS MYSTERIOUS JUROR AND WHAT POWER DOES SHE HOLD?

Voted Most Likely To Worry Somebody Associated With The Defendant Will Hunt Her Down After The Trial.

Here's your Johnny Northside Bookie Odds, and keep in mind I called the Larry Maxwell trial as a slam dunk for the prosecution roughly two weeks before conclusion.

Odds of Brian Flowers getting a hung jury: 13 to 2.

On another note: Brian Flowers often turns to see who is entering the court room when he hears the door open. Where he sits, the court room door is directly behind him, which must make him feel very vulnerable in light of all the angry family members associated with the victim who are, at various times, entering and leaving.

During one of these turn-and-looks, Brian Flowers accidentally met my eyes. He then dropped his eyes like a cowering dog, and quickly turned his face. If ever a young man looked guilty-as-all-get-out, that young man would be Brian Flowers, sitting in front of a jury of his peers. (Sort of...sort of his peers, and sort of NOT his peers)

But does Brian Flowers feel remorse? Oh, yes, he is DEEPLY remorseful. Note remorseful enough to plead guilty and take his punishment, however.

It's because of moments of personal connection like meeting the eyes of Brian Flowers that one feels the temptation to hang out at the courthouse, watching trials. When one is a blogger, the temptation is particularly severe. Interesting, complex dramas are happening all the time in our society. Does the media dig deeply enough into these stories to satisfy our needs, or desires for information?

No, they do not.

So you might be asking yourself, "What is a guy who blogs about NORTH MINNEAPOLIS doing writing about the Brian Flowers murder trial?

Good question. Here's an answer: even though this crime took place at 3639 1st Ave. SOUTH, some media like Fox reported the crime happened in NORTH Minneapolis.

It's not like the mainstream media have an AGENDA against North Minneapolis. No, they just have a stereotype. The errors made in the coverage of this murder reveal the reality of that stereotype.

But I can't point fingers too hard, because North Minneapolis still has the unsolved Annshalike Hamilton murder. At least in South Minneapolis, somebody spills their guts and the suspects are arrested.