'You're witnessing a killing over and over': Why don't we give jurors greater supports?
A pilot programme has just been launched in Ireland to offer information to jurors in courts in Cork, Limerick, Galway, and the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin about mental health supports. File photo: iStock
When two boys were convicted of the murder of 14-year-old Ana Kriégel in a 2019 trial in Dublin, the jurors who presided over the verdict were excused from further jury service for life.
In addressing them, presiding judge Mr Justice Paul McDermott acknowledged that the case had been a very difficult one.
However, he told them that he could not offer them anything “apart from, of course, sincere gratitude”. He told jurors they were free to go and "get on with their lives".
For jurors who sit in and hear harrowing evidence in cases of rape, murder, and other violent crimes, it is not always easy to get on with life, as Joe Ahearne discovered.
The British-born film and TV writer and director, who divides his time between his British home and his house in Kilkenny, was among a jury who returned a murder verdict in the case of Erik Feld, who had attacked Sri Lankan man Ranjith Kankanamalage with a claw hammer in a park in east London in 2021.
Having worked on thrillers in his day job, Mr Ahearne never expected that his call to jury duty in early 2023 would be a shattering experience for him.
He recalls to the : “The stories I tell are thrillers and horror and, over the years, I've portrayed a fair amount of extreme violence. So I was complacent when I got the summons for jury service.
"I can't say I was looking forward to it, but I wasn't worried. I'm not an anxious person.
"Then I got to the Old Bailey, was sworn in, and heard the charge. I was surprised at my reaction, because it was immediate and visceral: I didn't want to know, didn't want to be there.
"Murder is a word that sounds totally different in court. Over the next four weeks, I got an education in what that word means.”
He added: “A man had been bludgeoned to death in a park at night with a claw hammer. We were taken through several catalogues of his many horrific wounds at length, multiple times. We were shown the defensive injuries and invited to imagine how the deceased tried to protect himself.
"You're witnessing a killing over and over that you can do nothing to stop. And we had to process all of this in isolation. The judge drilled it into us at the end of every day: Discuss this case with anyone, you risk two years in jail.”
Mr Ahearne, whose work includes a number of episodes of , added: “We were told if we felt distressed, we could seek counselling through our GP or call the Samaritans.
"I didn't but if I had, as one ex-juror commented: 'It's a short conversation.' We're not allowed to discuss any details of the case with them either — not until the trial is over. But the time we really need help is when we're in the jury box getting bombarded with traumatic evidence.
"When I went home to my husband every evening, all I could say was: 'It's bad'. My friends say they'd have broken the law and talked about it. But I agreed with the system: For a fair trial, jurors must get all facts and opinions in the courtroom and nowhere else.
Mr Ahearne has spoken out now about his experience as a pilot programme is underway in Britain to offer counselling to jurors in 15 courts in England and Wales, which followed research by a team at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Meanwhile, a pilot programme has just been launched in Ireland to offer information to jurors in courts in Cork, Limerick, Galway, and the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin about mental health supports provided by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
The information is provided on a ‘Thank You’ leaflet given to jurors during the pilot programme. However, the Department of Justice acknowledges that “there are currently no formal mechanisms in place to support jurors post-jury duty” in Ireland.
One of the researchers at the Manchester Metropolitan University, Hannah Fawcett, told the : “We haven’t really found any information on jurors in Ireland I’m afraid. It looks like, as in much of the world, there is no support for jurors in Ireland that may experience distress as a result of their juror service.
“Our research so far has focused on jurors in England and Wales, but we do also have links to others who are involved in providing, or advocating for, juror wellbeing support in Scotland, Canada, and Australia.
"I think that there is starting to be some recognition that some support should be in place in Ireland too, as we were asked to provide a briefing for the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) in Ireland in the autumn ahead of a conference speech.”
It is almost 18 months since the British Psychological Society called on the then British government to provide dedicated psychological support for jurors in England and Wales who are exposed to distressing evidence as part of jury duty.
The society pointed out that jurors “who are often exposed to material that could result in vicarious trauma, are currently signposted to their GP to access NHS Talking Therapies and the Samaritans, should they experience distress or mental health difficulties following their jury service”.
The society looked to Scotland, which has a dedicated counselling service for jurors. The society called for a 24/7, 365-day support phone line and online service to be established for jurors with referrals made to in-person services where necessary.
There has been some progress in the time since in Britain, with the first Juror Appreciation Day taking place last year — similar to measures in several states of the US.
Of more significance is the roll out of counselling pilot programme in the final months of last year, which sees mental health support for jurors being offered in 14 Crown Courts in England — including the Old Bailey and courts in Birmingham, Leeds, Oxford, Bristol, and Nottingham — which Britain's department of justice said “hear some of the country’s most serious cases, including the trial of Ian Huntley at The Old Bailey”.
A 15th court, in Wales, will also be covered through the scheme early this year. Through the programme, jurors can self-refer for six free counselling sessions and access to a 24/7 helpline.
In announcing the pilot, the department said: “The justice system depends on the public joining a jury when they are called, and today’s news will provide further reassurance that those who hear distressing evidence such as murder, abuse, and cruelty will get the support they need when they need it.”
In 2020, researchers at the Glasgow Caledonian University published their findings on the impact of jury service on Scottish jurors' health and wellbeing.
The research found that some Scottish jurors “experience deterioration in physical and psychological wellbeing with female jurors, those sitting in longer trials, and dealing with crimes against the person being most affected”.
While it is an area which has as yet found very little focus in Ireland, and is only in the early days of examination in Britain, the issue has been on the radar for nearly three decades in New Zealand.
In 1999, a publication from the New Zealand’s Law Commission on the role of juries in criminal trials included a section examining the impact of serving on juries.
The study found: “Stress affected the way in which jurors felt about their experiences and their verdict. In some cases, it affected their relationships and daily life — both during and after the trial. It may also have affected their decision-making.”
It added: “Some experienced stress during the trial.
"With some jurors, stress was manifest only in the vehemence of their determination not to serve on a jury again. For others, tension affected 75 their home lives or their emotional wellbeing; jurors spoke of not sleeping, 'having a good cry', and domestic tension.”
For two jurors interviewed during the process, not being able to discuss the case with anyone contributed to their feelings of stress.
There was also discomfort about the nature of evidence that was produced during trials, including “unpleasant things” such as photos of murder victims being produced — sometimes without warning.
The study found that while counselling was deemed to be available, “the information jurors receive on counselling is generally delivered in a form which is neither memorable, relevant, nor particularly encouraging”.
The study concluded: “Where disturbing evidence had been presented during the course of a trial, or where deliberations were protracted and difficult, a significant minority of jurors experienced high levels of stress, which the system did not adequately recognise.
"Yet, the majority of jurors approached their task conscientiously and most were highly appreciative of the consideration and help they received from judges, court staff, and even counsel. It is the institutional arrangements that marginalise jurors, not the actors within those arrangements.”
By contrast, a document examining juries by the Irish Law Reform Commission in 2013 failed to examine the area. When the consultation for jury reform was unveiled by the Department of Justice late last year, there was again no reference to juror stress or distress.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said: “The Department of Justice is currently undertaking a review of jury service. This review is informed by research on the topic including the Law Reform Commission’s Report on Jury Service and legislative and policy developments in related areas over the past number of years.
"These include: Amendments to the Juries Act contained in the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) legislation; work by the Courts Service to centralise the jury summons process; and the rollout of an online platform to allow people to respond to jury summonses.
“The department regularly uses a variety of consultation and engagement methods with stakeholders to gather views to inform its work. For this review, the department is engaging in a targeted consultation process with stakeholders from the statutory and voluntary sectors. This consultation is ongoing.
"Once responses have been received, the department will consider its next steps in progressing the review — including whether further engagement is needed.”
He said, however, that the Courts Service is mindful of the need to “appreciate and support” jurors during and after trials, adding that there have been “significant improvements to the jury experience in recent years.”
He outlined measures including the introduction of a digitalised jury summons and response process via an online jury portal. The Courts Service has also improved facilities for jurors in modernised courthouses, taking cognisance of privacy, security, and refreshments for jurors, he said.
He acknowledged the current lack of “formal mechanisms” for the support of jurors after they have completed jury duty.
However, he said: “The Courts Service is developing an information leaflet for jurors who complete their jury service, acknowledging that serving on a jury is not always easy for people as information they have seen or heard can be difficult.
"It was developed following feedback from jurors and will be QR code-enabled so that jurors can provide ongoing feedback about their experience.”
For Mr Ahearne, it is not an experience he would like to repeat. While he was horrified by his experience, he is also grateful.
He says: “I felt ashamed of my emotions, considering how the deceased man suffered. I kept telling myself 'it's not about you, we're here for him'. Even now I feel I got off lightly — it didn't involve children, I've not experienced physical violence, the trial lasted weeks not months. Still, it remains one of the worst periods of my life.”
- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.
There have been several cases where the difficulties faced by juries has been highlighted by judges who have excused them from jury service.
While the jurors in the Ana Kriégel trial were excused from jury service for life, it is more usual for judges to excuse jurors from further service for a number of years.
Last October, the jurors who deliberated on the case of former Irish Athletic Boxing Association president Gerry O’Mahony, of 59 Murphy Place, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, were excused from service for five years.
He was found guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman who had worked for him, and the presiding judge told the jury in Waterford Circuit Criminal Court that the trial had been a difficult one.
Last June, the jury who found taxi driver Raymond Shorten, of Melrose Crescent, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, guilty of two counts of rape and one of anal rape, relating to two victims, were excused from duty for five years. The judge thanked them for their care and attention over the six-day trial.
In May 2023, jurors who deliberated in the trial of five family members convicted of dozens of offences related to the sexual abuse of four child relatives were excused from service for 10 years. The judge in the case said the evidence heard during the trial was “not pleasant”, describing it as a difficult one.
In November 2022, when a jury at the Central Criminal Court failed to reach a verdict in the trial of Stephen Silver, from Aughaward, Foxford, Co Mayo — who accused of the murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan — the presiding judge told the jury that it had been a very difficult case “in detail and evidence and the nature of the case itself”.
He also said that the case “was very disturbing for everyone, especially for people such as yourselves who had to be judges.”
In thanking them for their “application, attention, and dedication, and for the significant contribution you have given,” he excused them from jury service for the next 10 years.
Among the cases where jurors were excused for life included the one which deliberated on the verdict in the case of Eamon Lillis, of Windgate Rd, Howth, North Dublin, who was found guilty of the manslaughter of his wife Celine Cawley.
The presiding judge told the jurors that they had paid great attention to the case, and said: “I’ve no doubt there were additional pressures on you.”
Meanwhile, when former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank Sean Fitzpatrick was acquitted of fraud in May 2017 on a judge’s direction, the contribution of the jury over the eight-month trial was recognised by them being excused from jury service for the rest of their lives.
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