The jurors couldn't ignore the fact that two independent witnesses placed McElroy at his home at the time of the shooting.

Mr. Dershowitz says, "No reasonable juror could totally ignore the fact that this evidence was gathered by the same police department that might have tampered with the other evidence."

The other jurors ignored her and reported to the judge that they were unanimous.

They also said some jurors had ignored the judge's instructions to avoid preconceived ideas and to avoid reading articles or talking to people about the case.

The families' reactions of course are not evidence, but can jurors ignore them?

In a Bronx case involving a low-level weapons possession charge, for example, a juror ignored a judge's warnings and visited the crime scene.

The jurors even ignored their customary longings for lunch.

Less capable jurors more readily settle on one theory, ignore evidence that doesn't fit it and never consider alternatives.

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Is it possible that the jurors, even when sealed off from the tensions whirling around the case, their anonymity insured, could have ignored the broader consequences of their decision?