SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
The jury in the Lindsay Clancy case in Massachusetts spent weeks hearing and seeing horrific details about the deaths of her three young children. The case ended in a mistrial last week. And each juror was dismissed with a pamphlet containing information about counseling services. Massachusetts is one of a handful of states that offers mental health support for jurors. Pennsylvania does, too. And Patrick Martin is the jury commissioner in Philadelphia. He's here to tell us about that program. Patrick, welcome to the program.
PATRICK MARTIN: Thank you for having me.
PFEIFFER: As I was getting ready to talk with you, I was thinking that jurors have almost a first responder-like element to their jobs, in that they're exposed to many things that other people will never see. Could you tell us, given your experience as a jury commissioner, why you feel that these programs are important sometimes for jurors?
MARTIN: Well, you hit the nail on the head right there. And it's something that we offer our jurors. We don't call it counseling here in Philadelphia. We call it psychological first aid, which is basically what your first responders will get when they come upon a horrific scene - a house fire, fatal shootings, things along those lines. They're offered psychological first aid, and that's what we're offering our jurors as well.
PFEIFFER: And is it not just exposure to graphic material but sometimes the weight of the decisions they're making and how it will impact people's lives?
MARTIN: Yes. So since we started this program, we just assumed it was going to be the graphic testimony, the visuals that they would see during the trial. But we knew that there would be some things that we would be learning as we went along, and it was just that. It was the heaviness, the weight of the decision.
We had one juror that was absolutely sympathetic for the defendant that they found guilty because they knew that that person didn't grow up thinking - you know what? - I want to become a drug addict that would lead me to these terrible decisions where someone ended up losing their lives because of my addiction. And they ended up finding the person guilty, which ultimately led to jail time for that person. But they still felt bad. They felt bad for the defendant. And they felt bad for the defendant's family, as well as, obviously, the victims. But it was more of the weight of the decision that they had to make. We've also had jurors that just - their everyday life has been disrupted.
PFEIFFER: Were you getting feedback later from jurors who said, you're leaving me with a lot of baggage here, and I need help? Is that why Pennsylvania decided to offer these services?
MARTIN: They had not. No one came to me. I just assumed that there are jurors out there that were going to need it. But I suddenly paused and thought, what if I was wrong? What if I'm doing all this and it's not needed? And I stumbled across this Reddit page that talked about jury service. And somebody had posted that they didn't have to come in, and they were disappointed. But they got a text saying that their service was complete and they did not need to report. And with that, somebody wrote, be careful what you wish for. I had to sit on a sexual assault case, and I didn't sleep for weeks. And then suddenly, it was this trickle-down effect of, you think you had a bad? This is what I went through. And I just - I got my confirmation right there.
PFEIFFER: What kinds of services does the Pennsylvania program provide for former jurors?
MARTIN: Reassurance that, hey, what you're thinking is normal. The stress that you're feeling, it's normal. You just sat through something that was pretty horrifying. And they give them tips on how to put it behind them so that they can go about their everyday life like they were prior to coming down for the trial.
PFEIFFER: Why do you think more states don't do this?
MARTIN: I think it's taboo. I think mental health still carries that stigma about it. But thank God for this younger generation, who is very open to mental health support. And I just think that there's a cloud that still unfortunately hangs over the idea of mental health.
PFEIFFER: What's your advice for a former juror who's had a particularly challenging jury assignment and their state doesn't offer mental health services? Where should they go? Who should they turn to?
MARTIN: There are ways to go online. If you have the insurance, if you have the health coverage, then I would absolutely recommend reaching out to a therapist. But not everybody has that, which makes our program that much more special. We have - juror No. 6 is sitting next to juror No.7. And No.7 has great health insurance that he doesn't need my program. He can go and just use it if he wants to. Juror No. 6 wants help, but they don't have health insurance to get the help that they need. Well, that's where my program comes in. And it will cover it for them.
PFEIFFER: That is Philadelphia jury commissioner Patrick Martin. Thank you for talking with us. And thank you for offering this program.
MARTIN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
