The gruesome job that jurors endure: How much is your civic duty worth?
Ordinary citizens given extraordinary task, often subjected to graphic evidence
The words used to describe how Marcel Reardon died were powerful enough: repeated blows to the head, enough to smash his skull.
Imagine what the photos look like.
According to Simon Avis, a doctor who has done countless autopsies, Reardon's fatal injuries were the most "damaging" he has ever seen.
Avis, who has been Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical examiner for more than 20 years, has seen graphic evidence of murder throughout his career, which speaks to the magnitude of a case now playing out in a St. John's courtroom.
It comes as no surprise that the jury at Anne Norris's first-degree murder trial expressed concern about the images they would inevitably have to see.
"Deal with it as best you can," Justice William Goodridge told the jury.
The jurors aren't able to get counselling during the trial, because they must remain impartial in their deliberations. They also are not allowed to discuss the evidence with anyone other than fellow jurors, and only then while they are together in the same room.
What they witnessed earlier this week was gruesome: autopsy photos showing injuries so severe, Avis said, it was impossible to know how many times Reardon was struck as he was being bludgeoned to death with a hammer.
The video screen in front of Norris was turned off at her lawyer's request.
She admitted to killing him, arguing she wasn't in the right state of mind when it happened.
But it was too hard to see.
In order for the jury to fully comprehend the crime and to come to a decision, they have been told they must review the evidence in its entirety.
A heartwrenching moment
Much less gruesome, but equally as heartwrenching, jurors winced as they watched surveillance video last fall of Larry Wellman's last moments at the Captain's Quarters hotel in St. John's, where he was shot to death while trying to stop an armed robbery.
Other jurors had tears in their eyes as they listened to Wellman's dying words to his wife and her cries for help.
To briefly live, and judge, such events will inevitably change a person's life.- Former juror Christopher Bruce
At that time, Justice Valerie Marshall — who oversaw the trial that saw Brandon Phillips convicted of second-degree murder — expressed her understanding of the enormous task ahead of the jury.
She also recognized that these ordinary people had no idea what they'd have to witness when they were called for jury duty.
When it was over and the verdict was being read, one of the jurors kept his head in his hands.
The emotional toll it had taken on him was obvious.
'Unique pain in the repetition'
For St. John's resident Christopher Bruce, serving on a high-profile murder trial came right out of the blue — when a sheriff's officer handed him a summons while he was at work in downtown St. John's.
Bruce sat on the jury for the Philip Pynn and Lyndon Butler second-degree murder trial in 2014. Butler was later acquitted. Pynn was found guilty of manslaughter.
Using a process called challenge for cause, lawyers for both sides quickly whittled down the pool of 650 prospective jurors.
When they ran out of candidates, sheriff's officers took to the street to find more. Bruce had no choice but to show up in court, and then found himself chosen for what would become a notorious trial, and an insight into the criminal underworld in St. John's.
In Bruce's case, he and his fellow jurors had to review autopsy photos and watch video surveillance with audio of a July 2011 fatal shooting on Portugal Cove Road in St. John's.
"There is a unique pain in the repetition and the methodology of a legal proceeding," Bruce told CBC News.
"Most citizens refuse to expose themselves to the most dire consequences of life within our communities. To briefly live, and judge, such events will inevitably change a person's life."
No support system for jurors in N.L.
Michael Spratt, a partner at the Ottawa criminal law firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners, said the issue of what jurors are exposed to has been raised in Ontario, following several high-profile graphic trials.
It's also being studied at a federal level, Spratt said, adding there is no consistency from province to province when it comes to post-trial services.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, there is no specific support system in place once jury duty is over.
"We are open to discuss with the courts on a case-by-case basis," the Department of Justice and Public Safety said in a statement.
"The government is always reviewing our justice system to ensure we are operating efficiently and effectively and continue to review best practices to inform any changes that can be made."
Spratt said it's evident that there's more that can be done to support jurors, both emotionally and financially.
"They're subjected to very graphic and very real 911 calls that depict unfolding of very real crimes, and testimony from witnesses that have been directly effected by very traumatic events," Spratt said.
"So it's not surprising that jurors can experience post-traumatic stress disorder and other types of mental health disorders."
The cost of justice
The concept of coming home after a long day and venting to a friend or partner isn't an option for jurors because they're not allowed to discuss the case outside the jury room.
Spratt suggests a robust system across Canada that offers free counselling and therapy to jurors, as well as ensuring jurors aren't affected financially.
"We lose contact with jurors and we think that their role is done after they walk out of the courtroom, but of course jurors take the courtroom experience with them."
For Chris Bruce, he sees it as "the cost of justice in a free and democratic society."
"When you are called up to perform this duty, take comfort in knowing you serve us all in carrying it out."
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With files from Stephanie Tobin