'Not guilty' verdict in excrement assault trial

[lewisipso]

A bizarre drama that began last summer with a bucket of human excrement thrown at a local woman has ended with a "not guilty" verdict in the trial of the man accused of throwing it.
The verdict has left the woman, Cheri Monson, in shock and in tears - and in utter disbelief over the jury's decision.
The incident took place last August when Monson was walking up the stairwell to her apartment at a South Seattle public housing complex near Beacon Hill.
That's when 70-year-old Ronald V. Ellis, who lived in a neighboring unit, came out and tossed a bucketful of human feces, urine and vomit on Monson, police wrote in their report.
The attack left fecal matter on her back and vomit in her hair, and responding officers wrote in their report that the stench was so bad it was difficult to interview the victim.
"It was awful. It was disgusting," said Monson. "I could barely get up the stairs."
Today she is still as upset as she was last summer.
"The smell was so ungodly, I threw up from the smell," she told KOMO News in an exclusive interview. "It's been stressful - very stressful."
Ellis was charged with assault and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
When the jury in the trial came back on Thursday with a "not guilty" verdict, Monson was incredulous.
"I could not believe it. I just could not believe it," she says. "I want to know why. I want to know why."
But jurors don't have to explain their reasoning. As a result, no one except the jurors may ever know why Ellis was found not guilty.
Monson says she can't understand how the physical evidence wasn't enough in court. She says police showed graphic photos of what she looked like after the alleged attack.


Read more: 'Not guilty' verdict in excrement assault trial - seattlepi.com

[pgg]

Being the seattle area its not surprising. Look who the populace elected as mayor. Had a case recently where the suspect bit me in the hand. He was found not guilty also. Even with video of the attack and the suspect trying to get firearms from another person. The jury (over half were hippie types) said that yes they know he did it but just didn't feel jail was the right way to punish people so they decided on not guilty

[Xiphos]

One bleeding heart on the jury couldn't bring themselves to admonish or punish an old man.

[Standard Dave]

juries are made of members of the public draw your own conclusion as to why they return the wrong verdict on some cases.