It's been a while since we've been enraged by jurors who voted to acquit two NYPD officers charged with raping a drunken woman in her East Village apartment. At the start of June, juror Melinda Hernandez told DNAinfo, "In my heart of hearts, I believe her that the officers did it." (For good measure, another juror said, "[Officer Kenneth Moreno] raped her. There is no doubt in my mind.") Now, on the eve of the two officers' sentencing for official misconduct, Hernandez has resurfaced with more of the same pointless and infuriating confessions.
Hernandez tells the Daily News she believes "in my heart" the two cops raped the unidentified woman, but like other jurors she decided that prosecutors failed to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Some have dubbed this the "CSI effect," with one legal expert telling the Post, "CSI has made things difficult, there's no law saying that 'beyond a reasonable doubt' means we show you DNA. It means 'evidence that points to a moral certainty that is beyond dispute.' "
Moreno and his partner, Franklin Mata, were cleared of all charges except official misconduct, but they could get up to two years in prison at their sentencing tomorrow. Hernandez tells the News, "I hope [the judge] throws the gavel at them." Or the book, whatever. Something should be thrown at them, says the woman who let them walk.
Update (9/9/11): Gothamist has published a long-form feature about the Rape Cop case, written by one of the jurors. It takes you behind the scenes during their deliberations, and explains how they came to their controversial verdict. Buy it today as a PDF or on Kindle.
