The Jury: Murder Trial, Channel 4’s ambitious new social experiment, left viewers divided and ‘irrationally enraged’.
The documentary follows two distinct jurors as they rule over a trial involving a husband accused of murdering his wife in cold blood to see whether they can reach the same result.
Featuring actors. The Jury: Murder Trial is a dramatisation of a real-life case that Channel 4 has not revealed, based on the actual court transcripts.
However, fans who turned in for the first episode – three more programmes will broadcast on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings – were disappointed.
On Monday, they learned the basic facts of the case, including that the husband admits to killing his wife with a hammer but is using a ‘loss of control’ defence.
This argument infuriated Meghan on X, who fumed: ‘Already feeling my blood boil. Why does the woman whose head is smashed in with a hammer have to be at fault for it. “What did she say to provoke him?” Like what the hell does that matter? And ppl with this mentality making such important decisions.’
Echoing with Meghan’s sentiment, Andy Gilder added: ‘Already irrationally angry at #TheJury. One day into a six day murder trial and half of them have already rushed into judgement.’
Some viewers also complained that The Jury was not an accurate representation of a court case.
‘The jurors are not allowed to have their notes outside of the courtroom like that. This is totally false. #thejury,’ account Redundant Baker claimed.
Already irrationally angry at #TheJury
One day into a six day murder trial and half of them have already rushed into judgement
— Enough Of That Now (@AndyGilder) February 26, 2024
Having done jury service before, and now working in ‘the job’ it’s interesting to see how #TheJury pans out in this experiment. Always interesting to see what discussions happen on the ‘other side’ when you’re in court as an officer
— Dan (@DL1992_) February 26, 2024
The jurors are not allowed to have their notes outside of the courtroom like that. This is totally false. #thejury
— Redundant Banker (@redundantbanker) February 26, 2024
Some of the GCSE acting on this is a bit painful so far #thejury
— 𝕬𝖑𝖎𝖝 (@bamitsalix) February 26, 2024
Sadly #TheJury resembles the court proceedings of Judge Rinder more than a real social experiment
— Wez (@ShamWez) February 26, 2024
People who say that they are so angry they can’t control it are delusional
It’s an excuse
It’s a life time of bullying behaviour with others facilitating it
Zero tolerance for it
— Dame Clair La Croix (@HenderClaire) February 26, 2024
Already feeling my blood boil. Why does the woman whose head is smashed in with a hammer have to be at fault for it. 'What did she say to provoke him?' like what the hell does that matter. And ppl with this mentality making such important decisions #TheJury #TheJuryMurderTrial
— Meghan#RejoinEU (@rosieseleni) February 26, 2024
Agreeing Wez remarked: ‘Sadly #TheJury resembles the court proceedings of Judge Rinder more than a real social experiment.’
Alix, meanwhile, took umbrage with some of the dramatisation: ‘Some of the GCSE acting on this is a bit painful so far #thejury.’
According to Channel 4, ‘The Jury: Murder Trial will examine the jury system for the first time on British television by recreating an entire, real murder trial from the original transcripts in front of 24 jurors, randomly split into two juries, neither of whom are aware of the other.
‘Filmed over ten days, in a former courthouse in Essex, the series will take a forensic look at the inner workings of justice. The two juries will be asked to judge on the real case of a man who admits he killed his wife, but whose defence maintains that he lost control, and is therefore not guilty of murder.’
Describing the show as an ‘innovative true crime experiment’ aiming to ‘give the public an insight into the British jury system’, Andy Vasey and Dan Warner, creative directors at 4creative, shed further insight into how it could expose flaws in the UK’s legal system.
They said: ‘Our campaign spotlights how, for example, a juror being hungover or tired might be as likely to sway a verdict as the facts of the case. With one trial and two juries, it’s fascinating to see whether the same verdict will be reached by both.
The Jury continues tonight on Channel 4.
Source My Celebrity Life.