Joseph Duncan has asked his first question of a juror, after he objected to approving a juror this afternoon who’d said she feared she’d “play it over in my mind forever” after having to watch graphic video of child abuse as part of the evidence in the case. Prosecutors didn’t object to the juror, after she said she thought she could still be fair after viewing the video. “I don’t feel the court should ignore her concern about not being able to get the images out of her mind,” Duncan told the court. “Most of the jurors have not expressed that. I think the ones that do, it needs to be taken into consideration.”

U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge immediately ordered the juror brought back into the courtroom, and then asked Duncan if he had some questions for her. “I’d hoped to avoid asking any questions because I didn’t want to put you on the spot,” Duncan told the woman. “Have you had problems in the past with things like that, not being able to get things out of your mind?” She answered “No,” but said she didn’t want those images in her mind. “So that’s just a feeling that’s coming from inexperience, rather than experience?” Duncan asked, and the woman said yes. At that point, Lodge asked her if seeing the images – described as “sadistic child sexual abuse” being perpetrated by Duncan on the 9-year-old boy he later murdered – would impair her ability to be “fair and impartial in this case,” and the juror said it wouldn’t. After the juror was again led out of the courtroom, Duncan said, “I’ll still object,” but added that he understood his objection likely would be overruled. It was.

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