Masters juror angry, sorry

Faith in system 'undermined,' he says

By Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 24, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated January 24, 2008 at 1:58 p.m.

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Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

Tom Turner, a member of the jury that convicted Tim Masters of murder, now believes jurors were manipulated. Turner, 45, of Fort Collins, says he would like to apologize to Masters. Turner hopes there will be changes to allow jurors to see all evidence in a case.

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One day, Tom Turner hopes, he will sit down face-to-face with Tim Masters and apologize for being part of the system that broke down.

A member of the jury that convicted Masters of murder, Turner first experienced a trickle of doubt after seeing a 2000 television documentary about Peggy Hettrick's killing that included evidence he never saw in the courtroom.

And then, over the past few months, he experienced anger and other emotions as he concluded that the jury was "manipulated" by the police officers and prosecutors who presented the case against Masters.

"Someday, maybe if he would be willing, I'd like to tell him I'm sorry - I'm sorry that you lost 10 years of your life," Turner said Wednesday, a day after he and his wife sat in a Fort Collins courtroom and watched as a judge tossed out Masters' murder conviction.

That move came after recently completed tests linked skin-cell DNA on Hettrick's clothing to a former boyfriend of hers - a stunning twist in a vexing case that began with the discovery of her body in a south Fort Collins field the morning of Feb. 11, 1987.

Hettrick's killer stabbed her in the back and sexually mutilated her, and police investigators quickly focused on Masters, then a 15-year-old high school student who lived a few hundred feet from the spot where the body was found.

But it wasn't until 1998 that police arrested him. By then, they were armed not with physical evidence linking him to the crime but with a forensic psychologist's analysis of hundreds of pages of violent drawings and writings produced by Masters as a teenager.

Voted 'not guilty'

In March 1999, Turner answered a jury summons, and he listened thoughtfully as he and hundreds of others were told they had a civic duty and a moral obligation to serve.

When deliberations began, Turner said he voted "not guilty" when the first tally was taken. He was dumbfounded that some jurors were ready to declare Masters guilty as soon as they entered the jury room. He wanted to "wade through the evidence" before making a decision, and later, when a second vote was taken, he again said "not guilty."

As the deliberations continued, Turner said he was disturbed by the drawings and writings taken from Masters that the prosecutors linked to the crime. A sketch of someone dragging a body, blood dripping from its back. A story about killing redheaded women. He also was bothered that Masters admitted walking up and looking at Hettrick's body on the way to school - he later said he thought it was a mannequin - but didn't report it to anyone.

Ultimately, he and three others who initially held out changed their minds, and the jury found Masters guilty of first-degree murder. "With the information we had, I am at peace with the decision we came to," said Turner, a married father who works as a farrier.

The feeling is shared by another juror, Larry Noller, who told the Rocky this week that the jury made the best decision given the evidence that was presented.

But like Turner, Noller wishes jurors had been given more to work with.

Documentary on TV

A year after Masters' conviction, a documentary on Hettrick's killing was aired on television. As Turner watched it, he saw things he had never seen before.

"Where are they getting this information?" he asked himself. "I was on the jury."

Last summer, Linda Wheeler- Holloway, a former Fort Collins police officer working to free Masters, called Turner. She told him that an upcoming court hearing would include testimony about a now-deceased physician who lived near the crime scene and who had been arrested in a sexual exploitation case.

"When I went in (to the hearing) I was 99.7 percent sure" of Masters' guilt, Turner said. "But when I left I was pretty upset."

Hearings into the fall and winter upset him even more, as he learned about evidence that was never turned over to Masters' defense attorneys.

Was 'manipulated'

And he came to believe that the jury was "manipulated" and "cheated."

"We trusted that the police had done their job, and I had incredible faith in our law enforcement, and so after 12 years they had searched out all these other suspects - all of them - and had settled on Tim," Turner said. "I trusted that. That trust has been incredibly undermined.

"I feel angry that here I rose to my civic duty and my moral obligation to this, and I feel that maybe there's a possibility that other people didn't," he said.

He also has been unable to shake an enduring image from the trial. "When the guilty verdict was read, and when they went to walk Tim out, he turned around . . . and I looked right at him, and he looked right at me, and I remember thinking, I just made a decision that affected this man for the rest of his life, and I pray to God we made the right one," Turner said.

And so he decided that he needed to be in court Tuesday when Judge Joseph Weatherby tossed out the sentence.

"The system failed," Turner said. "But it's the same system that has set him free. And he's lost 10 years of his life, but at least he still has his life. Because there's a lot of places in this world he wouldn't have gotten that chance; he would have been executed."

Turner doesn't know what comes next. But he said he hopes it will be changes to the criminal justice system to help ensure that juries always see all the evidence, not just part of it.

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Comments

January 24, 2008

9:08 a.m.

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LaszloPanaflex writes:

Mr. Turner and the other jurors deserve an apology from the FC police and prosecutors. Mr. Masters deserves justice: Has anyone been disciplined for railroading this guy?
January 24, 2008

9:39 a.m.

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kmeissner writes:

I agree. What can they possibly give Masters to make up for almost 10 years of his life that he lost while in jail? I feel like the system has been broken for quite a long time now. Unless you're a celebrity, you better watch out because you can be jailed at anytime for anything with absolutely no remorse from cops or prosecutors.
January 24, 2008

10:10 a.m.

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misterbigge writes:

I sympathize with Mr Turners anguish. But he and all jurors have to allow themselves to be human. Our legal system makes mistakes and it’s a disaster when it happens. No juror should beat themselves up unless they have not made their best decision under the circumstances, or were dishonest, or they know of a more accurate legal system. The best system that depends on imperfect people to make perfect decisions is going to fail sometime. The only alternative to avoid making decisions and that is not is not a real option. We depend on sincere people to make tough decisions about people who may have violated the law that protects all of us. Mr Turner serves the same purpose as our military. He did the tough, distasteful job that gives safety to all of us. His anger is proof of his sincerity and I salute him on behalf of my family, friends, neighbors and myself.
January 24, 2008

10:23 a.m.

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newsjunkie writes:

I guess I disagree - I hate to blame jurors - but I think these people failed in their duty - especially the first gentleman who gave in to the pressure from other jurors and voted to convict instead of sticking with his original belief that a not guilty verdict was the correct one. i believe these folks were driven in part by fear and emotion and a high profile case - a collective reaction to a very brutal crime that scared the hell out of the community. folks believed someone needed to pay the price. so these jurors bought into a bunch of ridiculous junk science (the testimony of one pinhead psychologist who opined Masters' drawings were a re-enactment of the crime instead of the normal weirdo stuff that teenage boys sometimes think about) - instead of thinking for themselves and thinking seriously about the fact that NO physical evidence tied Mr. Masters to this crime. I mean really - what were they thinking? they wanted someone put away for a very violent crime so they could feel that their job was done and they could go home to their families feeling like they saved the community from a total lunatic. instead of wasting energy pointing the finger at police and prosecutors (who I do agree - did not serve this jury well at all) - maybe they should look deep into themselves and examine their own responsibilty here towards Mr. Masters. it's just all too easy to say "damn those police and prosecutors who misled us!" and leave it at that.
January 24, 2008

10:30 a.m.

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newsjunkie writes:

Mr. Turner's statement says it all: "He was dumbfounded that some jurors were ready to declare Masters guilty as soon as they entered the jury room. He wanted to 'wade through the evidence' before making a decision."

these people were anxious to get on with it and go home. that is simply appalling. we're talking about a man's life here. jury duty is serious business, folks. you have an absolute duty as a citizen of this great country of ours to give it all you've got.
January 24, 2008

10:39 a.m.

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Downey1967 writes:

It's absolutely pathetic what Tim Masters has had to endure the last 9+ years of his life. To think a FC police officer took some type of vendetta against Tim and put on the blinders in the Peggy Hettrick murder case. Unwilling to look or investigate other areas of interest or possible suspects. This investigator did what some might classify as stalking Tim ( especially in todays politically correct verbage ) and in some sense of the word harrassed him as well. From what I have read in bits and pieces, this investigator even went so far as to visit Tim Masters in Philadelphia, Pa. while he was in the Navy. The last I remembered Philadelphia, Pa. and Fort Collins, Colorado weren't exactly next door to one another.
Whatever happened to holding the Police, and the lawyers that represent the District Attorneys Office to a higher standard than the common criminal that walks, and preys on the citizens of the community? In this case ( and there just might be others ) it seems, and looks like the Larimer County D.A.'s office wasn't any better than the common thief who is serving 5 years for Burglary. In a nutshell the people who prosecuted this case against Tim Masters ( whom are now judges? ) are theives, as they stole 10 years of this mans life, that he is unable to recover. Where is the justice in this crime? Where will this injustice lead us in the community in the future?
January 24, 2008

11:56 a.m.

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ExtraPoint300 writes:

I hope the investigation not only persues the police department but the two former Assistant District Attorneys that are now judges. If they had information on Masters that would show or prove he did not do it-----they should be fired and disbarred.
How can the people have Ft Collins not be skeptical of people like
this sentencing and making life changing decisions.
I am against crime and my two best friends are judges in Florida and have been reading about this case for the last few months...Right now they refer to it as the "the big mess".
That is embarassing.
January 24, 2008

11:57 a.m.

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DenverLawDawg writes:

"Has anyone been disciplined for railroading this guy?" - No, they've all been promoted.

"Whatever happened to holding the Police, and the lawyers that represent the District Attorneys Office to a higher standard than the common criminal that walks, and preys on the citizens of the community?" - There's never been such a thing.

T.V. and movies paint cops as people with ESP who "know" when someone is guilty and have the guts to "bend the rules" to get "the bad guy"; the reality is they are just people, who can be just as wrong as any one of us, and they full-blown break the rules to get who they believe to be guilty convicted, and some prosecutors are no better. I've yet to talk to a juror after a not guilty verdict who wasn't suprised by the lack of a real investigation, and yet not one has ever thought my client was innocent either. This stuff happens every day folks and almost never gets media attention; overzealous cops and prosecutors and biased jurors are a fact of life, either live with it or call your state legislator and demand something be done about it.
January 24, 2008

12:26 p.m.

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joggle writes:

"Because there's a lot of places in this world he wouldn't have gotten that chance; he would have been executed."

Sure, but that list of places sure doesn't include many countries that you would usually compare to the US. Here's a partial list (in descending order of executions per year):

China
Iran
Pakistan
Iraq
Sudan
United States

The only other developed countries that ever perform executions are Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan and they have only done it rarely in the last 10 years.

So yes, he wasn't executed but that really isn't saying much. Even within our own country he could have easily been executed if the trial had ocurred in Texas.

He was still convicted to life in prison which is considered cruel and unusual punishment in many countries, including Mexico and various European countries. If it wasn't for modern technology that guy would have spent the rest of his life in prison. Do you think this was the first innocent guy sentenced to life? This is not supposed to be 'an eye for an eye' society but it sure seems that way sometimes.

The problem with life sentences is that there's almost always a chance that the guy is innocent, especially in cases like this where there are no eye witnesses or more firm evidence. Many innocent guys in the past have been convicted simply because they had a criminal history or psychological problems, didn't have a good alibi (because they wouldn't have any reputable friends that could vouch for them) and were found close to the crime scene. In this case, the doctor probably would have been convicted if evidence about his sexual misbehavior had come to light and it STILL would have been the wrong guy. In my opinion circumstantial evidence should only rarely, very rarely, lead to life sentences due to the risk of convicting the wrong guy (unless it's solid DNA evidence).

Unfortunately lawers have a choice of who they can deny from becoming jurors and they usually reject technical professionals like myself because we're too difficult to convince (except for grand juries but they only rule on whether it's plausible that a conviction could result from a full trial).
January 24, 2008

12:45 p.m.

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vudumom writes:

Has anyone read, John Grisham's book. An Innocent Man ?
It parrelels this story and thousands of others.There are people sitting on death row and sentenced to life in prison,because of flaws in our justice system.Jailhouse snitches,people who are prepped as witnesses for the prosecution,eye witness testimony and crime labs so backed up that the evidence takes years to be processessed.Only rich defendents can get the DNA processessed in a reasonable time or if they have attorneys that believe in a person and defend these people and get their own DNA tests done.

What can you say to a guy who has been wrongly convicted by a D.A.'s office that can so cunningly fit the crime to the person instead of fitting the person to the crime?
January 24, 2008

1:42 p.m.

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bubbles writes:

My opionion those so called judges now should be sent to prison for 10 yrs then put them on trial for the crap they lied about and destroyed then put them back in jail to rot. They knew what they were doing this story makes me sick to my stomach just reading the bull crap these cops hid, destroyed, I bet they actually thought they would get away with it WELL OPEN YOUR EYES GUYS YOUR BUSTED!!!!!!!! I hope your kids still respect you because you deserve none........from NOBODY.....................GET THEM PETHETIC JUDGES OUT OF THE COURT ROOM.........
January 24, 2008

2:05 p.m.

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misterbigge writes:

RickyLee, I agree with you. I was talking about mistakes of the legal system overall. I think any cops and prosecutors who went over the line and deliberately misled the jury should be proscecuted for perjury.
January 24, 2008

2:48 p.m.

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Downey1967 writes:

Hey Denverlawdawg,
The most probable reason nothing has ever been done about anything like this before now, is simply because it is due to people's attitudes such as yours. Telling anyone and everyone to either live with it, or contact ones legislator. Making contact with a legislator and getting them to actually listen ( and quite possibly getting them to deviate away from their agenda ) to the issues at hand. Is like calling the President of the United States, and being dispatched straight through. But, then again this is typical of the Government whether it be State Government, or National Government. Neither Legislator, Senator, Congressman, or Presidential candidate cares about the more serious issues at hand for example the Tim Masters fiasco. All of the above only seem to tell the American people lies, lies, lies, lies. The #1 goal for anyone in Politics is to pad the linings of their pockets, and live better than the rest of us.
If in fact you are a Lawyer of some sort, and you have these facts that you claim "it happens everyday " then how come you yourself don't do something about it? Or are you like all the rest, simply don't care? and are only looking to line your pockets as the rest of the Politicians.
January 24, 2008

3:02 p.m.

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newsjunkie writes:

in response to the denverlawdawg/downey1967 comments - here are the most effective things you can do, as a citizen, to prevent unjust convictions: (1) educate yourself about the candidates for DA in your district and VOTE; (2) show up without complaining when you are summoned for jury duty; and (3) if you are selected to serve on a panel, (a) LISTEN to the evidence carefully - give it 110% of your attention and your brain power; (b) think critically, do not be a sheep and simply go along with law enforcement and the state; (c) ask the judge if you have any questions or you are confused about anything - he/she is there to help you; (d) don't render a verdict based on emotion and outrage - react based on the evidence and testimony presented to you; (e) leave all our biases or preconceptions (and your bad attitude) at the courthouse door; (f) carefully review all the evidence as a group before taking a single vote; (g) and above all - do not cave to your fellow jurors just to reach a unanimous vote of guilty - if you think for one second there is reasonable doubt - DO NOT VOTE TO CONVICT.

if you fail to do any of these things - then you are part of the problem. consider this - next time it could be you sitting at the defense table.

don't be like the jurors in this case who got caught up in the horror of the crime itself and the desire to see someone punished - and then got in the jury room and made a hasty decision so they could just get out of there and get on with their lives. someone lost 9 years of his life because of that approach. you don't want to be that former juror who one day in the future is making self-serving comments to the newspaper after the guy/girl you voted to convict is set free.
January 24, 2008

3:04 p.m.

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newsjunkie writes:

I should clarify the judge cannot explain the evidence to you or help you sort it out - but he/she can help you if you are confused about what your role is and how you are supposed to reach your decision.
January 24, 2008

8:20 p.m.

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HollyGoLightly writes:

Thank you, Newsjunkie!! I served on a jury for a criminal trial in August 2007. A select few of the jurors were willing to go with whatever the majority decided just so they could go home. This line of thinking is scary. Very scary!
January 25, 2008

11:42 p.m.

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Hstowell writes:

Hey Denverlawdawg, You are full of it. I've been a law enforcement officer for more than 26 years in the Denver metro area and I don't know any cops who are willing to put their careers at risk just to get somebody they feel is guilty. As a matter of fact there are many people out there that the police know committed specific crimes but the evidence just isn't there to file charges. In many cases there is plenty of evidence to justify probable cause for an arrest but that is a far cry from proof beyond a reasonable doubt which is need to secure a conviction. I'm sick of idiots like you and if you are a defense attorney as you say then I have little respect for you. The problem with the justice system is that in a trial the whole truth of a case never comes out in court because attorneys have so perverted the system that rules have become more important than the truth. If these cops in Ft Collins purposely witheld evidence in the Masters case then they should be held to account. If the evidence presented in the press is all that was delivered in court then I'm not sure how charges were even filed much less a conviction obtained. If all this is true then it's a perversion of the system and not status quo as you would like people to believe. The truth is that many defense attorneys are among the slimiest creatures on the earth and will do anything they can to get their client off regardless of the rules while the police and the prosecutors are stuck with playing by the rules. I've seen far to many defense attorneys testify and mislead jurors from the lecturn while arguing or examining a witness. As a law enforcement officer I don't get any extra money for convicting somebody & I sure wouldn't want to be involved in falsley convicting somebody. On the other hand defense attorneys gain publicity when they get somebody acquitted in court and with this publicity comes more clients and higher fees. In my opinion, because I know you outright lied in your posting (if you are not just too stupid to realize the truth)you should change your name to scumbag! There are honorable defense attorneys out there who vigorously represent their clients and test the police and the evidence while doing so but unfortunately these type of criminal defense attorneys are becoming extinct.

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Masters juror angry, sorry

Faith in system 'undermined,' he says

By Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 24, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.Updated January 24, 2008 at 1:58 p.m.

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Published January 24, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated January 24, 2008 at 1:58 p.m.