ABC’s ​“In the Jury Room” Debuts With Death Penalty Case

ABC-TV begins a new six-part doc­u­men­tary series ​“In the Jury Room” on Tuesday, August 10 (10 PM Eastern time), with a first-hand look at a death penal­ty delib­er­a­tion. Narrated by senior legal cor­re­spon­dent Cynthia McFadden (pic­tured), the debut cap­tures the delib­er­a­tions of twelve jurors select­ed to decide the cap­i­tal mur­der case against Ohio defen­dant Mark Ducic. The pro­gram allows the audi­ence to see jurors strug­gling through the clash­es that often accom­pa­ny death penal­ty delib­er­a­tions. ​“It’s fas­ci­nat­ing stuff, par­tic­u­lar­ly when the focus latch­es onto a lone juror hold­out and the pres­sure exert­ed by oth­ers,” said a pro­gram review in the Hollywood Reporter. Following its Tuesday-Wednesday debut this week, ABC will air the remain­ing episodes of the series reg­u­lar­ly on Tuesday evenings at 10 p.m. (The Hollywood Reporter, August 7, 2004.)