Shame on Sen. Collins for her reaction to the Trump verdict.

Regardless of whether or not there were political underpinnings to the trial, as she suggests, it wasn’t Democrats who found him guilty, and it wasn’t the Manhattan district attorney. It was a jury of ordinary people like me, who put their lives on hold to perform a civic duty.

The defendant’s lawyers were free to challenge any juror and have that person dismissed if they detected political bias. The jurors examined all the evidence, which we did not see. Apparently we are to understand that a jury’s verdict is to be respected only if you agree with it. If Americans come to believe that juries are not to be trusted, what sane citizen would ever want to serve on one?

Janice Lindsay
Damariscotta