Risks faced by jurors in Chapo Guzmán trial are compounded by post-traumatic stress

From the moment they began to fulfill their civic obligation, the jurors elected in the case of narco capo mexican joaquín Chapo Guzmán lived surrounded by extreme caution. Federal Judge Brian Cogan ordered this because he felt that there were "powerful and credible reasons to believe that the the jury needs protection"

Their identities are kept secret. Cartoonists in the courts are prohibited from representing thembecause they could become targets. Every day, they arrive and leave hearings in Brooklyn, New York, guarded by armed guards.

By the end of the week, juries should finish their work in one of the most notorious cases of drug trafficking. But then, far from leaving this chapter of their lives, "they will be more likely to face a new risk: not murderers or paparazzi, as many would have feared, but post-traumatic stress disorder"reported Los Angeles Times

"My research revealed that many jurors in similar cases showed signs of post-traumatic stress"Sonia Chopra, a litigation consultant established by a jury from the city of Oakland, told the newspaper. nightmares, invasive thoughts and physical reactions such as high blood pressure or nausea. "The minimum that should be provided is post-trial treatment."

According to many studies, "Jury Stress" may be "of a severity and duration similar to the trauma that rescuers may experience after a tragedy", Reported on Time. "And although moderate stress can actually enhance the jury's ability to pay attention and reflect critically during a trial, the intense and persistent anxiety is so common that the federal government offers therapy services help former jurors ".

The The Department of Health and Social Services has an employee badistance program under which members of the federal government – and juries are considered temporary employees – access "hup to six confidential therapy sessions Paula Hannaford-Agor, Director of the Center for Jury Studies. the judge extends his jury service from six months to one yearso that they have a justification in their work.

The seven women and five men who are part of the jury trial against Guzmán, they probably need it. And not only for the most obvious reasons: "Although the the accused is fearsome and some of the evidence was self-explanatory, the biggest stress for the jurors may have been the extension of the trialwho arrived at 12 weeks, and sometimes monotony ".

"The trouble factor destroys the jurors," said Chopra. Hannaford-Agor agreed, "It's very stressful to have to pay attention to very tedious testimony. must be careful because somewhere in this inanity, there may be something very important for the decision that will then have to be made ".

But the traumatic moments they exist too. The head stuck in evidence binders and the nose wrinkled by flat translations, the jury witnessed with horror the testimony of Juan Carlos Ramírez Abadía, who came to have a drug emporium of 1,800 million USD, which murdered and sometimes dismembered, some 300 people and he changed his face with a dozen cosmetic surgeries before being caught in Brazil.

"This is the real appearance of a drug dealer," said defense attorney Jeffery Lichtman at the hearing. "This guy is scary".

And even in these extreme cases, with many disturbing tests, the The jurors can not talk about what they saw. With nobody: they could not even console themselves before the beginning of the deliberations.

"They live all this in solitude"said Chopra. "The only people who understand what they live are their jury partners." That's why the verdict can be a relief: "The deliberation can be cathartic for jurors because she's really a group therapy, "Hannaford-Agor compared.

But the time needed to make a decision also causes conflicts, particularly in court process so vast and complex like that of the former head of the Sinaloa cartel.

"Even if you put aside the fears you may have to be jury in a case about such a dangerous person, there is deal with an overwhelming amount of information, and you must rule on many charges, "said Matthew Galluzzo, lawyer and former attorney for Manhattan. It's a case that intimidates. "