Juror explains verdict in deaths of six teens

Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2001 | 10:56 a.m.

A juror who helped convict motorist Jessica Williams in the deaths of six teenagers on a highway cleanup crew said the prosecution left the case "wide open" for the finding that she was not impaired by the drugs in her system.

Allen Jackson made his comments Tuesday on "News ONE at 9" on Las Vegas ONE, Cox cable channels 1 and 39. More of the interview by reporter Anne Yeager will be aired tonight. Jackson will detail what happened in the deliberations room, Yeager said.

"With the testimony from the drivers on the road, emergency response people ... the state ... left it wide open," Jackson said.

The jury on Friday convicted Williams, 21, of being in violation of a 1999 state law set a 2 nanogram standard of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, as a rule for determining when a person is driving under the influence. Williams, according to prosecutors, had 5.5 nanograms in her blood.

The jury, however, found Williams innocent of actually being impaired by those drugs. She faces 12 to 120 years in prison.

Allen is the first of the 12 sequestered jurors to speak publicly about the case.

"I'd hate to be on either side ... to lose my child or say I caused this," Jackson said, noting that John Watkins, Williams' attorney, was impressive.

Jackson declined to speculate on how much time Williams should get when she is sentenced by District Judge Mark Gibbons on March 30.

"Who's to say ... how much time she should spend for six lives?" Jackson said.