Jurors don't want judge to give Jason Van Dyke 'slap on the wrist' at Friday's sentencing
CHICAGO - Before being led into a packed courtroom to announce their verdict in the historic trial of former Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, a few jurors huddled near a fifth-floor window in the deliberations room, peering at the activity below.
Outside the Leighton Criminal Court Building, television news trucks lined bustling streets as spectators anxiously awaited the jury's decision.
The enormity of the moment washed over the jurors, moving a few to tears.
"This was a tragedy for everyone involved," Kathy Supplitt, the jury's forewoman, said last week in her first extensive interview since the Oct. 5 verdict. "There was no good outcome or solution. No winners, only two devastated families."
With Van Dyke scheduled to be sentenced Friday, Supplitt and two other jurors interviewed by the Chicago Tribune by and large avoided what specific prison term they favored but made it clear they think it's important that his sentence reflect the seriousness of the offense.
While standing by their decision to convict Van Dyke of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery - one
