the fact that she was convicted at all defies logic - how would her and her children being on crosswalk have stopped the drunk driver which had 2 previous hit-and-runs ? (until of course it is a crosswalk above or below the road - not likely seeing the photographs of the road and the neighborhood). Even then, lets suppose instead of the drunk driver there were a gang shooting (or just a drunk shooting cans) and the stray bullet - would she still be convicted of the jaywalking? Dissolution/de-emphasizing of the importance of "mens rea" while increasing the punishment for just being at the wrong place at the wrong time is very worrisome tendency.
No, it makes perfect sense. She's black, and she faced an all-white jury. This is in suburban Atlanta.
This is where "jury of your peers" can be pretty useful. Apparently none of the jurors had ever ridden in a bus before.
I really also want to put the city planner up for trial, because the reason she jay walked was that the nearest legal crosswalk was half a mile away from the bus stop. In suburban Atlanta, however, I've never seen any evidence that city planners even exist.
