Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 9, 1990 TAG: 9004090156
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Foreman Wayne Mitchell added that although the 12 jurors had agreed not to discuss their verdict against the former national security adviser, he believed it was "important to get some of the facts straight" and granted brief interviews to three reporters who waited outside his apartment.
Mitchell, 25, who is studying at nearby Montgomery College to become a paralegal, said he found the testimony of Oliver North, a former aide to Poindexter, "very credible."
Mitchell refused to comment on the videotaped testimony of former President Ronald Reagan.
"I am not commenting on Reagan at all," he said. "It is a highly volatile question."
In an interview with The Washington Post on Saturday, Mitchell said Reagan's testimony was "irrelevant" and had little impact on the verdict.
In the interview Sunday, he said North's and Reagan's statements were not determining factors in the jury's decision and the jury "simply added their testimonies to the rest of the evidence."
Mitchell said the jury spent the most time deliberating on the first count against Poindexter, conspiracy to obstruct Congress.
"The first count was the longest and had the most instructions," he said. "It was so broad, so we had to apply more time to it."
He said the prosecutors and defense attorneys had "very distinctive styles" but it was the facts, not the courtroom arguments, that convinced the jurors.
The jurors, eight men and four women, deliberated nearly 25 hours over six days, and he said discussions sometimes became heated.
by CNB