VIDEO: Juror in Lawson case speaks out, calls grand jury process 'gross failure'

EUREKA, Calif. — It has been 724 days since the killing of 19-year-old Humboldt State student David Josiah Lawson, and still no one has been held to answer for the crime.

In late February, a grand jury was convened by the Humboldt County District Attorney's office. The group of jurors decided not to indict anyone in the case.

According to district attorney's office, the grand jury, made up of Humboldt County citizens, received testimony on DNA evidence from two experts. The process reportedly included the opportunity for jurors to ask the experts any questions they chose and call more witnesses if they thought that necessary.

Following the grand jury proceeding, a juror (whose identity North Coast News has concealed for their protection) has come forward to express sincere frustration with how they believe the case was presented, hoping to shed light on the process behind closed doors. The on-camera interview may be viewed above. A transcript of the interview is laid out below:

Reporter: "Do you feel an injustice was done here?"

Juror: "Yes."

Reporter: "Why?"

Juror: "Because someone that we, that the jury all agreed committed the stabbing is free to walk in our community."

Juror: "Jury selection started Feb. 28. The proceedings ended on March 13. There were 18 jurors total, six men and twelve women. There was one Hispanic woman, the rest were white."

Juror: "The deliberation process was seriously unstructured. The information included what our task was, and also legal definitions of self-defense, voluntary manslaughter and murder."

Juror: "In the instructions that the deputy district attorney gave us, we could not choose to indict if we decided that it was self-defense."

Juror: "It was discussed that first we needed to make a decision as to the who of the case. 'Who stabbed Mr. Lawson?' Fifteen out of 18 voted that Mr. Zoellner committed the stabbing of Mr. Lawson."

Juror: "We also voted, there was just a trial vote, how many would vote for manslaughter, and how many would vote for murder? Several voted for manslaughter, four or five voted for murder."

Juror: "The deputy district attorney said that we could subpoena Mr. Zoellner, the suspect, but he discouraged us from doing so."

Reporter: "And they presented knife evidence to you, DNA evidence?"

Juror: "The way they worded it was there was a one in so many quintillion or septillion chance that the DNA was from someone other than Mr. Zoellner. Then during the deliberation, the jury foreperson pro-tem was insisting that it was self-defense. The jury secretary said, 'Well the DNA showed that it was only a one in septillion chance that it was Mr. Zoellner's blood, so he got it backwards."

Juror: "The foreperson pro-tem was the largest and loudest member of the jury, saying 'It's self-defense, self-defense.' The jury secretary was agreeing with him. We took a vote. The majority voted for self-defense."

Reporter: "How was that second vote made, and did you make it on paper, did you raise hands?"

Juror: "We raised hands."

Juror: "Other jurors were getting angry, and there was a lot of emotion in the room. But the foreperson went ahead and wrote, filled out the paperwork, the documents for 'no indictment.'"

Juror: "I was shocked at the decision. We only deliberated about six hours. I said, 'We have failed.' We did not deliberate long enough."

Juror: "A lot of the jurors thought that we had to prove a charge. This was not a trial; we were not tasked with proving guilt or innocence, only probable cause."

North Coast News also reached out to Humboldt County DA Maggie Fleming to ask questions about the grand jury proceeding. Her responses are as follows:

Reporter: "How was the grand jury selected?"

District attorney: "Potential criminal grand jurors come from the same group of people eligible to become trial jurors and the Humboldt County jury commissioner issues summons for the criminal grand jury in the same manner as for a trial jury. A Superior Court judge questions prospective grand jurors to determine if they meet the statutory requirements for service as established in Penal Code 893. Following that step, 19 are selected and told of the case to be heard. Those 19 are then asked if they can serve. People remaining in the jury pool randomly replace those who cannot. Once 19 people indicate they can hear the case, evidence begins. The prosecutor may not challenge or excuse any jurors."

Reporter: "What was the makeup of the grand jury (male/female/race)?

District attorney: " We cannot discuss criminal grand jury proceedings nor the makeup of the grand jury. Criminal grand juries are randomly selected from the Humboldt County jury pool and individuals determine if they are capable of serving. Our office has no influence on the composition of grand juries."

Reporter: "Was self-defense introduced by the DDA and why?"

District attorney: "The rules for criminal grand jury proceedings do not allow me to discuss what takes place in any specific grand jury investigation. California law (Penal Code 939.71) states: 'If the prosecutor is aware of exculpatory evidence the prosecutor shall inform the grand jury of its nature and existence.' This section also points out that failure to make a grand jury aware of evidence that may favor the defendant provides grounds for dismissal of any indictment. California law (Penal Code 939.7) also states that when a criminal grand jury has reason to believe that other evidence within its reach will explain away the charge it shall order the evidence to be produced, and for that purpose may require the district attorney to issue process for the witnesses."

Reporter: "Did the DDA tell jurors that if they decided on self-defense that they could not indict, and why?"

District attorney: "We cannot discuss the evidence or testimony in a specific criminal grand jury proceeding. However, in general, court decisions have established that a prosecutor owes the grand jury a duty of correct legal advice."

Reporter: "Why was the case presented by the DDA and not the DA?"

District attorney: "This office currently has 16 homicides cases and over 500 felony cases. I maximize the effectiveness of our office by being involved in as many of these cases as possible. I provide input on cases by frequent communications with deputy district attorneys, often many times per day. I also personally handle a large proportion of the initial felony case evaluations and charging decisions. Our office has several deputy district attorneys with the capability to effectively handle any case and all the roles of a prosecutor, including presentation of information to a grand jury."

Reporter: "Why was Kyle Zoellner not subpoenaed?

District attorney: "The law does not allow us to discuss what evidence or witnesses were presented to a grand jury, so we cannot even address the assumption in your question that a subpoena was not prepared for Mr. Zoellner. But an important general point here is that criminal grand juries have substantial control over who they receive testimony from, including the right to decline to hear from prospective witnesses who have received subpoenas and the right to subpoena and receive testimony from additional witnesses of the grand jury’s choosing."

Reporter: "Will the grand jury transcript be released, and if so, how may we obtain a copy of it?

District attorney: "Grand Jury transcripts become available by law only under certain circumstances that currently do not apply. Therefore our office is not in possession of a transcript and we do not have the option of giving one to anyone else."

Reporter: "What happens with the case now?"

District attorney: "I have formally requested that the California state attorney general take over the case. It will be up to that office to decide what further action will be taken."

After the decision not to indict Kyle Zoellner came down, the Humboldt County Public Defender's Office issued a statement that may be read in full here.North Coast News reached out to Kyle Zoellner as well, he declined to comment.

April 15, 2019 marks two years that the Lawson killing has gone unsolved. There will be a vigil at 6:30 p.m. Monday on the Arcata Plaza.