Deandre Somerville, 21, will no longer have a criminal record after being thrown in jail for 10 days for oversleeping and missing jury duty.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, Circuit Judge John Kastrenakes said that Somerville will face no further punishment, considering the various headlines prompted by the outrage sparked by Somerville’s case. The judge noted that he only wanted to impart the importance of jury duty, and that has been sufficiently relayed.
“Given the abundant publicity surrounding Mr. Somerville’s case, I have concluded that the importance of a sworn juror abiding by the law has been made clear,” Kastrenakes wrote. “Therefore, there exists no reason to continue Mr. Somerville on probation.”
Somerville was initially sentenced to 10 days in jail, alongside 150 hours of community service, a year of probation and $233 in fees. He also had to submit a written apology of at least 100 words.
“This was an immature decision that I made, and I paid the price for my freedom,” Somerville said, reading from his letter.
On Friday, the judge reduced Somerville’s sentence, ordering that he serve only three months of probation, instead of a year, and become a local spokesman of jury misconduct and his consequences.
By Monday, Kastrenakes again changed his mind, rescinding his original contempt finding and vacating Somerville’s probation.
Kastrenakes claimed that Somerville, who has never been in trouble before, “has been totally rehabilitated” and is not the same person “who refused to come to court and intentionally violated his oath as a sworn juror.”
