Graphic photos

I am a little early for the afternoon break. We broke early because one of the jurors asked to be excused. We were in the middle of looking at several photos of a dead Emily Anderson during autopsy. Dr. Cynthia Gardner, assistant chief medical examiner in North Carolina, is on the stand. She's explaining her findings during the autopsy of Emily. Now, I couldn't see the juror who left because I have to sit as close to the end of the row to see the video screen and this particular juror is actually an alternate and sitting in front of the juror box. I hope she's OK.
The jurors viewed the photos and listened intently as Gardner spoke. Some had their hands around their mouth, almost in a state of shock or awe or sadness or grossness. These are not pretty photos. The face shots show a bruised Emily Anderson. Dr. Gardner pointed to four abrasions on Emily's face that occurred before death. At least one abrasion on her left check occurred after Emily's heart stopped beating, Gardner testified.
We were on photo five when the juror left. We'll see where the rest of the afternoon takes us. There are eight photos all together the prosecution has for the jurors to look at.
I know it's in my job to see stuff like this. I've covered murders and fatal wrecks and seen stuff that CSI dreams up. I don't touch what law enforcement and medical examiners see. But for these jurors, and I don't know any of their professions, but they are you and your neighbor. They might enjoy CSI or ER, but to see stuff like this, in person, I'm sure it's not easy.