BAD KARMA

Judge Cuts Buddhist Juror Worried About Sending Elizabeth Holmes to Prison

The alternate juror chosen as a replacement then also expressed qualms about deciding whether to send Elizabeth Holmes to prison.

A juror serving in the Elizabeth Holmes trial has been dismissed after she told the judge she couldn’t separate her religious views as a Buddhist from the case. Juror No. 4 explained to Judge Edward Davila on Wednesday that if the jury found the Theranos founder guilty and she was sent to prison for a “long, long time” she would “feel like it’s my fault.” The juror said she believed in love and forgiveness, according to The Mercury News, and that she was thinking about Holmes’ potential punishment “every day.” The judge dismissed her after the juror suggested she could stay on the jury as long as she didn’t have to vote.

No. 4 has been the second juror to be replaced since opening arguments were presented Sept. 8. But the alternate juror chosen to replace the Buddhist on Wednesday expressed her own qualms about voting on Holmes’ “future.” The Stanford dropout could go to prison for as long as two decades if she’s convicted of fraud. Judge Davila convinced her to stay, saying that it was her job to decide the facts of the case impartially, not to punish Holmes, adding, “Hopefully that eases your conscience.”