BOISE, Idaho — Last week was the end of a long road for those who served on the jury for Chad Daybell’s triple-murder trial. On Thursday, the 12 jurors convicted Daybell on all 8 counts he faced, including the murders of Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow and Tammy Daybell.
Two days later, the same jury sentenced Daybell to death for his crimes.
Now that the jurors are free to talk, two of them shared what went on behind the scenes during their deliberations.
“We took the first 45 minutes, just the 12 of us, and we just sat there and said what we wanted,” explained Juror 11. “And that’s when we went around the room and said 'I can’t believe this,' or, 'What did you think of this?' And it was amazing because we’ve been waiting to ask and talk about this for days, weeks."
Juror 12 said the trial felt so convoluted early on, but started coming together after three weeks.
“I never really had my mind set, is he guilty or not guilty. I’ll give the defense their opportunity,” she said.
Both women shared what stood out for them during the trial, including Daybell’s decision not to testify.
“I was hoping that [Daybell] would at some point get up and say, 'I know I was wrong, I have remorse. I’m sorry, I've changed my ways. I’m going down the right way now. I found the right path.' Whatever he would have said. Even if he got up and said, 'I did it. I made a mistake, but I have so much remorse for these people that I've hurt.' He said nothing," said Juror 12.
As far as why it took the jury longer to deliberate on the death penalty sentence than the six murder charges, the jurors said it was about taking their responsibilities in the legal system seriously.
“We came in and I think there was a lot of things,” explained Juror 11. “First, it was just overwhelming responsibility you have because you’re sentencing someone to death and that is big. We have to be comfortable knowing that’s what we doing and we were charged with that.”
If the day comes where Daybell is put to death, the jurors know it will be a hard day.
“When that day, if it ever does come, hopefully the 18 of us will come back together and support each other,” said Juror 12, “because that’s going to be the hardest day.”
