PLATFORM : Not a Trial by Poll

Should the jury in the Rodney King beating case have decided the case on the basis of newspaper editorials? Instead of a jury, should we have used a public opinion poll to decide the guilt or innocence of the police officers. Should we just have had a public lynching of the officers and avoided the expense of a trial? Should we let the President or the mayor of the city decide whether or how the case should be decided?

What purpose does a trial serve if we determine beforehand that only one outcome is politically acceptable?

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the verdict, there is no indication of any impropriety or any indication that the jurors did anything other than follow their consciences after spending a great deal of time reviewing the evidence and the applicable law.