Jonty - the trial was televised from opening to closing every single day - the public saw what the jury saw as well as sidebar discussions and attorney statements that the jury did not see. Even though there was all the hype from HLN or Tru, etc., many kind folks on FRepublic posted a link to an Orlando channel that had NO commentary whatsoever...
so the arguement that the public was “swayed” by the talking heads is nonsense.
Not everybody in America has a subscription to the Orlando cable company.
I don’t believe the jury would unanimously agree to a verdict, unless there was good reason to do so.