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January 6 - Jury Duty / Keith Killed His Family (SENSITIVE CONTENT WARNING)

from January 2020 by Uncle Denny

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lyrics

Jury Duty / Keith Killed His Family

I don’t have a lot of energy to write a song tonight
So I’m just going to free associate
Half music, half spoken word
And I know the whole thing is absurd
17 year old Denison would have never put up with something like this
Even now I’m not so sure but here we are

I was summoned for jury duty today
So my wife drove me downtown
I grabbed a coffee at my friends café
And I walked over to the courthouse
And found my seat – Juror #85

There was audible complaining in the room
It was clear that no one wanted to be there
So they had a judge come in and talk about our civic duty
And you could feel a change in the air
Even I was wanting to be picked for a jury

Then they called my number
In the middle of 40 others
They said that we would shortly move up to a courtroom

We were going to hear about a criminal case
Something about sexual violence and child abuse
And I started to feel uneasy…thinking about the things that humans do to each other
And the hubris and violence of men

They took us to the courtroom
They sat us in a line
They said, “We’re going to ask you all some questions…
Just about an hour more of your time.
Have you or anyone close to you ever been a victim of sexual violence?”
And to my surprise half the room stood up
Each person with their own story
I mean that’s an outrageous number
People are crazy

Even I have my own story
I was in the 7th grade
I went to a local elementary Mennonite school
And one of my best friends there went on a rage
And to this day I don’t think he knows what happened himself

Anyway, I was invited over to his house
To play games and watch Monty Python
But I couldn’t make it over that night
And then I’ll tell you what happened

The next morning when I came downstairs
My mom was sitting on the couch
With a newspaper in her lap
And she was in tears
She said, “Your friend Keith did something horrible last night.
He took is parents’ and his sister’s life and tried to rape his cousin in a barn.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing

I said, “But mom, I was supposed to be there last night.”
She said, “I know, the cops are on their way. They’re going to ask you a lot of questions. I’ll be here to hold your hand. Just be honest and tell them what you can.”

I didn’t really have that much to say
I didn’t understand the situation
And to this day I can’t make sense of it
And I haven’t seen Keith since

He used to call me from the prison
I remember the phone on my parents’ kitchen wall
Ringing and then picking it up
And a pre-recorded message:
“This is a collect call. Do you accept the charges?”

Keith called me all through high school
And I always tried to make the time to talk
Though I always felt a deep sadness inside because the older I got
We only talked about the same things from 7th grade
Like we were frozen in place

Anyway, I didn’t tell the lawyers or the judge about this story
I didn’t think it would keep me from being fair or impartial
I mean it happened so long ago
And I’ve tucked it away somehow

They didn’t need me for the jury
They up and sent me home
Maybe they didn’t think I had what it takes
I really don’t know

But it’s ok with me
I’m glad that I’m home tomorrow
It’s my youngest son’s 4th birthday
I’ll probably bake a chocolate cake
And be thankful for our lives
And pray to God that none of us get crazy
Or become a victim of a crime

credits

from January 2020, released February 21, 2020

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Denison Witmer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Denison Witmer has been recording and releasing music since 1995 when he released a cassette titled My Luck, My Love, under the tutelage of the Innocence Mission’s Don Peris. Since then, Witmer has been steadily releasing music every few years. He now has over a dozen critically acclaimed EPs and LPs to his name. ... more

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