Finally, they speak

After staring at the jury from across the courtroom for weeks, wondering what members were thinking, journalists finally got the chance to pepper several jurors with questions Wednesday evening.

As their comrades fled to an undisclosed hotel, three brave jurors stayed behind to confront the press pack.

In Spanish and English, they weighed their words carefully.

"We made sure to follow the law in every decision that we took," said Thais Prado, a petite 20-year-old who wore a small gold cross around her neck. She said the jurors had found the evidence against Couey overwhelming.

There was debate, however, about the defendant's intellectual abilities. Some jurors were convinced he was mentally retarded and others were not. The jurors declined to say who, exactly, voted against the death penalty.

Did they buy Couey's courtroom doodling? journalists wanted to know.

"It could be natural; it could be a show," Prado said. "We don't know for sure."

The majority of jurors did decide, however, that Couey's tough life and mental limitations did not excuse the crime.

"It was unforgivable," Prado said.

-- Elena Lesley