Facebook juror weeps as judges sentence her to 8 months in jail

A JUROR who contacted a defendant through a social networking website, causing a trial to collapse, was yesterday jailed for eight months.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, and two other senior judges used the case of mother-of-three Joanne Fraill, 40, who admitted chatting with an acquitted defendant on Facebook, to warn jurors generally not to undermine the country's "precious jury system" by discussing or researching their cases online.

When Lord Judge announced her sentence, Fraill, from Blackley, Manchester, cried "Eight months!" and put her head on the table in front of her at London's High Court and sobbed.

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She is expected to serve four months before becoming eligible for release. The maximum she could have received was two years. Her solicitor Damian Wall said Fraill, a mother of three with three stepchildren, was totally devastated at what had happened and regretted the impact on her family.