System: Please enter the code from the survey
mturk_agent_1: 3356448171
System: Please begin the conversation about the article.
mturk_agent_1: Hello there - what were your initial thoughts about this article
mturk_agent_2: Goodness, it was a brutal, gruesome story.   I found it very difficult to read.  You?
mturk_agent_1: Maybe I am over exposed to that stuff, I guess. We have kids dying in schools every month. A stabbing isn't much anymore. That makes me sad to think.
mturk_agent_2: Absolutely sad.  It still affects me.   I am not sure about the guilt of each.   I still believe innocent until proven guilty.   People are convicted because of mass media that creates bias.   What are your thoughts?
mturk_agent_1: I agree in the general system, but I think we need to understand that innocence no longer means that the person did not commit the crime. And guilt no longer means the person did. It just means that the case presented was convincing enough. Like OJ - found innocent. Or the West Memphis Three - found guilty.
mturk_agent_2: Reasonable doubt for sure.   The Florida ex-con says a great deal about he has the skills and capabilities.
mturk_agent_1: I agree with that. With this article, I found myself with a lot of empathy for the "surrogate" parent. Trying to help someone and then having them do this - or even be this close to it.
mturk_agent_2: I so agree.   He had little support or no support in his entire life.  Comunale put him in touch to get a job as well as include him in all his social circles.   Very troubling to see  how it ended.
mturk_agent_1: Yes. But in the end, it does come to the justice system. I am troubled by the lack of evidence truly discussed in news stories like this. Almost like the media exploits violence for clicks
mturk_agent_2: They certainly do!  Everything is clicks.   So many headlines do not even convey the truth in the caption.  It's even in sports.  Evidence retrieved was blood?
mturk_agent_1: I mean, yes, the blood evidence, but everything seems so circumstantial - the type of evidence that seems obvious but also that which can be wiggled out of in court. Yes, I see it in sports too. Everything is about income.
mturk_agent_2: Yes it is. With the amount of people that were at that party, I don't see how DNA could be retrieved.  Possibility is they have some of his blood on shoes or something.
mturk_agent_1: Must be a seriously fine toothed comb that they use to collect evidence. Do you think that more detailed evidence opens the door to more interpretations, or do you think it makes a case more solid. Like - they gather this DNA, so maybe these suspects have DNA there, but do they announce that 50% of the party had DNA found?
mturk_agent_2: I always have mixed emotions on announcing anything.   When they start announcing, media goes wild and you can't find jurors that are not biased.  In my humble opinion, the DNA is a crucial part of finding the correct murderer.  That can be matched to the partygoers that were there to ensure everyone is looked at.
mturk_agent_1: But DNA isn't 100% either. For instance, the FBI says that a coincidental match is 1 in 100 trillion. But scientific studies have shown it may be as low as 1 in 8000. I live in a medium city of 30,000 people. That means there could be up to about 3 other people with a similar match.
mturk_agent_2: And also family members can be identified with the same results as well.
mturk_agent_1: Yes indeed. It's very difficult, I think. Science makes it harder and easier. It's a double edged sword.
mturk_agent_2: Same thing with computers.   Old days it was simple.  Now you have to do 4x the work to enter what the computers say.    I did find it interesting that both Rackover and Dilione had their heads hung very low when they were charged.   Body language says a lot.  I would love to see expressions and listen to their statements to see if you can detect a lie.
mturk_agent_1: Yes, we speak so much without words. DO you have any final ideas?
mturk_agent_2: None.   I know we have to do at least 10 turns and we can earn more.  What's your interest?
mturk_agent_1: I can do a few more rounds. What do you think the impact would be of a "partying" lifestyle for the jury?
mturk_agent_2: I think it sways the jurors to a guilty verdict.   Sex and partying got out of hand so IT has to be him........  I do not buy the sex piece.   They knew each other too long for that.
mturk_agent_1: You see these studies about rape cases and women "deserving" it. I was thinking more about the sympathy for the victim? Does it lessen that sentiment?
mturk_agent_2: No one deserves rape.   It's the only criminal offense that I can think of that always blames the victim because of previous six life, provocative clothing, etc.   It has nothing to do with the crime.   Victim is used a great deal in court - both sides play it.
mturk_agent_1: I agree with that, of course, but if there wasn't some general sentiment about it, there wouldn't be so many studies. I would hope something like that wouldn't sway anyone.
mturk_agent_2: I am a firm believer you have to pass a test to be a juror.   This article made me think a great deal about what Comunal was feeling when his surrogate son was stabbing him.
mturk_agent_1: Comunale was the friend who died, but the surrogate father was Jeffry Rackover - a jeweler for celebrities like Melania Trump.
mturk_agent_2: That's right!
mturk_agent_1: I am shocked that you meet someone at a gym and then go to lunch and then just let them take your last name. The kid was an expert grifter for sure.
mturk_agent_2: He obviously had no morals or remorse about anything.
mturk_agent_1: And back to evidence - how can that attitude about life that is so clear and evident - be used in court these days? It seems so hard to trust anyone.
mturk_agent_2: You are exactly right.  It's not easy anymore.   It's been very nice chatting with you.  I did the other Empathic Conversation a couple of days ago.  Whoever it was had not read it, so it was hard completing it.   Enjoy MTurking!   Don't forget to include the word goodbye when you receive this!  Goodbye!
mturk_agent_1: bye
System: On a scale of 1-7, do you think the other person had genuine empathy?
mturk_agent_1: 5
Waiting for the next person to speak...