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Bulger juror: Life has changed since trial, not for the better

(MyFoxBoston.com) – Known for the past three months as juror number 12, an Eastham woman is finally getting to speak out saying she was sickened by testimony and disgusted by the U.S. justice system during the trial of James "Whitey" Bulger.

Following Bulger's guilty verdict, jurors began speaking out about what was going on inside their heads during the trial and especially during deliberation.

Janet Uhlar, who stayed with relatives in the Boston area for three months and put her life on hold, says everyone seated on the jury took the case very seriously saying the stress of it all led to nightmares.

"We were very determined to look at everything carefully and consider it carefully," Uhlar told FOX 25's Heather Hegedus.

Uhlar and all but two jurors took detailed notes throughout the trial. In the deliberation room, she says they went around in an orderly fashion, raising hands, and waiting to be called on by their foreman.

Uhlar's description of the process is a bit of a contrast from the picture juror number five painted. He claimed jurors got angry and slammed doors.

While Uhlar does not feel this was the case, she admits the jury was definitely divided into two clear groups.

"Some had problems with the testimonies of key witnesses and other didn't have so much of a problem. So we went back and forth in that frequently," Uhlar said.

Uhlar says she was part of that group that had a problem believing witnesses because so many were criminals who had worked out deals with the government in exchange for their testimony.

In her eyes, the trial was tainted from the beginning because the corruption and government ties to the mob seemed to run so deep. And because her passion is history, she thought about it often from a historical standpoint.

"I was disillusioned. I was heartbroken to know our Founding Fathers worked so hard to give us the judicial system we have…what has happened to it? The corruption - so much of it," she added.

Uhlar says being part of the trial has changed her forever and not for the better.

"I have a hard time trusting right now whether the Department of Justice is being honest with us. And what more out there is there that we didn't discuss that we couldn't check into," Uhlar said.

Uhlar described Bulger as a tired old man and said he was very quiet and stoic throughout the trial. She said she didn't get much sense of a personality from him.

Uhlar is eager to go back to her pediatric nursing job on Cape Cod Wednesday.