David I. Hardison, Foreman of Jeffrey MacDonald jury remembered for a difficult duty
Rob Cibik
David I. Hardison
SPRING LAKE - Retired Air Force Master Sgt. David Israel Hardison, 79,
died Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. Services: Funeral, 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in
Liberty Baptist Church. Burial in Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery.
Visitation, 6 to 8 tonight at Adcock Funeral Home in Spring Lake.
Survived by: Wife, Eva; daughter, Sandra Rowe; sons, Michael and
Jeffrey; brothers, Robert and Wallace; sisters, Christine Smith and
Jewel Turner; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandson.
Foreman of Jeffrey MacDonald jury remembered for a difficult duty
By Sara VanderClute
Fayetteville (NC) Observer
November 17, 2009
Sometimes, it's in the obituary column that one finds the memory of a
friend, or a reminder of an episode from one's own life. That happened
to me last week when I read of the death of 80-year-old David
Hardison, a retired Air Force man.
The obit itself was brief. No subsequent coverage pointed out what a
significant role Hardison had played in a terrible story, long
associated with Fayetteville. Hardison was the foreman of the jury
that convicted Jeffrey MacDonald of murdering his family almost 40
years ago.
I interviewed Mr. Hardison not long after the trial and MacDonald's
conviction for a story I was writing for Family Circle Magazine. The
story was really about the extraordinary efforts made by MacDonald's
in-laws, Fred and Mildred Kassab, to bring the case to court so it
could be decided by a jury.
But Mr. Hardison's point of view was important to readers in affirming
the verdict. He was being pursued by journalists of all stripes,
mostly by phone or showing up at his rural home north of Spring Lake.
I wrote him a letter and because I was a military wife, I think, he
agreed to talk with me.
We spent several hours at his home, and I vaguely remember that there
was an elderly relative bedridden in an adjoining room. Hardison was
very candid with me, sharing his thoughts on the evidence that was
presented at trial, and how the experience had affected him
personally. I remember he spoke of how he would wake up at night,
during the trial, hearing a child crying. It was the deaths of the two
little MacDonald daughters that seemed to affect him most.
The horrible details of the crime seemed to permeate even dreams, a
phenomenon not unique to any one juror. Serving as the foreman of that
jury was no cakewalk for David Hardison. I am convinced he approached
the responsibility as he had everything else in his life - with a
commitment to do the right thing.
So much has transpired in this world since David Hardison was a jury
foreman and I was an eager journalist, seeking to confront the
injustices of life. So many of the players in the awful MacDonald
story are gone now - Peter Kearns, one of the Army investigators in
the case, died earlier this year. The Kassabs are deceased and
released, one hopes, from the grievous pain and heartache that
afflicted them both after the murders. MacDonald's mother died long
ago, as have many witnesses, including Helena Stoeckley and more
recently, her mother. Even MacDonald himself, who has also experienced
loss in this horrible drama, is a gray-haired inmate, close to
entering his 70s.
The crime occurred at Fort Bragg on Feb. 17, 1970. Forty years of
grief and pain and loss for so many people. In that time, we've come
to know much more about sociopaths and how they are capable of
horrific crimes, even as they appear among us as achievers or even
over-achievers. Scott Peterson is a more recent example, and there
have been many others since the MacDonald case. Mysteries of the human
mind and heart continue to confound us all as we ask, "How could this
have happened?"
So, as I lament the loss of David Hardison from this world, I think of
the many good and responsible people who make our world work, who
contribute quietly to the concept of justice, who seek no acclamation
for their deeds. Rest in peace, Mr. Hardison, rest in peace.