firstly juries do not want to find a person guilty of murder as they mistakenly believe that it is somehow morally worse than manslaughter, and secondly they do not want to see a mandatory life sentence imposed.
They mistakenly believe that a life sentence will not be imposed in a manslaughter case and that a life sentence means life as on TV.
This genuine but mistaken beliefe cause them to be very reluctant to impose a murder verdict.
The Lillis case illustrated this, yet now that a reason for the jurors' decisions or rather the collegiate decision of the jury has to be given or may have to be given depending on irish interpretation of that recent decision of the ECHR the case of Taxquet v. Belgium the jurys may be less keen to opt for manslaughter in future.
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