Tension is still high with people across America as they digest the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial. While one juror, identified only as Juror B37, instantly spoke out about the deliberation, 4 other jurors quickly announced that the opinions were not collective, but instead, belonged to Juror B37 alone.
Another juror from the trial is speaking out. The all-female jury was composed of 5 white women and one Hispanic. Juror B29 came out to the world as Maddy, a 36-year-old Puerto Rican nursing assistant and mother of 8, during an exclusive interview with Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America”. Maddy expressed that she feels Zimmerman “got away with murder” for killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
When speaking of the charges, Maddy stated,
“You can’t put the man in jail even though in our hearts we felt he was guilty. But we had to grab our hearts and put it aside and look at the evidence.”
She said the decision was based on Florida’s laws, and the prosecution’s evidence did not prove second degree murder.
Maddy felt that the case was not about race, despite the prosecution’s allegation that Martin (black) was racially profiled by Zimmerman (white Hispanic). She expressed her feelings about Zimmerman’s judgement:
“George Zimmerman got away with murder, but you can’t get away from God. And at the end of the day, he’s going to have a lot of questions and answers he has to deal with. [But] the law couldn’t prove it.”
Maddy reveals that originally, she was considering convicting Zimmerman of second degree murder. She was going to be the one to give them a hung jury. She then realized, under Florida law, there was not enough evidence to convict Zimmerman of even the lesser charge or manslaughter.
The juror also believes the trial was a publicity stunt, and since the trial, she has struggled with whether or not she has done the right thing. She sympathizes with Martin’s parents and feels as if she let them down.
“I felt like I let a lot of people down, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Did I go the right way? Did I go the wrong way?’ As much as we were trying to find this man guilty…they give you a booklet that basically tells you the truth, and the truth is that there was nothing that we could do about i. I feel the verdict was already told.”
“It’s hard for me to sleep, it’s hard for me to eat because I feel I was forcefully included in Trayvon Martin’s death. And as I carry him on my back, I’m hurting as much [as] Trayvon’s Martin’s mother because there’s no way that any mother should feel that pain.”
Maddy, who allowed GMA to show her face but wanted to conceal her last name for safety concerns, is only the 2nd juror to speak out about the trial.
valorius says
So Briana, let me ask a few questions….
was the juror a ‘white hispanic’…or a ‘black hispanic?
george zimmermans mother is part black, which makes him part black. doesnt that make zimmerman an african american? or am i wrong…perhaps obama is really a white black?
how about this-
Zimmerman, a resident of Sanford, Florida, was acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin, a 17yo teen from Miami, Florida.
you are as guilty of the race baiting nonsense as the rest of the MSM has been throughout this trial.
please stop.
Briana Myricks says
Hi Valorius,
As passionate as you are about this case and the “race baiting” issue, my view on this story was strictly objective. I simply wrote what was reported and took no stance at all.
But to answer your questions, the juror identified herself as Puerto Rican. In George Zimmerman’s case, his ethnicity would depend on who you ask. Media outlets identify him as white Hispanic. The “one-drop” rule would consider him African American if he had any African blood in his family line. During slavery years, if you had between 1/4 and 1/8 of African blood (depending on your state) you would be considered legally white. So considering him African American in this case would be contingent on how far up his family tree an African person was present.
#factsonly
JasGirl says
I do think people, especially Blacks (not referring to the author) are being too hard on this woman. We must remember that the jury wasn’t a group of legal experts;they were ordinary citizens who had to make a collective decision based on Florida laws. Sure we can speculate on the coulda, shoulda and woulda, but for a second can we
be sympathetic to her difficult experience?
Stephanieb says
I agree Jas, bottom line, even if she voted guilty, Zimmerman would still not be going to jail, it would only be a hung jury. I think many are missing the forest for the trees, this Stand your Ground law needs to be done away with, plain and simple!!
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