Monday night (July 15), CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 snagged an exclusive interview with one of the jurors from the George Zimmerman trial. Juror B37, the first of the jurors to come forward, offered numerous jaw-dropping tidbits during her chat with the cable network.
At points during the interview, Juror B37 appeared to show a slight reverence for Zimmerman and said she would trust the night watchman to return to his former post. Although she sounded nervous and unsure at times, the juror appeared to be satisfied with her role in one of the nation’s most explosive cases. She also made a few questionable career decisions ahead of the chat – which later got shut down. More on that below.
Hip-Hop Wired takes a look at 10 things we learned about Juror B37 after her appearance on CNN.
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Photos: CNN
Juror B37 Put The Incident On Martin, Too
Juror B37 said of the fateful night when Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin crossed paths last February: “It’s a tragedy this happened, but it happened. And I think both were responsible for the situation they had gotten themselves into. I think both of them could have walked away. It just didn’t happen.”
Juror Thinks Zimmerman Should Have Stayed In The Car
Agreeing with half the free world, Juror B37 thinks the only thing Zimmerman is guilty of is “bad judgment” and that “he should have stayed in the car.”
Juror B37 Thinks Zimmerman Learned Lesson About Going “Too Far”
Although Juror B37 stated she thought Zimmerman overreacted in frustration to the crime in the community after stopping Martin, she feels the night watchman “learned a good lesson.”
Juror B37 Thinks Martin Being Black Wasn’t A Factor
Juror B37: “I don’t think it did. I think if there was another person, Spanish, white, Asian, if they came in the same situation where Trayvon was, I think George would have reacted the exact same way.”
She Found Case “Confusing”
Juror B37: “It became very confusing. We had stuff thrown at us. We had the second-degree murder charge, the manslaughter charge, then we had self-defense, stand your ground, and I think there was one other one .”
Juror B37 Believed Zimmerman Had A Right To Kill Martin
Juror B37: “If he felt threatened that his life was going to be taken away from him or he was going to have bodily harm, he had a right.”
Juror Felt Sympathy For Martin’s Loss But Also Zimmerman’s Choice
Juror B37: “I feel sorry for both of them. I feel sorry for Trayvon, in the situation he was in. And I feel sorry for George because of the situation he got himself in.”
Juror B37 Was Going To Write A Book. Emphasis On Was.
After it was announced earlier that Juror B37 was going to write a book with her attorney husband, a concerted effort was launched by Twitter user @MoreAndAgain to stop those plans from going forward. Due to immense pressure, Juror B37’s agent dropped her plans to represent her. A following statement from the juror ensued, where she stated she won’t be going forward with her plans.
Juror Said Jury Couldn’t Agree If Trayvon Martin Reached For Gun
An interesting segment of the interview involved speculation if Martin did attempt to reach for a gun, despite the lack of DNA evidence. The juror responded, “But that doesn’t make it right. I mean, it doesn’t make it — there’s not a right or a wrong. Even if he did reach for the gun, it doesn’t make any difference.”
Jury Agreed Zimmerman Started Altercation But Martin Became Aggressive
Juror B37: “I think the roles changed. I think, I think George got in a little bit too deep, which he shouldn’t have been there. But Trayvon decided that he wasn’t going to let him scare him and get the one- over, up on him, or something. And I think Trayvon got mad and attacked him. “
