Most of the Other Zimmerman Jurors Distance Themselves from B37
Juror B37, of the (former) book deal and the lengthy Monday evening CNN interview with Anderson Cooper, has been more or less the only narrator of the juror deliberations that led to the acquittal of George Zimmerman last weekend. And it doesn't look like we're going to hear very much from four of the five remaining jurors on the case: they released a joint statement on Tuesday asking for privacy, while distancing themselves from the perspective of their single outspoken member.
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On Monday, "B37" gave her account of the trial, and of the private juror deliberations preceding the verdict. From her interview, we know that the 6-woman jury held a vote at the beginning of their deliberations to see where everyone stood in the case, which could have led to the conviction of Zimmerman on either second degree murder or manslaughter charges: 3 not guilty; 2 manslaughter; 1 second-degree murder. Eventually, all six were convinced that Zimmerman was not guilty of either crime under Florida law. More provocatively, B37 also said that none of the jurors thought race played a role in Zimmerman's shooting death of Trayvon Martin, and that just one holdout in the room believed that it could have been Trayvon Martin and not Zimmerman, screaming for help in a widely-played 911 call capturing sounds from the scuffle that led to Martin's death. She also talked about her feelings on the case in general, giving a very sympathetic account towards Zimmerman's side of the story. And for whatever reason — inaccuracy, disagreement, a desire to move on, or worries about repercussions — four of B37's peers clearly didn't want her to talk about it. Here's their statement:
We, the undersigned jurors, understand there is a great deal of interest in this case. But we ask you to remember that we are not public officials and we did not invite this type of attention into our lives. We also wish to point out that the opinions of Juror B-37, expressed on the Anderson Cooper show were her own, and not in any way representative of the jurors listed below.
Serving on this jury has been a highly emotional and physically draining experience for each of us. The death of a teenager weighed heavily on our hearts but in the end we did what the law required us to do.We appeal to the highest standards of your profession and ask the media to respect our privacy and give us time to process what we have been through.
Thank you,
Juror B-51
Juror B-76
Juror E-6
Juror E-40
And it looks like the more outspoken B37 may have had some second thoughts, too. She quickly secured a book deal after the trial ended to tell her story as a juror of the high-profile trial. But on Tuesday, that deal was already cancelled, and B37 indicated that she'd had a change of heart.
