On Monday, Juror B37 from the George Zimmerman trial sat down with Anderson Cooper onAC360 to talk about her experience with the case, and more of the interview aired Tuesday. Sitting in the dark so that her face wasn't visible, the juror opened up about her personal opinions, saying she felt "sure" that it was Zimmerman's voice crying for help in the 911 call. Throughout the interview, she spoke freely about the jury's verdict, her perceptions of Zimmerman, and who she's left feeling sorry for in the wake of the trial. Following Juror B37's interview with Cooper, four of the other jurors in the Zimmerman trial released a statement in response to her comments: "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."
Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Juror B37 would be writing a book about the trial, but since then, she's released a statement that reveals she will no longer be pursuing a book deal: "The relationship with the agent ceased the moment I realized what had been occurring in the world during the weeks of my sequestration." She added, "My prayers are with Trayvon's parents for their loss, as they have always been. I now wish for me and my family to recover from being selected for this jury and return to a normal life. God bless."
See what Juror B37 said in the postverdict interview:
- On Zimmerman's actions: "He was justified in shooting Trayvon Martin."
- On feeling confident in the verdict: "I'm 101 percent that he was — that he should have done what he did, except for the things he did before."
- On Zimmerman's intentions: "I think George Zimmerman is a man whose heart was in the right place, but just got displaced by the vandalism in the neighborhoods and wanting to catch these people so badly that he went above and beyond what he really should have done."
- On Zimmerman being armed: "I think he has every right to carry a gun."
- On her view of the incident: "I think the roles changed. I think George got in a little bit too deep, which he shouldn't have been there. But Trayvon [Martin] decided that he wasn't going to let him scare him, and I think Trayvon got mad and attacked him."
- On whether she finds Zimmerman guilty: "I think he's guilty of not using good judgment."
- On feeling emotional about the case: "I feel sorry for both of them. I feel sorry for Trayvon and the situation he was in, and I feel sorry for George for the situation he got himself in."
- On witness Rachel Jeantel: "[I think she] felt inadequate toward everyone because of her education and her communication skills. I just felt sadness for her."
- On if she'd like Zimmerman to be her neighborhood watch: "If he didn't go too far . . . He just didn't stop at the limitations he should have stopped at."
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