Zimmerman Juror Says He 'Got Away With Murder'

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Another juror has now spoken out about the George Zimmerman trial. The only minority on the panel says she believes the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin got away with murder. Zimmerman was acquitted earlier this month. During the trial, the judge ordered that jurors' identities remain confidential; and that order has not yet been lifted.

The juror, known as B29, was interviewed by ABC. Although she's not happy with the verdict, NPR's Greg Allen reports that the juror said under the law, she believes Zimmerman was not guilty.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: This is the second juror, still anonymous, to come forward for a television interview about the deliberations and verdict in the George Zimmerman trial. The first one, Juror B37, said she thought Zimmerman's, quote, "heart was in the right place," but that he didn't exercise good judgment. This juror, though, is far less sympathetic to Zimmerman.

(SOUNDBITE OF ABC BROADCAST)

MADDY: I was the juror that was going to give them the hung jury. Oh, I was. I fought to the end.

ALLEN: Although her identity has not been made public, in part because of a court order, in the ABC interview conducted by Robin Roberts, she said her first name is Maddy. She'd only recently moved to Florida from Chicago. She's a 36-year-old, Puerto Rican woman, the only non-white on the jury. Zimmerman is also Hispanic, but the juror told Roberts when she entered the jury room, she was looking for a conviction.

(SOUNDBITE OF ABC BROADCAST)

ROBIN ROBERTS: What was your first vote?

MADDY: My first vote was second-degree murder.

ROBERTS: Second-degree murder.

MADDY: In between that nine hours, it was hard. A lot of us had wanted to find something bad, something that we could connect to the law.

ALLEN: Zimmerman faced two charges in the shooting death of Martin: second-degree murder and manslaughter. The former neighborhood watch volunteer claimed self-defense. He says Martin attacked him and was slamming his head on concrete when he pulled his gun, and shot and killed the 17-year-old. In nine hours of deliberations, the juror said she had to weigh her personal convictions against her reading of the law.

(SOUNDBITE OF ABC BROADCAST)

MADDY: For myself, he's guilty because the evidence shows he's guilty.

ROBERTS: He's guilty of...

MADDY: Killing Trayvon Martin. But as the law was read to me, if you have no proof that he killed him intentionally, you can't find - you can't say he's guilty.

ALLEN: During the trial, the jurors were sequestered, and told not to talk about the case or follow news reports. Once they announced their verdict and were released, though, jurors were free to talk about the case and follow it in the media. In her interview, the juror - who has eight children of her own - said the post-trial period has been difficult for her.

(SOUNDBITE OF ABC BROADCAST)

MADDY: It's hard for me to sleep. It's hard for me to eat - because I feel that I was forcefully included in Trayvon Martin's death. And as I carry him on my back, I'm hurting as much as Trayvon Martin's mom is 'cause there's no way that any mother should feel that pain.

ALLEN: ABC's Roberts asked the juror if she still stood by her decision that Zimmerman was not guilty.

(SOUNDBITE OF ABC BROADCAST)

MADDY: I stand by the decision because of the law. If I stand by the decision because of my heart, he would have been guilty.

ALLEN: Asked about those who say Zimmerman got away with murder, the juror had this to say:

(SOUNDBITE OF ABC BROADCAST)

MADDY: 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. The law couldn't prove it, but you know? You know, the world goes in circles.

ALLEN: Although this is the second juror to speak out about the Zimmerman trial, she may be the last. The other four women on the six-member panel released a statement saying that while they understand there's a great deal of public interest in the case, quote, "we ask you to remember, we are not public officials and did not invite this type of attention into our lives."

Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.