A juror in the Trayvon Martin murder case said last night she thought that George Zimmerman’s “heart was in the right place” on the night he fatally shot the unarmed teenager in Sanford, Fla.
The woman, known as Juror B37, spoke publicly for the first time last night during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
“I think George Zimmerman’s heart was in the right place,” said the woman, appearing in silhouette. “But he went above and beyond what he should’ve done . . . It just went terribly wrong.”
She also said she believed Martin “threw the first punch” in the fatal encounter and that Zimerman thought his ife was in danger.
“I think Trayvon got mad and attacked him,” she said. “I had no doubt that George feared for his life.”
The jury late Saturday night acquitted Zimmerman of second-degree murder. Three members originally wanted to convict but changed their minds, the juror said.
The woman said last night she did not believe race was an aspect of the case.
The juror emphasized that Zimmerman had the right to defend himself and said that he should be allowed to carry a gun again.
“He’s learned his lesson,” she said. “I think he would be more responsible [as a gun owner] than anyone else on the planet right now.”
The juror has just signed on with an agent for a book deal to tell the story.
The woman criticized a key witness for the prosecution, Rachel Jeantel, who was asked at the trial to read a letter she supposedly wrote about the slaying, only to admit she couldn’t read cursive.
“I think she felt inadequate because of her education and communication skills,” the juror said of Jeantel who was on the phone with Martin as he was shot.
“I didn’t think [the testimony] was very credible.”
Later on CNN, Jeantel responded that she was “angry” and “upset” by the juror’s characterization.
Jeantel also disagreed with the juror about the racial component of the incident, saying “Let’s be honest” — it was “racial.”
See told Piers Morgan that Martin did not have guns but smoked weed.
“Trayvon was not a thug,” Jeantel said. “Weed didn’t make him go crazy. It just made him go hungry.”
In the meantime, Zimmerman’s parents said last night that they have received “an enormous amount of death threats,” and have remained in hiding.
Speaking with ABC’s Barbara Walters, Robert and Gladys Zimmerman said they are afraid to even reach out to their son.
“Under the circumstances, we have not been able to talk to him,” Gladys Zimmerman said.
“To tell you the truth, we don’t trust anything, not even the phones.”
With Post Wire Services