The woman known as Juror B37 , who caught it in the media this week after a shocking AC360 interview in which she called the admitted killer of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin “Georgie,” has since herself been the subject of media scrutiny — and released a statement today addressing the public as well as the parents of Martin.
Juror B37’s words left much of America speechless — from when she said that she believed Trayvon Martin’s role in his own death was “huge” to when she was asked if she felt bad the teen was murdered and she said she felt bad for both Martin and Zimmerman — and reaction was swift.
B37 also planned on a book, and Twitter killed the deal within hours. The woman felt quite assured in heavily critiquing witness Rachel Jeantel, assuming the girl was “uneducated” and talking often in her interview about how “they” (Trayvon Martin and Jeantel) must have “lived,” not realizing she herself was about to come in for some serious criticism nationally.
The unidentified woman must be feeling the heat after the interview, and has since released a statement following a statement last night from her fellow jurors specifically distancing themselves from the woman some called “eccentric” and ignorant of current affairs.
Today, B37 begins:
“Thank you for the opportunity to vent some of the anguish which has been in me since the trial began. For reasons of my own, I needed to speak alone. There will be no other interviews. My prayers are with all those who have the influence and power to modify the laws that left me with no verdict option other than ‘not guilty’ in order to remain within the instructions. No other family should be forced to endure what the Martin family has endured.”
B37 continues:
“As for the alleged ‘book deal,’ there is not one at this time. There was an agreement with a literary agent to explore the concept of a book which discussed the impact of sequestration on my perceptions of this serious case, while being compared to the perceptions of an attorney who was closely following the trial from outside the ‘bubble.’ The relationship with the agent ceased the moment I realized what had been occurring in the world during the weeks of my sequestration.”
The woman concludes, briefly and finally addressing the death of Trayvon Martin, but misspelling his name as “Travon.” She says:
My prayers are with Travon’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.
One CNN Facebook commenter reacts:
Sadly, she convicted Trayvon for simply being a black teenager and his friend who endured his pain through a phone call. Until we clear filters on our eyes, we can’t bring justice to Trayvon and his family.
Do you think we’ve seen the last of Juror B37?