Puerto Rican juror on Zimmerman trial: “I fought to the end”

NBCLatinoBy Nina Terrero, NBCLatino

Juror B29 – the only minority on the jury that cleared George Zimmerman of all charges in the shooting of teen Trayvon Martin – has decided to come forward to share how the jurors reached their verdict and express her belief that Zimmerman “got away with murder.”

Juror B29, identified by ABC News as a Latina of Puerto Rican descent, said in an exclusive interview with ABC News that she decided it was time to speak out.

“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,” said Juror B29, who chose to be identified only by a first name of Maddy in the Thursday interview with “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts. “[But] the law couldn’t prove it.”

Maddy, 36, is a nursing assistant and mother of 8. Originally from Chicago, she moved to Seminole County, Florida just months before being selected to serve on an all-female jury in the trial that led to the Zimmerman’s acquittal on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges on July 13 in the shooting death last year of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense.

When the jury first began its deliberations, Maddy said she supported a second-degree murder conviction.

“I was the juror that was going to give them the hung jury. I fought to the end,” she said. But during day 2 of deliberations, Maddy said she changed her mind on the basis of lack of evidence to convict Zimmerman.

“It was hard,” said Maddy of the 16 hours of deliberations before the jury settled on a verdict. “That’s where I felt confused, where if a person kills someone, then you get charged for it. But as the law was read to me, if you have no proof that he killed him intentionally, you can’t say he’s guilty.”

Maddy said she stands by her decision, although she said she was unsure whether she was bullied into making her final judgment.

“I don’t know if I was bullied,” Maddy said. “I trust God that I wasn’t bullied but my voice was heard. I was the loudest, for sure.”

Maddy is the second juror to speak publicly about the verdict declared in the evening hours of July 13.  In an interview with CNN earlier this month, Juror B37 said that only three jurors believed that Zimmerman should be acquitted when deliberations began.

But Maddy – who says Juror B37’s statements didn’t reflect her views although she agrees race was not discussed in jury deliberations – explains that as a mother, she still feels regret about the verdict.

“It’s hard for me to sleep, it’s hard for me to eat because I feel I was forcefully included in Trayvon Martin’s death,” she said. “And as I carry him on my back, I’m hurting as much (as) Trayvon’s Martin’s mother, because there’s no way that any mother should feel that pain.”

“If I had used my heart, I probably would have went a hung jury and believe it with all my heart because I do have kids.”

George Zimmerman has sued NBC Universal for defamation. The company strongly denies the allegation.

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

Nina Terrero, Web Producer: Passionate about social issues, health, education, discovering untold stories among U.S. Latinos and exploring Latino culture through food, literature, theatre and the arts, she holds a B.A. in Government from Cornell University. She is also a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts & Science, where she received an M.A. in Political Science. Of Puerto Rican and Dominican heritage, Nina worked at ABC News as a digital reporter before joining the team at NBC Latino. Feel free to ask her about the latest films, urban political policy or her most recent forays in cooking and eating around New York City.

[Screenshot courtesy ABC News]

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