0 cross-examined? >> i don't think it would have done anything -- been any different. >> more of anderson cooper's conversation with the juror known as b-37 in the zimmerman trial. plus, the latest statement she has just released. also -- the attorney general of the united states, eric holder, blasting the stand your ground law. does that mean we can expect changes in the law? we'll examine the possibilities. and it is certainly the question a lot of people in the northeast are asking right now, when will the heat end? we'll try to have an answer. this is "cnn newsroom." i'm wolf blitzer in washington. the only juror to speak publicly about the george zimmerman trial has just released a new statement to cnn. the woman known as juror b-37 spoke earlier and in an exclusive interview with anderson cooper in a new statement, she says this, let me quote. thank you for the opportunity to vent some of the anguish which has been in my 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 of those who have 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 and goes on to say this, now, 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 discusses impact of sequestration on my perception of the serious case while being compared to perceptions of an attorney 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 weeks of my sequestration. 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 the jury and return to a normal life. god bless. >> in her interview with anderson cooper, juror b-37, says george zimmerman was justified in shooting trayvon martin. here's part of the interview. >> george zimmerman obviously did not testify. but his testimony essentially was brought into the trial through throws videotapes, a number of videotapes, that he walked police through a reenactment of what he said happen. how important were those videotapes to you? >> i don't really know because, i mean, watching the tapes, you -- there's always something in the back saying, is it, is it right? is it consistent? but with all of the evidence of the phone calls and all of the witnesses that he saw, i think george was consistent in what -- and told the truth basically. i'm sure there were some fabrications, enhancements, but i think pretty much it happened the way george said it happened. >> would you like to have heard zimmerman testify? would you like to have seen him on the stand to be cross-examined? >> i don't think it would have done any -- been any different. i don't -- i don't think he -- i think he's -- he would have told the story the same exact way. >> so you don't think him being on the stand being cross-examined would have made any different? >> i don't think it would. i really don't. >> do you think the state overcharged going for second-degree murder? do you think if they had gone into it, started off opening statements saying, manslaughter, it might have made a difference in terms of the end result? >> wouldn't have made a difference in they gave us the same paperwork they gave us. they gave us the laws and we went by the laws and that's how we found him innocent. they would have given us manslaughter and everything attached to it it would have come out the exact same way. >> you hope you never serve on a jury again? >> i told them that. after we polled and gone downstairs, anything that anybody wants to add to this? and i said, can i get out of jury duty for the rest of my life. the one girl said, you can for a year. i think i should get out of jury duty for the rest of my life. >> can you tell me, about the last day in the jury room, deliberating? you want for so long. did you know you were close? >> we are knew we were close. we knew we were close five hours before we get to where we were. we were slowly making progress the entire time. we didn't come to a stumbling block. we were just reading and reading and reading and reading and knew were progressing. >> did the jurors, did you all get along well? was there conflict? how did the deliberation process, how was being together this long? >> deliberation was -- it was tough. we all pretty much get along. it's hard sometimes to let other people talk, you know, at one time and then have somebody else talk instead of adding your comments to whatever they were saying trying to help figure out what we were trying to figure out. at times i thought we might have a hung jury because one of them said they were going to leave. we convinced them, no, you can't leave. you can't do this. you've been in this too long to walk out now. >> they were going to leave for personal reasons, family reasons? >> uh-huh. >> when you lay your head, tonight on the pillow, in your heart, in your head, you are 100% convinced that george zimmerman in taking out his gun and pulling the trigger did nothing wrong? >> i'm 101% that he was -- that he should have done what he did except for the things that he did before. >> you mean he shouldn't have got on oust the car, he shouldn't haver. sued trayvon martin but in the final analysis, in the final struggle -- >> when the end came to the end -- >> he was justified? >> he was justified in shooting trayvon martin. >> the juror's comments raised lots of eyebrows including those of fellow jurors. late last night 4 of the 5 other members of the panel sent this statement, distancing themselves from her public comments. let me put it up on the screen. we the undersigned juror understand there's a great deal of interest in the case but ask you to remember we are not public officials and we did not invite this type of attention into our lives. ealso wish to point out that the opinions of juror b-37 expressed on the an dderson cooper show we her own and not representative of the jurors listed below. jurors identified by jury poll numbers and not by names. let's get perspective on what's going on the jury comments and the fallout from the verdict in the zimmerman trial. let's bring in judge glenda hatchett, former chief presiding judge of the juvenile court. also joining us, mark nijame, cnn legal analyst. judge, what do you make of the comments by juror b-37 about zimmerman being justified, 101% in her words, in shooting trayvon martin? >> i -- i am still struggling with this verdict, wolf. it's no secret that i have always said that i thought that the prosecution didn't meet the burden on second-degree murder but i thought that there should have been a conviction on manslaughter. but to really put more of this now on trayvon martin, in her interview she talks about the fact that he could have avoided this, run away. also, zimmerman could have avoided by this not getting -- following him, getting out of the car that night. and i feel strongly that he would not have gotten out of the car had he not had a gun, which opens up a whole other conversation for us. >> yeah, the point, though, being though though he disobeyed or ejected advice of the 911 operator that was not necessarily illegal. >> it was not. >> what he did. >> it was not. >> it was a public area, if you will. >> it was absolutely not illegal for him to disobey instructions. i agree with that. but i think that we really are going it have to have a very different conversation in this nation, wolf, about what this means. although they did not assert stand your ground, the jury certainly was instructed on stand your ground and the question for me has always been in this case, could he have retreated? could he have avoided this? did really have to come down to an argument about self-defense in this case? >> i'm curious, mark what you think about the four other jurors, there were six women on the jury, we heard in the anderson cooper interview with one of them, four others put out their statement apparently wanting to distance themselves from one juror, b-37, had to say. what do you make of that? >> well, there's so much attention that attaches to this case, passions run so high that i think that if they have a voice they want it to be their own and not come from somebody else who has their own individual perceptions than doesn't surprise me. i am impressed, though, with what judge hatchett had to say. she's right on point. the challenge we've got is that this particular jury truly followed the law. they did not make a moral decision. they made a legal decision based upon the jury instructions that were given to them. and that what happens we need to address. if the public and the legislatures need to understand that the law is the law. even though we might disagree with something morally, spiritually otherwise, we are a contract of laws. i have a hard time with the public going after jurors when that's our system. if now if we start having a system where jurors are intimidated to sit on a jury or they're going to make decisions based upon public opinion, we're going to hell in a hand basket in our country and our democracy quickly. >> absolutely. i couldn't agree with you more. >> thank you. >> particularly highly visible publicized juries that are being -- that jurors are really out front and out centered. but i also worry, too, the other side of that is that i don't want jurors really trying to get on a jury, maybe not being completely truthful in the examination process of being a juror thinking they're going to have instant fame and are going to be interviewed and have book deals. that troubles me, too. >> me, too, judge. thank you, judge. after the casey anthony verdict i proposed legislation in florida that the committee -- died in committee with scott randolph, so that no juror could make money for six months after they served their jury duty. they could talk, but what happened is somebody would talk before somebody ould could get money and that would kill future money deals. that would be stopping a stealth juror. doesn't impede on the first amendment rights. they can't get pay for it for six months after the service. >> one more reason i adore you. that is absolutely so wonderful. >> thank you. it died after casey anthony and hopefully with this, we can at least resurrect that have some good come out of this mess we fine ourselves in. if we ignore it and keep doing the same thing, what's the definition of insanity? continuing the same behavior and expecting the same results. >> these six women on the jury, to a lot of folks out there, you know this, their decision, not guilty, unanimous decision obviously, is -- was not popular and they feel, to a certain degree threatened. they don't want to go public, they don't want their names released or faces well known. that sends a pretty awful signal that people can do their sieving responsibility, sit on a jury, but then for the weeks, if not months or sometimes the rest of their lives, they have to worry about some nut out there wanting to get even, if you will. how worried are you about that? >> i'm really concerned about that. it's not fair. people are called to jury duty. it is their civic responsibility. they did what they believed they had to do. i disagree with the verdict, but i was not one of the jurors. and our system says that these six women came a decision, that is the decision, and stthat is what we have to live with. for us to target -- not us -- but people in the nation to somehow target them, harass them, make their lives miserable is absolutely intolerable. i urge us as a nation to understand that they did what they felt they had to do and that we should respect that and support their privacy. >> glenda hatchett, well said. final thought, mark? >> i just got to add, you know, this is a microcosm of what the judge and i have seen every day in courtrooms. >> yes. >> every case there's a loser and winner. 50% of the people in every case are unhappy. let's do something about it rather than complain endlessly. we've got an opportunity to adjust mandatory minimum sentences, 10, 20, life laws which completely take the discretion out of the judge when you have mitigating circumstances. we have an opportunity to address the issue of a stealth juror not getting paid. address them and then move forward and leave something positive to the legacy of the death of trayvon martin and this case. rather than just finding ourselves tomorrow having another trayvon martin situation or another situation where the nation's divided. makes no sense. >> absolutely. >> good discussion. thanks very much. judge hatchett, as usual, mark nejame, thanks t you as well. more fallout from the george zimmerman trial four days after the verdict. civil rights groups planning nationwide vigils and more than 1 million people signed a petition calling for federal charges against zimmerman. in a speech to the naacper rig holder careful not to promise he'd file federal charges but stood by his pledge of a fuel investigation into the zimmerman case. >> as we confirmed last spring the justice department has an open investigation into it. now while that inquiries ongoing, i can promise that the department of justice will consider all available information before determining what action to take. >> president obama hasn't said very much in the wake of the george zimmerman acquittal. beyond releasing a press release written statement right after the decision the verdict came out. for spanish language affiliates interviewed the president. they didn't ask him one question about the zimmerman verdict. joining us now, our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin. though the president's attorney general has blasted what's called the stand your ground laws the president has not yet made any verbal, any comments, about it, about the george zimmerman case, other than that written statement trayvon martin. what's go on behind the scenes over the white house? >> reporter: wolf, look, they -- they think of the courts -- we foe that the courts are a separate branch of government and area the president doesn't on first blush want to wade in and any way look like he's questioning the decision of a jury. in fact, in the immediate aftermath of the verdict, the president, as you point out, did issue a statement and in part that statement said this, the death of trayvon martin was a tragedy, not just for his family or for any one community but america. this case has elicited strong passions and in the wake of the verdict the passions may be running higher, but we are a nation of laws and a jury has spoken. i now ask every american to respect the call for calm refor example from two parents have lost their young son. we should ask ourselves if we are doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across the country on a daily basis. we should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. wolf, he's not commented on camera since that statement has gone out. he has not made any comments about trayvon martin or george zimmerman on camera since the verdict. this is a bit of a no-win situation for the president politically. on the one hand, you know, his supporters in many -- most core passionate supporters would like for him to speak out about racial -- their views this was in a sense of racial profiling, there is deep racism in the country. and on the other hand many people that would be politicizing a case that doesn't deserve it. and so, for the leader of the nation, it's a tricky spot. and i think that they're trying to choose their time and moment carefully. >> i know the president did sit down for four television interviews yesterday, jessica, with spanish-speaking tv stations, hispanic anchors who questioned the president and based on what i heard the president was fully ready to discuss the verdict but no one asked him about that which was pretty surprising to white house officials, certainly surprising to me. >> reporter: yeah. and my sources tell me he was fully ready to answer the questions, and expected to get them. and you know, there were no ground rules, meaning the reporters were not told you play not ask this question. so, the questions apparently just didn't come up. the hispanic language stations were focused on immigration reform and the president made news on immigration instead of trayvon martin. he said he would veto a house bill that doesn't include a path to citizenship. he made news there. but not on trayvon martin. wolf i will say this. i expect the president to come before cameras and speak on this issue at some point. i've not been told that by sources, i just have covered this building long enough. i've covered this president. this is an issue he's spoken on before. he's addressed race. he's addressed these issues. i believe at some pint he will have to wade into the issue and speak on it. so, it's just a question of when. >> i'm sure he will. let's not forget a year or so ago, more than a year ago, he made that public comment saying that, i'm paraphrasing, to the effect if he had a son that son would look like trayvon martin. so, i'm sure the president has strong views on what's go on in this case, on the stand your ground law and other stuff. we'll see when he makes those comments before television cameras. i agree with you, probably sooner rather than later. jessica, thanks. what else we're working on this hour, you know it's hot out there especially in the northeast. not just you. one major city today, it's going to feel like 110 degrees. the heat wave is crashing. we're going to tell you where. "i'm part of an american success story," "that starts with one of the world's most advanced distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart" i've been doing a few things for playing this and trading.ove-- tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and the better i am at them, the more i enjoy them. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 so i'm always looking to take them up a notch or two. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and schwab really helps me step up my trading. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 they've now put their most powerful platform, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 streetsmart edge, in the cloud. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 so i can use it on the web, where i trade from tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 most of the time. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 which means i get schwab's most advanced tools tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 on whatever computer i'm on. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 it's really taken my trading to the next level. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i've also got a dedicated team of schwab trading specialists. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 they helped me set up my platform the way i wanted, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 from the comfort of my home. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and we talked about ideas and strategies, one on one! tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 really gave my trading a boost. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 all this with no trade minimums. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and only $8.95 a trade. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 after all, i'm in this to win, right? tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 open a schwab account and learn how you can earn up to 300 tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 commission-free online trades for 6 months tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 with qualifying net deposits. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 call 1-888-283-2407 today. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550