Print this article
One of the jurors in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin said the “racial climate” in the United States did not affect the jury’s verdict.
Brandon Mitchell, juror 52, explained that the jurors were “locked in on the case” and didn’t “know what was going on” because they weren’t watching the news during a Wednesday interview on
Good Morning America.
Anchor Robin Roberts asked Mitchell, who began the interview by expressing his condolences to the family of George Floyd, if the “racial climate and the protests in the streets may have impacted the deliberations,” which he said wasn’t the case.
Mitchell, who is Black, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Wednesday that much of the deliberations were spent going over terminology and “making sure we understood what exactly was being asked.” The identities of jurors and alternates are protected under a judge’s order.
“I think the one juror that was kind of - I wouldn’t say slowing us down - but was being delicate with the process, more so, was just kind of hung up with a few words in the instructions. They wanted to make sure they got it right,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell, who first shared his story with gospel artist Erica Campbell on her podcast, wrote in his jury questionnaire that he wanted to serve as a juror “because of all the protests and everything that happened after the event. This is the most historic case of my lifetime, and I would love to be a part of it.”
A juror who cast one of the unanimous votes to convict a white former Minneapolis police officer of killing George Floyd said deliberations were primarily spent trying to convince one person who was uncertain about part of the jury instructions.
Mitchell, who first shared his story with gospel artist Erica Campbell on her podcast, wrote in his jury questionnaire he wanted to serve as a juror “because of all the protests and everything that happened after the event. This is the most historic case of my lifetime, and I would love to be a part of it.
Mitchell speculated that he was picked for the jury because he was mild mannered. He said the images during the trial trouble him.
“It was just dark. It felt like every day was a funeral and watching someone die every day,” Mitchell told CNN. “It was tense every day. I wasn’t nervous, but it was stressful. It was a lot of pressure.”
Mitchell, who first shared his story with gospel artist Erica Campbell on her podcast, wrote in his jury questionnaire he wanted to serve as a juror “because of all the protests and everything that happened after the event. This is the most historic case of my lifetime, and I would love to be a part of it.
Mitchell speculated that he was picked for the jury because he was mild mannered. He said the images during the trial trouble him.
“It was just dark. It felt like every day was a funeral and watching someone die every day,” Mitchell told CNN. “It was tense every day. I wasn’t nervous, but it was stressful. It was a lot of pressure.”