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George Zimmerman juror Maddy in Oxygens The Jury Speaks

*A juror inGeorge Zimmermans trial says she is still haunted four years later by her part in the verdict and feels forcefully included in the death of Trayvon Martin.

In Oxygens four-part true crime series The Jury Speaks, several of the most infamous court cases in American history are explored including trials involving Michael Jackson, Robert Durst and O.J. Simpson.

Part 3, airing tonight (July 24), reexamines the Zimmerman trial through the eyes of the jurors who deliberated on the case; many of whom had not closely followed the extensive media coverage of Trayvon Martins death. At the time of the not guilty verdict, juror Maddy explained in an interview: Its hard for me to sleep, its hard for me to eat because I feel I was forcefully included in Trayvon Martins death. And as I carry him on my back, Im hurting as much [as] Trayvons Martins mother because theres no way that any mother should feel that pain.

Four years later, Maddy continues to explain that she and the other jurors had no choice but to adhere to the law as it was outlined to them. Its a theme that seems to unite the cases in The Jury Speaks having to ignore a personal desire to administer justice, and apply only the letter of the law as described by the judge.

Maddy tells The Daily Beast, They give you this paper, and the five women were explaining it to me, saying, This is the way it has to goyou cant look at the situation from where George Zimmerman was calling 911 and was chasing him or, you know, hovering over himthats not necessarily intent to hurt anybody. You have to look at it when Trayvon Martin was on top of him. Did he feel like his life was in danger? So you look at the rules they gave you, and youre stuck in a box. You have no choiceits not emotional, its not what we want. In other words, The decision is made before we even get there.

Still, Maddy has doubts. I was the only juror who openly gave my objections and opinions to the world, she muses when asked about her post-trial interview. I just didnt have the chance to do it with [my fellow jurors], because they were very vocal, they said because I didnt know the law they were gonna help me. Was I manipulated? I dont know.

Maddy, who is Puerto Rican, was the only person of color on the six-woman jury. She says, If were being totally honest, that she felt very different from her fellow jurors, although race wasnt the only factor: I was around high-maintenance women, women who were very educated, women who were not my color, women who were not raised with the struggle that I was.

Maddy says a number of other jurors struggled with the not guilty verdict, but she recalls one woman whose motives she questions to this day. The only person who I can honestly say that I felt in my bones was racist, was the one who came out on TV, B37, she confesses. During an infamous CNN appearance, Juror B37 said that she believed Zimmermans heart was in the right place on the night of the attack, and that Martin probably threw the first punch.

Watch the trailer for Oxygens The Jury Speaks below:

Read more from the original source:
George Zimmerman Juror Still Haunted by Verdict: Was I ...