George Zimmerman was acquitted earlier this month of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges on the death of for killing Trayvon Martin. In an interview Thursday on ABC News, a juror identified as B-29 said she owes an apology to Trayvon's parents.
Juror B-29, identified only by her first name Maddy, sat down with ABC’s Robin Roberts, to discuss the trial for “Good Morning America”. She is the first juror to show her face on camera. Maddy told Roberts that she believed Zimmerman was guilty, but that the jury couldn't convict him under the law.
ABC host Robin Roberts (Left), chats with Juror B29(Center) from the George Zimmerman trial and attorney David Chico in New York on July 25. (Photo:AP)
"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," Maddy said.
When the jury began deliberations, Maddy said she favored convicting Zimmerman of second-degree murder. But on the second day of deliberations, she realized there wasn't enough proof to convict Zimmerman of murder or manslaughter under Florida law.
In response to Maddy’s interview, Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, released a statement Thursday night.
"It is devastating for my family to hear the comments from juror B29, comments which we already knew in our hearts to be true, that George Zimmerman literally got away with murder," Fulton said in a statement released through The Trayvon Martin Foundation. "This new information challenges our nation once again to do everything we can to make sure that this never happens to another child."
Maddy, 36, who is Puerto Rican. She is the only minority among the five women on the jury. Maddy is a nursing assistant and mother of eight children. She was living in Chicago when Martin was killed and was selected as a juror five months after moving to Florida.
She said she believes she owes Trayvon Martin's parents an apology because she feels "like I let them down."
"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. And as I carry him on my back, I'm hurting as much Trayvon's Martin's mother because there's no way that any mother should feel that pain," she said.
