The fallout of the George Zimmerman trial continues, as one of the trial jurors made some startling admissions during an ABC interview:
The only minority on the all-female jury that voted to acquit George Zimmerman said today that Zimmerman “got away with murder” for killing Trayvon Martin and feels she owes an apology Martin’s parents.”You can’t put the man in jail even though in our hearts we felt he was guilty,” said the woman who was identified only as Juror B29 during the trial. “But we had to grab our hearts and put it aside and look at the evidence.”She said the jury was following Florida law and the evidence, she said, did not prove murder.
Yet, a case can be made that the intent of her statements came across very differently after the editing:
Yesterday Breitbart News noted the ABC interview with Juror B29. The big news was that Maddy–her last name was never used to protect her privacy–had told Robin Roberts “George Zimmerman got away with murder.” And indeed if you watch the Nightline edit of the interview she does seem to say that without hesitation or reservation.However, William Saletan at Slate points out that the unedited interview seems to show something different. Maddy actually hesitates twice when answering Roberts’ question which contains the statement “George Zimmerman got away with murder.” As Saletan points out “she looks as though she’s trying to reconcile the sentiment that’s been quoted to her—that Zimmerman ‘got away with murder’—with her own perspective. So she repeats the quote and adds words of her own, to convey what she thinks: that there’s a justice higher than the law, which Zimmerman will have to face.”
Jazz Shaw at Hot Air also has an analysis:
I agree … that this was some pretty shameful editing on the part of ABC for the many instances where they used the footage, and the rest of the networks are equally culpable for lapping it up.
Here is the video, so you can judge for yourself:
On the other hand, other Americans are far more sympathetic to Zimmerman. The Department of Justice seized the gun used during his fight with Tayvon Martin, despite the “not guilty” verdict. Many citizens felt that act violated Zimmerman’s civil rights.
Subsequently, one Ohio group decided to raise funds to replace the confiscated weapon:
An Ohio firearms group has raised more than $12,000 to be spent on guns or a security system for George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted of all charges in the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida. But the money could end up being used to pay for Zimmerman’s defense costs and fees.The $12,150.37 check that the group has written out to Zimmerman is the result of a fundraising effort that was launched because the group believes Zimmerman’s gun rights are being violated by the U.S. Department of Justice. The department has taken all the evidence from the trial, including the gun that killed Martin, as part of a civil rights investigation.
Given the vitriolic death threats leveled against him, I am sure Zimmerman could use both a new gun and security system. I wonder if the former juror feels bad about that?
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