‘It felt like every day was a funeral’: First juror in Derek Chauvin’s trial to speak out reveals they had to watch the video of George Floyd dying multiple times a day and only one jury member needed convincing
A juror in Derek Chauvin’s trial has revealed every day in the courtroom felt like a funeral because he had to re-watch the video of George Floyd dying five to six times and said only one jury member needed convincing before they returned a verdict.
Brandon Mitchell, who was known as juror 52, is the first member of the jury to publicly speak out about finding the former Minneapolis police officer guilty on all three counts in Floyd’s death.
‘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.’
The 31-year-old basketball coach came forward publicly after the judge ruled that the names of the jurors shouldn’t be released for at least six months due to the case’s heightened publicity.
Brandon Mitchell, who was known as juror 52, is the first member of the jury to publicly speak out about finding the former Minneapolis police officer guilty on all three counts in Floyd’s death
Mitchell said the jurors were shown the video of Chauvin pinning his knee to Floyd’s neck as he lost consciousness about five to six times a day.
He said the jury deliberated for about four hours before giving their verdict.
‘I felt like it should have been 20 minutes,’ he said.
Mitchell said only one juror, who he didn’t identify, had raised doubts about Chauvin’s guilt.
It is not clear if this related to just one of the three charges.
Mitchell said the juror wanted extra clarification and understanding of specific terminology related to the charges.
He also appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America on Wednesday after first breaking his silence on gospel artist Erica Campbell’s podcast.
Advertisement
