| MiamiHerald.com | - |
Juror B37's identity may still be a secret, but she's already got an agent peddling her as-yet unwritten book. On Monday, a literary agent in Washington state announced that she was representing one of the six female jurors who found George Zimmerman not ...
TRAYVON MARTIN
Zimmerman juror to write book about trial
George Zimmerman leaves court with his family after Zimmerman's not-guilty verdict was read in Seminole Circuit Court in Sanford on Saturday, July 13, 2013. Jurors found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
BY KATHLEEN MCGRORY
HERALD/TIMES TALLAHASSEE BUREAU
Juror B37’s identity may still be a secret, but she’s already got an agent peddling her as-yet unwritten book.
On Monday, a literary agent in Washington state announced that she was representing one of the six female jurors who found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
“My hope is that people will read Juror B37’s future book, written with her attorney husband, and understand the commitment it takes to serve and be sequestered on a jury in a highly publicized murder trial and how important, despite one’s personal viewpoints, it is to follow the letter of the law,” Sharlene Martin, president of Martin Literary Management, said in a statement. “The reader will also learn why the jurors had no option but to find Zimmerman not guilty due to the manner in which he was charged and the content of the jury instructions.”
The statement was issued less than 48 hours after the controversial verdict was reached.
The judge in the case has said the clerk’s office will not make public the names of the jurors for a matter of months, but that doesn’t ban jurors who volunteer to speak out.
Meanwhile, civil rights leaders spent Monday intensifying their calls for the U.S. Department of Justice to file federal civil-rights violation charges against Zimmerman.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network, criticized Florida prosecutors for not being aggressive enough, and urged the federal government to determine whether Trayvon’s civil rights were violated.
“There is no double jeopardy here because they specifically said this was not about race,” Sharpton told the Today show. “It opens the door for the federal government to investigate what [Zimmerman] meant when he said, ‘They always get away.’”
To turn up the pressure, Sharpton promised demonstrations in 100 different cities on Saturday, each “led by ministers pressing the federal government to protect our rights.”
Responding to Sharpton and other leaders, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday he shared some concerns about the case — and pledged to continue an ongoing Justice Department investigation into possible violations of civil-rights laws.
Holder called the shooting “tragic” and “unnecessary.”
“We are committed to standing with the people of Sanford, with the individuals and families affected by this incident, and with our state and local partners in order to alleviate tension, address community concerns, and promote healing,” Holder said at the anniversary celebration of the predominantly African-American Delta Sigma Theta sorority in Washington. “We are determined to meet division and confusion with understanding and compassion — and also with truth.”
So far, however, the FBI has found no evidence that racial bias was a motivating factor in the Feb. 26, 2012, shooting. Agents investigating the case last July determined that Zimmerman had not expressed racial animus at any time before the confrontation with Trayvon in a Sanford housing complex.
President Barack Obama also weighed in Monday, but did not address the federal investigation. Instead, the president used the case to push for a series of gun control measures that were defeated earlier this year after an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
No comments:
Post a Comment