Derek Chauvin Trial Juror Says Racial Climate in U.S. Didn’t Factor into Decision to Convict [Video]

Brandon Mitchell, juror 52 in the trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, said being in the courtroom for the high-profile case was like “watching somebody die on a daily basis.”

via: People

In an interview this morning with Good Morning America, one of the jurors who convicted Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd opened up about the trial and the deliberations that led to the three guilty verdicts against the former Minneapolis police officer.

Mitchell, 31, a basketball coach at North Community High School in Minneapolis, also said the jury did not watch news coverage of the trial, and that the racial climate in the United States did not factor into the 12 jurors’ decisions.

“We were really just locked in on the case,” Mitchell told Roberts in his first televised interview. “I mean, those things are just so secondary because you’re literally, throughout the trial, watching somebody die on a daily basis, so that stress alone is enough to take your mind away from whatever’s going on outside of the four walls of the courtroom.”

Mitchell said the deliberations were “straightforward,” with only “a few hiccups with terminology and understanding exactly what the instructions were.”

He added: “I think the one juror that was kind of, I wouldn’t say slowing us down but was being delicate with the process more so, was just kind of hung up on a few words within the instructions and just wanted to make sure that they got it right.”

A jury convicted Chauvin last week of all three charges in Floyd’s murder — second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter — and the judge quickly ordered him into custody.

Chauvin will be sentenced on June 25.

As a first-time offender in Minnesota, he faces a recommended penalty of 12-and-a-half years in prison. He could receive a higher sentence, however, and the most serious crime carries a maximum of 40 years.

Floyd, 46, was killed on May 25, 2020, as Chauvin, 45, knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes while arresting him outside a Minneapolis convenience store — despite Floyd repeatedly telling the officers he couldn’t breathe.

Floyd was unarmed. Officers had pinned him to the ground, and placed him in handcuffs.

Mitchell also spoke with “CBS This Morning,” and Gayle King.