Zimmerman jury evenly split at first, juror says
Two jurors had voted for manslaughter verdict and one for second-degree murder, she says
A juror from the trial of Florida neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman for the death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin said the six-woman panel was sharply divided when deliberations began.
The jurors ultimately came to a unanimous decision, finding Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the case that has brought tough questions about racism in the US back to the fore.
But in an interview on CNN, juror B-37, who was not named and was shown in deep shadow, said the first vote was split down the middle between those who wanted an acquittal and those who wanted to convict.
"We had three not guilties, one second-degree murder and two manslaughters," the juror said, adding she was one of the ones who voted not guilty.
Zimmerman, who has a white father and a Peruvian mother, said he acted in self-defence when he shot Martin during an altercation on February 26, 2012. But prosecutors said he profiled and stalked Martin, provoking the altercation.
The juror said it became a question of whether the events leading up the shooting were legally relevant or if, for self-defence, it is the moment before pulling the trigger that counts.
