A member of the Michael Brown grand jury is suing so that he can speak out about the case. And we should all hope he wins.

Courtesy of St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  

A member of the grand jury that declined to file criminal charges against former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown sued St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch Monday for the right to speak publicly about the proceedings. 

The suit says that the former juror, identified in court documents only as "Grand Juror Doe," wishes to speak out to challenge public misconceptions about the case and that speaking publicly could "contribute to the current public dialogue concerning race relations" that was sparked by the Aug. 9 fatal shooting. It hints that jurors were not unanimous in their decision. Doe also wants "to advocate for legislative change to the way grand juries are conducted in Missouri," the suit says, and more simply, be able to talk about the case "with close family members at home." 

..............

The plaintiff claims McCulloch's characterization of the grand jury's view of the evidence after they declined to indict Wilson was at odds with Doe's opinions of the case, that the public's understanding of the grand jurors' views is "not entirely accurate." 

The investigation of Wilson "had a stronger focus on the victim than in other grand jury cases," the suit says. The presentation of evidence and "the State's counsel to the grand jury" "differed markedly and in significant ways. . . from the hundreds of matters presented to the grand jury earlier in its term." The suit also claims the legal guidelines presented to jurors in applying facts of the case were "muddled and untimely" compared to other cases.

Well we all know that this gran jury case was fixed from the get go, so it would be really great to have the opportunity to hear what really happened behind the scenes. 

It might also be helpful to the Feds who are doing their own investigation.

Juror: "Look George Zimmerman got away with murder."

Courtesy of The New York Times:  

The juror, known as Maddy and identified as Juror B29 in the courtroom, said that she and the others on the six-woman jury had no choice but to vote for an acquittal in the case because of Florida law and the evidence presented at the trial in Sanford, Fla. Mr. Zimmerman, 29, argued that he shot Mr. Martin, 17, who was unarmed, in self-defense. 

“You can’t put the man in jail even though in our hearts we felt he was guilty,” the juror said in an interview broadcast on ABC’s “World News” on Thursday. “But we had to grab our hearts and put it aside and look at the evidence.” 

The juror also said that she felt sympathy for the Martin family. Of the charges against Mr. Zimmerman, she said, “The law couldn’t prove it.” 

“George Zimmerman — look, George Zimmerman got away with murder. But you can’t get away from God,” she told Robin Roberts, the “Good Morning America” anchor. “And at the end of the day, he’s going to have a lot of questions and answers he has to deal with.”

While I agree with this juror that Zimmerman got away with murder I disagree that there was not evidence which proved he was not fighting back in self defense.

Take a look at this Daily Kos post from June 9th:  

The DNA results show none of Zimmerman's DNA under Martin's fingernails: 

RESULTS Exhibit ME2: Fingernail scrapings represented as being from Trayvon Benjamin Martin “gave chemical indications for the presence of blood” 

ME 2A Right hand: “No DNA results foreign to Trayvon Benjamin Martin (ME-3) were found on Exhibit ME-2A” 

ME 2B Left hand: “No DNA results were obtained from Exhibit ME-2B 

The Jury will see the DNA report shows that none of Zimmerman's DNA was found on the cuffs/sleeves of Martin's hoodie. 

George Zimmerman told detectives (time 34:46 in video after the orange squiggle) that he had "blood all over [his] face and eyes." We know from pictures officer's took of Zimmerman moments after he killed Trayvon that Zimmerman did not really have blood covering his eyes. That said, if Trayvon had been punching Zimmerman in the nose 25 to 30 times, as Zimmerman claims, then some of Zimmerman's blood would be all over the cuff/sleeve of Trayvon Martins hoodie. 

Exhibit ME 12 Hoodie represented as being from Trayvon Martin 

Stain A: Partial DNA profile consistent with originating from a male individual and matches the DNA profile from Trayvon Benjamin Martin (ME-3).” 

Stain B: (cuff/sleeve regions of both arms) Failed to give chemical indications for the presence of blood 

Right cuff/lower sleeve: No DNA results foreign to Trayvon Martin were obtained from right cuff/lower sleeve 

Left cuff/lower sleeve: No DNA results foreign to Trayvon Martin were obtained from left cuff/lower sleeve 

ME 12 (stain B and general rubbing from cuff/sleeve regions of both arms) Failed to give chemical indications for the presence of blood 

Stain C: No DNA results were obtained.

George Zimmerman's entire defense was predicated on the lie that he was assaulted and in fear for his life. As far as I am concerned the only evidence to support his version are the scratches on his head, which have ALWAYS looked self inflicted to me, and his version of events, a version that he changed numerous times. 

If this juror had stood her ground Trayvon Martin just might have had justice served on his behalf. But sadly for him, and his family, and the NEXT victim of an unnecessary shooting due to "Stand Your Ground" laws, that did not happen.

Zimmerman juror eagerly claims her fifteen minutes of fame, even while trying to protect her identity.

Courtesy of the Atlantic: 

One of the six jurors who decided to acquit George Zimmerman of the charges against him for the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin spoke to Anderson Cooper on Monday evening. In short, the juror more or less completely believed Zimmerman's version of events. It was Zimmerman's voice screaming for help heard over the 911 call, she told Cooper. And she does not believe that race played a role in Zimmerman's assessment of Martin. Overall, her take on Zimmerman himself was very sympathetic. 

Juror B37 sat across from Anderson Cooper, with her face in darkness. She told Cooper that she hadn't been following the trial, or story, "at all" before become one of the six jurors in the trial. During her interview, she referred to George Zimmerman as "George," and Trayvon Martin as "Trayvon." Overall, she found the evidence presented more interesting than the testimony. 

The first vote during deliberations among the 6-woman jury on the verdict, the juror said, was 3 not guilty; 2 manslaughter; 1 second-degree murder. The juror was one of the three not guilty votes. The juror said that she initially found the law surrounding the case "very confusing," specifically referring to the last-minute addition of manslaughter to the charges they were to consider against Zimmerman. "there was a couple in there who wanted to find him guilty of something," she said, but that neither of the options on the table, second-degree murder or manslaughter, were feasibly options given the way they read state law. 

This juror, number B37, is also the one that had, at least temporarily, a book deal.

Here are a few nuggets that came out of this interview.