Comments

1
How tragic, now she won't be able to profit from the death of an innocent black teenager, when will this persecution of WASPs ever stop
2
Hold on a sec... Jurors really do get cut off from the massive amount of hype. Even though it was pretty obvious this case was going to be a media shit-storm, this juror doesn't appear particularly bright, and I can see her honestly not realizing her bad mistake until after getting home and reviewing what everyone else has seen for the last few weeks.

The publisher, having not been sequestered, is not excused.
3
Don't the jurors have to be out of touch in order to serve on the jury at all?
4
One of the jurors, which I think is this one, was interviewed by Piers Morgan after the trial. (They were playing parts of the interview on KIRO radio yesterday.)
She was a total idiot, proud of the fact that she never read the newspaper or followed any news on the internet, radio, or elsewhere. This is what lawyers seem to want in a juror: a blank slate. What they get unfortunately is a person that is totally uninformed about anything in the world, unengaged, uncurious, and intellectually dead.
5
@2. I agree that it is entirely possible that she was unaware of what a folly this was. Also agree the publishing world does not get off that easily.

My question is; how do publishers target and find jurors for this kind of instabook? If the juror was thinking of a book during the trial that changes the dynamic. If a predatory ambulance chaser of an agent targeted her afterwards then how does said agent reach out, contact & sign her?
6
She was clueless enough about the case to make it onto the jury in the first place. Then, she was sequestered. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that she didn't get how the book announcement would be received.
7
I think the juror deserves a bit of slack.

She was basically offered a lucrative opportunity to simply write about a situation she was in. We are talking about possibly life-changing amounts of fame and fortune. How many of you would immediately turn it down? For all we know, she is struggling to support kids, or working shit jobs all day, and this could be an escape.

I mean, she was offered a book deal, something many people would kill for, and some people work hard for their whole lives and never get. Then after she thought about it more, she changed her mind.

Is this really a villian in so many eyes?
8
2, 5, for centuries, it's been held that publishers are much lower on the moral scale than lawyers.
9
I know it wouldn't necessarily exclude her from the jury, but I find the fact her husband is an attorney very interesting and the idea he'd be co-authoring the book.
10
@4 there are smart people who don't follow the news, and there are other smart people who follow the news but tune out crap like the Zimmerman trial.
11
#4 She's neither. She was saying that she was proud of the fact that she was totally uninformed about anything (other than her pets).
12
What they get unfortunately is a person that is totally uninformed about anything in the world, unengaged, uncurious, and intellectually dead.


Don't you think attorneys want that too?

@7,

Her husband is an attorney. I doubt she's doing that badly. And most book deals of this type don't pay out that much money. If you're not a celebrity or an established bestseller, you're getting $10k as an advance, maybe.
13
I think the book could have been valuable. It's entirely possible that the woman had insights into how the jury system operates, and how ordinary jurors confront their task. And even if she turned out to be the vapid yuppie, swimming blithely unaware in her white privilege that so many people are implying she is, the book could have unintentionally provided a look at the dark side of the American psyche.
14
Paul,

You know as well as I the "pained" public would have bought the shit out of that dumb book.
15
I watched the AC360 interview and it made a lot more sense as to why the verdict came down the way it did. Not enough evidence, prosecutors that botched witnesses, and SYG laws led to this verdict. I did not think she came across as an "idiot", Zimmerman was guilty by a large swath of the public before the trial but the state couldnt back it up.
16
@15, Maybe add racist assumptions that a black kid walking home with a bag of candy is up to no good and deserves to be hunted with a gun and any attempts on the kid's part to defend himself is tantamount to assault.
17
@16 do you have actual proof that he was "hunted" or was only defending himself? Or just an assumption? Because assumptions dont get you locked up. Were you there that night? None of us were and none of the facts were not enough to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. An assumption that Zimmerman was trying to protect himself is not racist its just a view of the facts provided by the state. IMO the prosecution should have focused on Manslaughter not murder and they would have got the conviction, but screw me im just some schmuck trolling with the rest of you at work.
18
@17: from the interview, the decisive testimony was the white Sanford police detective who said he believed Zimmerman. The testimony of the black witnesses was discounted by the jury.

Well now, that's pretty compelling no? Because anybody who's a white Southern law enforcement official just couldn't be racist.
19
@18 so your saying that every white southern law officer IS racist? Your assuming again
20
@19 - I would say that the chance of a white southern law officer being racist is significantly greater than if they weren't.
21
Not enough evidence, prosecutors that botched witnesses, and SYG laws led to this verdict.

SYG was never an issue at trial, no matter how many bedwetters here and elsewhere want to lie about that.
22
@19: still haven't gotten the hang of that logical syllogism thingie, have you? Well, keep practicing.
23
I don't think an actual book deal was on the table yet. Literary agent Sharlene Martin announced that she would be representing the juror and seeking a book deal. The literary agent, a Mercer Island resident (seriously), backed out after the media attention and internet pressure.
http://www.ebony.com/news-views/justice-…
24
@23, yeah, we'd hate to have anyone write a book the "free speech liberals" disapproved of. I'll be waiting for Jeantel to write her book, once she learns to read.
25
Jeantel speaks three languages. Try it sometime, @24!
26
Hmph. Too bad none of them are English.

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