A juror in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is speaking out.
Brandon Mitchell was one of 12 jurors in the Chauvin trial. Appearing on âGood Morning Americaâ Wednesday, Mitchell was the first juror to speak out in a television interview.
He was asked by ABC Newsâ Robin Roberts on the show about what went on inside the jury room in the deliberations.
Mitchell said there were a âfew hiccupsâ with terminology, adding, âThere wasnât too much banter back and forth.â
Asked if there was a âhold outâ because of one juror, Mitchell shared, âI wouldnât 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.â
Additionally, Mitchell was asked about some people who believe âthe racial climate and the protests in the streets may have impacted the deliberationsâ and if that was discussed and âan issue at all.â
He responded, âWe werenât watching the news, so we donât know what was going on.â
Mitchell added, âWe were really just locked in on the case. And there was so much stress coming from the case, I mean those things are so secondary because youâre literally, throughout the trial, youâre watching somebody die on a daily basis, so that stress alone is enough to take your mind away from whateverâs going on outside of the four walls of the courtroom.â
âI mean that was not even, that wasnât even something that was in any of our minds, I donât think so,â he said.
Last week, the jurors convicted Chauvin of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree âdepraved mindâ murder, and second-degree manslaughter charges.
