More people who served on the jury during Derek Chauvin’s murder trial are speaking out about their experience. In an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon on Thursday (Oct. 28), a group of former jurors reflected on the proceedings, calling the entire trial “very traumatic.”
“It is definitely in my spirit and it will always be there,” juror Sherri Belton Hardeman said of watching the video that captured Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck.
“Watching George Floyd call for his mom just broke my heart,” she continued. “Me being a mom, a Black mom, a Black grandmother… We call out for our mom when we’re hurting, when we’re in pain, when we’re in need… And unfortunately, his mom could not come to his rescue. In fact, no one came to his rescue. It’s heartbreaking.”
Throughout the trial, jury members listened to hours of harrowing testimony from witnesses, including Darnella Frazier, the teenager who filmed the shocking clip. Many said the trial’s graphic and emotional nature caused them to seek therapy after serving on the jury.
As reported by REVOLT, the jury deliberated for 10 hours over the course of two days, re-watching the video of Floyd’s murder and going over evidence, before convicting Chauvin of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on April 20.
“We got here because of systemic racism within the system, right? Because of what’s been going on. That’s how we got to a courtroom in the first place,” juror Nicole Deters said. “But when it came down to all three verdicts, it was based on the evidence and the facts 100 percent.”
Speaking with Lemon, the jurors praised Frazier’s bravery in filming the video. However, more than one said they never want to watch it again.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that before. I don’t think any of us have,” Hardeman said. “It was very, very traumatic. And it just hurt — just hurt my whole soul, my whole body. And I felt pain for his family.”
Juror Brandon Mitchell, who also appeared on CNN on Thursday, was the first juror to speak out about the trial back in April.
“We were just stressed because every day we had to come in and watch a Black man die; that alone is stressful,” he said of the experience at the time. “Coming in each and every day and having to watch somebody die is stressful enough by itself.”
Watch Lemon’s interview with the seven jury members below.