One of the jurors who cast one of the unanimous votes to convict former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of killing George Floyd said most of the time during deliberations was primarily spent trying to help one person who was uncertain about part of the instructions given to the jury.
Brandon Mitchell, otherwise known as “juror 52,” is the first juror that deliberated in Chauvin’s trial to speak publicly about his experience.
An alternate juror, Lisa Christensen, who spoke to reporters last week, was dismissed before the deliberations process, told the media that she would’ve voted to convict Chauvin as well if she had the opportunity.
Thirty-one-year-old Mitchell said the deliberations which led to Chauvin’s conviction on all counts could have happened sooner. “I felt like it should have been 20 minutes,” he said.
On Wednesday, Mitchell told ABC’s “Good Morning America” the jury’s deliberations were “straightforward,” only lasting about four hours but that much of the time spent was used going over terminology and “making sure we understood what exactly was being asked.”
“I think the one juror that was kind of — I wouldn’t say slowing us down — but was being delicate with the process, more so, was just kind of hung up with a few words in the instructions. They wanted to make sure they got it right,” Mitchell told GMA’s Robin Roberts.
