‘There Was No Room for Error at All’: Derek Chauvin Trial Jurors Speak Out on Decision to CNN’s Don Lemon

Five jurors and two alternates in the trial of Derek Chauvin spoke out to CNN’s Don Lemon about how they reached their verdict.

Chauvin was found guilty in April for the murder of George Floyd.

Sherri Belton Hardeman told Lemon “this was no easy task for us” but that they “took this very seriously.”

“People are saying that we were pressured to give that verdict that day… which was not true. We went through everything,” Tossa Edorh added.

Nicole Deters agreed that “people need to know that due diligence was done and taken very seriously.”

She showed Lemon the copious notes she took during the trial, while Brandon Mitchell said they were “a little bit eager” to meet up with everyone and “get our thoughts out.”

Jodi Doud said they took a number of votes during deliberations. Deters explained they all agreed on a guilty verdict for the manslaughter charge, but then “a couple of us played devil’s advocate” to raise questions the defense would point out.

Hardeman emphasized they went in this direction to make sure “everyone was on the same page.”

“There was no room for error at all.”

They also discussed the disturbing video of Chauvin on Floyd’s neck and how painful it was to watch it over and over to check all the relevant information. At one point they agreed if not for the video recorded by Darnella Frazier, they would not have been in that room to begin with.

You can watch part of the lengthy interview above, via CNN.