Well, that sure didn’t take long.
As of this writing it hasn’t been a full 48 hours yet and a juror in the George Zimmerman trial for the shooting death of skittles-armed Trayvon Martin that ended in Zimmerman’s acquittal has signed a book deal:
Juror B37 in the George Zimmerman trial has signed (along with her attorney husband) with literary agent and Martin Literary Management president Sharlene Martin.
Along with the other jurors, Juror B37 found Zimmerman not guilty in the controversial trial. Literary agent Martin had this statement:
My hope is that people will read Juror B37’s book, written with her attorney husband, and understand the commitment it takes to serve and be sequestered on a jury in a highly publicized murder trial and how important, despite one’s personal viewpoints, it is to follow the letter of the law. It could open a whole new dialogue about laws that may need to be revised and revamped to suit a 21st century way of life. The reader will also learn why the jurors had no option but to find Zimmerman Not Guilty due to the manner in which he was charged and the content of the jury instructions.
And I’m sure this is indeed the intent of writing the book — not making money.
The juror has chosen to remain anonymous at this point. Gawker shared the juror’s courtroom interview with attorneys as she was be considered for the jury.
According to the literary agency, ”it is not known whether they will participate in any media at this time or decide to reveal their identities given the sensitivity of the verdict and the outpouring of mixed reactions by the American public.” The juror contacted Martin on Sunday, “referred by a high ranking producer at one of the morning shows.”
Two things:
1. A movie deal based on the book deal at some point would not be surprising.
2. Look for the book to be hyped to death (pardon the expression) on Fox News.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.