A woman who was selected as an alternate juror in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis officer convicted in the death of George Floyd, admitted that public pressure in the case made her unsure whether she even wanted to be on the jury, stating, “I did not want to go through rioting and destruction again and I was concerned about people coming to my house if they were not happy with the verdict.”
Lisa Christensen told Lou Raguse of KARE 11 that her heart “broke a little” when the judge informed her she would only be an alternate juror, saying, “Number 96, you’re an alternate.”
Raguse asked, “Did you want to be a juror?” Christensen responded, “ I had mixed feelings. There was a question on the questionnaire about it and I put I did not know. The reason, at that time, was I did not know what the outcome was going to be, so I felt like either way you are going to disappoint one group or the other. I did not want to go through rioting and destruction again and I was concerned about people coming to my house if they were not happy with the verdict.”
Christensen also stated, “I would have voted guilty. … I feel like Chauvin is responsible for Mr. Floyd’s death.” She said that prosecution witness Dr. Martin Tobin “broke it down to where we could understand it. He had us demonstrate. We were all in the jury touching our necks and we could feel what he was trying to make us feel.”
She said that was the turning point for her, but claimed, “I did consider the defense’s points about the enlarged heart, the narrowing of the arteries, the drug use. But regardless, I do not think he would have passed away on that day at that time.”
Although she said “testimony by the experts, the forensics” mattered, she said, “the videos are what really nailed it.”
Raguse noted that later this summer the other three officers are scheduled to be on trial and asked, “How do you think that will go for them?”
Christensen said, “I think their trial is going to be impacted by this trial and the outcome of it. I think everybody played such a different role and everybody should be judged on their participation.”
Raguse persisted, “When you say a tougher time, do you mean putting on the trial because of the publicity from this trial?”
Christensen answered, “Yes.”
Prior to the announcement of the jury’s verdict in the Chauvin trial, President Joe Biden said he was “praying” for the jury to reach the “right verdict.” He stated of a call he made to George Floyd’s family, “I can only imagine the pressure and anxiety they are feeling, and so I waited until the jury is sequestered and I called. I wasn’t going to say anything about it … it was a private conversation. They’re a good family and they are calling for peace and tranquility no matter what that verdict is. I’m praying the verdict is the right verdict, which is, I think it’s overwhelming, in my view. I wouldn’t say that unless the jury is sequestered.”
Joe Biden on the Chauvin trial: "I'm praying the verdict is the right verdict, which I think is overwhelming in my view."pic.twitter.com/aJDQlZGHO4
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) April 20, 2021