Seven jury members in the Derek Chauvin trial spoke out for the first time to deliver how the emotional trial in the midst of the Black Lives Matter era forever shaped their lives. 

On April 21, 2021 the jurors found Chauvin, the former Minneapolis Police officer who killed George Floyd, 46, by kneeling on his neck for more than 9 minutes, guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

It took the jurors two days and 10 hours to reach a verdict. 

As Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck while handcuffed, Floyd cried out “I couldn’t breathe” and called out for his mother. 

Related: Man Arrested in Connection With George Floyd Statue Defacement 

“Watching George Floyd call for his mom just broke my heart. Me being a mom, a Black mom, a Black grandmother,” said juror Sherri Belton Hardeman. “We call out for our mom when we’re hurting, when we’re in pain, and 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.” 

The harrowing 9 minutes and 29 second video of Floyd’s harrowing death was caught on camera on May 25, 2020. The video, captured by then 17-year-old Darnella Frazier, led to nationwide protests and an image seared into the mind of jurors forever. 

“The camera doesn’t lie,” Hardeman said. “And it was in slow motion at times while you were sitting there in court…. So it was hard. It played a huge role though. It truly did.” 

The ordeal began when police arrived to the scene because Floyd was buying a pack of cigarettes with a $20 bill a store cashier thought was fake. 

“Without those bystander videos something would’ve happened but it wouldn’t have been at this level, I don’t believe,” said juror Nicole Deters. 

Juror Lisa Christensen added, “Without Miss Frazier’s video, I don’t think we’d be sitting here today, to be honest with you.” 

Chauvin, a white police officer was sentenced to 22.5 years for killing Floyd, a Black man. 

Related: Derek Chauvin Plans to Appeal Murder Conviction, Sentence 

“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,” Deters said. “But when it came down to all three verdicts, it was based on the evidence and the facts one hundred percent.” 

Hardeman followed, “Race wasn’t even ever mentioned in the three and a half weeks that we were in that courtroom, and it was never mentioned during deliberations, I don’t believe.”