Not two days removed from the trial of George Zimmerman, the woman known publicly as "Juror B37" thought it was time to go on award tour, with acquittal in hand. Yesterday morning, literary agent Sharlene Martin released a statement regarding the woman's intent to write a book about the trial:
"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. 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."
Unsurprisingly, the notion of this woman—who told Anderson Cooper that she'd trust Zimmerman to be a neighborhood watch member in her community—writing a book and profiting at all from the death of a teenager left many people infuriated. One of them happened to be a young woman who tweets under the handle @MoreandAgain. She found contact info for the literary agent and urged her followers to let Sharlene Martin know of their discontent via a Change.org petiton:
This is the Google Doc with contact information for Sharlene Martin, the literary agent for juror B37. Contact her https://t.co/tvl7p5nRTm
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
Agent: @sharlenemartin @MoreAndAgain: Martin Literary Management LL 7683 SE 27th Street #307 Mercer Island, WA 98040 206-466-1774
— Nichole (@tnwhiskeywoman) July 16, 2013
Do you want to stop juror B37's book? Sign the petition https://t.co/tIuA4jQTIL Contact the agent https://t.co/8Clkq77gua #byp100
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
And shortly thereafter, Sharlene Martin contacted her via a private message:
The private message that I just received from Sharlene Martin via Change[dot]org reads as follows (wait for it):
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
"I appreciate your passion for the death of Travyon Martin. Stand by for a message shortly. I grieve his death as well." – Sharlene Martin
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
And a bit later, she followed up again…
"After careful consideration regarding the proposed book project with Zimmerman Juror B37,
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
"I have decided to rescind my offer of representation in the exploration of a book based upon this case.
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
"All best, Sharlene Martin Martin Literary Management"
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
I'm going to respond to her message and ask her if she will make this statement publicly. But. . . HOLY SHIT!
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
I just received another message from Sharlene saying she released a statement to the associated press.
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
After careful consideration of the book project with Zimmerman #JurorB37, I have decided to rescind my offer of representation.
— sharlene martin (@sharlenemartin) July 16, 2013
*SCREEEEEAAAAAAMMMMSSSS* RT @questlove: thank you @MoreAndAgain for leading the effort to get #JurorB37's book deal dropped.
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
I went from feeling incredibly helpless about Zimmerman's verdict, to being overwhelmed with joy. Thank you all for your signatures and RT's
— Cocky McSwagsalot (@MoreAndAgain) July 16, 2013
Sharlene Martin did, in fact, release an official statement to the press
…on behalf of Mrs. B37, who is now saying that she didn't know the "depth of the pain" surrounding this case because she had been sequestered while serving: "Now that I am returned to my family and to society in general, I have realized that the best direction for me to go is away from writing any sort of book and return instead to my life as it was before I was called to sit on this jury."Let this be a lesson to everyone: You can't hide from Black Twitter. Social media engagement has led the charge throughout the entire Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman saga—do remember that the Sanford police didn't want to make an arrest before enduring the international scrutiny that came from online organizing. While we can't say authoritatively that B37 will stay true to her word (you never know who may come calling with a large advance) or that no other juror will sell their own account of the saga, for now, there's a few less people poised to profit from this tragedy.