Letter from second juror disputes claims of racism in murder trial

A letter from a second juror from the jury that found Jimmie McNear guilty in the fatal shooting of Kantral Brooks and Esther Deneus during an armed burglary of their Bradenton home claims racism played no role in the case.

Jimmie McNear, 21, was found guilty by a jury of 12 of second-degree murder, manslaughter and armed burglary last month. The couple were killed on July 9, 2015 during an armed burglary of the couple’s home in the 3900 block of Southern Parkway in Bradenton.

Scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 3, McNear faces up to life in prison.

One of McNear’s defense attorneys, William Bennett, is seeking to question one of the jurors in the case after the juror sent a letter to presiding Circuit Judge Diana Moreland claiming there was no way a black man got a fair trial with some of her racist fellow jurors. McNear is black.

Motivated by the Bradenton Herald’s reporting about her fellow juror’s letter, another woman who sat on the jury said racism did not play a role in the jury’s consideration of the case.

“I am extremely saddened and hurt regarding the accusations of racism,” the second juror wrote in a letter to the court. “I am also saddened that this woman held such strong feelings of racism against her. In my feelings, I do not believe racism played any part in reaching our decisions.”

The second juror could not recall a single instance of racism, she wrote.

“I do recall the day one of the women spoke in length to us how she felt she was being picked on and singled out for her feelings,” she went on to say. “We all listened intensely to her. She did mention that she felt that our foreman had singled her out because of her race. Because she spoke frequently and at length at trial, I felt that the foreman was simply trying to fulfill his obligations as (the) foreman and to attempt to keep the discussions moving forward.”

As the jury neared a verdict, she added that the other juror was one of two who were in disagreement with the majority.

“Every opportunity was given to both of them to express their feelings to us,” she wrote. “We debated this issue for a long time. Everyone had the opportunity to express their feelings at this time and we all listened intensely to all the jurors.”

On Friday, Moreland heard arguments from Bennett and Assistant State Attorney Art Brown regarding the defense’s request to interview the juror who claimed racism.

Moreland did not issue a ruling but instead said she would be reaching out to the juror herself to discuss the matter.

This story was originally published December 11, 2017 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Letter from second juror disputes claims of racism in murder trial."