George Zimmerman trial: Rachel Jeantel, Trayvon Martin's friend, says she was "disappointed" with Zimmerman verdict in TV interview
(CBS) -- Rachel Jeantel, the young woman who was on the phone with Florida teen Trayvon Martin minutes before his shooting death, said in a Monday interview with CNN that she was "disappointed," "sad" and "angry" that George Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder charges.
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She told CNN's Piers Morgan the jury's decision that Zimmerman was acting in self defense was "BS."
"[Martin] was trying to get home," Jeantel, 19, told Morgan. "And he was. And that's a fact."
Zimmerman, 29, was acquitted Saturday night by a panel of six women of second-degree murder and a lesser included offense of manslaughter in the death of Martin, 17. Zimmerman claims Martin attacked him and he shot in self-defense.
Jeantel said she believed that Zimmerman racially profiled her friend Martin before he shot the teen in the gated Sanford, Fla. community where Zimmerman had started a neighborhood watch program.
"It was racial, let's be honest. Racial," Jeantel said. "If Trayvon was white and he had a hoodie on, would it have happened?"
Morgan asked Jeantel what she thought was going through Zimmerman's mind the evening of Feb. 26, 2012, when he called a police non-emergency line to report Martin as a suspicious person in his neighborhood.
"I'm finally going to get one that night," Jeantel responded.
Zimmerman has said persistent break-ins prompted him to coordinate the neighborhood watch program, and on the call, he said, "F---ing punks" and "These assholes always get away."
Jeantel testified at trial that Martin told her he was being followed by a "creepy ass cracker", and later heard him say "Get off, get off" before the phone went dead. Attorneys and the judge often had difficulty understanding Jeantel, asking her to speak up and repeat her answers to questions. Speaking with Morgan, Jeantel addressed her communication difficulties on the stand, saying that she had a speech impediment caused by an underbite.
The young woman also addressed her heated exchanges with defense attorney Don West. The studio audience laughed as she said, "I'm gonna have to say, he's lucky I'm a Christian."
She admitted she did "give attitude."
Responding to a question from Morgan, Jeantel explained the term "creepy ass cracker." She said the term wasn't racial, but said it was used to describe "a person who act like a police officer."
Describing Martin, Jeantel said that the 17-year old was a "calm, chill" person who loved his family. She said she had never known Martin to be aggressive. The teen did smoke marijuana about twice a week, but she said "weed don't make him go crazy, it make him go hungry," as the audience laughed.
In an emotional moment, Jeantel described learning that Martin was killed just moments after their phone conversation. Jeantel said she was in "shock."
She described a friend telling her Martin died at 7:17 p.m that night. "I had to look at my phone and my phone say 7:16," Jeantel said.
"People got the nerve to tell me why I ain't come to that funeral. I ain't put Trayvon at that funeral. I didn't put Trayvon in that casket," Jeantel said. "That's what people need to understand."
