Black Juror says white Jurors pressured her to convict Black Man on trial for Assault on White Man: (white juror) 'we spoke a lot about race of defendant but it didn't affect our judgment'

From [HERE] and [HERE] Jurors discussed the race of the defendant, Michael Bent and witnesses before convicting a Deerfield Beach teenager of aggravated battery in June for inciting the 2009 burning attack of Michael Brewer, according to the testimony of jurors questioned in a Broward courtroom Friday.

Bent, who is black, was accused of spearheading a confrontation with Brewer, who is white, on Oct. 12, 2009 at the Lime Tree Village Apartment complex in Deerfield Beach. During that confrontation, Denver Jarvis, who is white, poured a container of isopropyl alcohol on Brewer. Then Jesus Mendez, who is Hispanic, flicked a lighter igniting the liquid. The defendants and the victim are all now 18. Mendez and Jarvis pleaded no contest and are serving prison terms of 11 and eight years, respectively.

But those discussions did not weigh on the verdict, most of the jurors said, and their testimony also failed to support allegations by the jury forewoman that they discussed the facts of the case and reached conclusions before deliberations began in the trial of Matthew Bent, 18, in June.

Bent faces a maximum prison sentence of 15 years if his conviction stands, but he has asked for a new trial based on the accusations of jury misconduct.

Bent faces a maximum prison sentence of 15 years if his conviction stands, but he has asked for a new trial based on the accusations of jury misconduct.

Broward Circuit Judge Matthew Destry recalled the jurors to testify on Friday. He did not rule on Bent's motion for a new trial, and scheduled another hearing for Wednesday, when he will hear arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Although race never was raised as a motive in the attack that nearly killed Brewer, who was 15 at the time, the jury forewoman in Bent's trial, Karen Bates McCord, who is black, said she was called a racist by other jurors and pressured into compromising her verdict.

Bent is black; Brewer is white.

McCord, who first made the claims in a letter to the trial judge in June, repeated her allegations Friday in open court. She also said that on the second day of trial, one juror commented: "This was going to be an easy case to decide."

Once deliberations began, McCord said, she brought up the question of her fellow jurors' comments.

"The minute I said something," she said, "they said I was crazy."

Only one juror, Jessica LaShawn Walker, corroborated part of McCord's allegation.

Walker said that during lunches together, she heard some jurors comment on the demeanor of Michael Brewer's father, who testified at the trial that he used a racial epithet against Bent during a confrontation before the burning attack.

But, Walker said, the comments were "nothing pertaining to the case."

She said McCord instructed her fellow jurors to change the subject several times, which provoked a reaction.

Another juror, Maria Linter, said she made a comment to McCord, but that she did not call her a racist.

"It was me who said don't make this a racial case," she told the judge. "Just go by the law."

Other jurors testified that they also recalled some discussions of race, but they were not a basis for the verdict.

"There were a couple of spoken words that had to do with race, but I wouldn't say it was an overall issue," said Roger Myrie. "I did hear someone say, 'You don't know what black people have been through in this country.'"

But, he said, "We were just talking about the evidence, and the facts that were there."

Pressed for an explanation by Perry Thurston Jr., one of Bent's defense attorneys, Myrie said that all of the jurors were in agreement on the verdict except for one, whom he did not identify.

"There was never really an argument about race," Myrie said. "It was more about (Bent) being a young black kid and being on trial, and if he really deserved that decision that we had made.

"That's why someone made that remark," he said.

Another juror said she also recalled comments regarding the race of the defendant and witnesses during deliberations, but she said the context was to understand slang used in testimony.

Friday's hearings took place three years to the day after the attack on Brewer, who celebrated his 18th birthday on Thursday.

Maureen "Reenie" Brewer, Michael's grandmother, said he is doing well but still coping with the aftermath of the attack.

Michael Brewer suffered second- and third-degree burns over most of his body after a group of Deerfield Beach Middle School classmates poured rubbing alcohol over him and then flicked a lighter. He saved his life by jumping into a nearby swimming pool.

Brewer spent five months at Jackson Memorial Hospital, and underwent seven skin grafts and three throat surgeries.

Bent was originally charged with attempted second-degree murder with a weapon, but jurors returned a guilty verdict on the lesser charge of aggravated battery.

If Destry grants Bent a new trial, then Bent can only be tried for aggravated battery and not the original charge - otherwise Bent would be subjected to double jeopardy, which is prohibited by law.

The Brewer family also continues to wrestle with the notion of justice for Michael.

"What we're struggling with is the fact that this isn't about race," she said. "This is about unkindness. This is about something that was done to a child and that he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

"To think that there may not be an end to what happened that day is distressful," she said.