MIAMI, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Some jurors in the Joe Cool murder trial in Florida said they want to retract guilty verdict votes they said they cast because they felt intimidated by others.
"I want to take back my vote to convict," 51-year-old Venora Gray told The Miami Herald. "I think there has been a great miscarriage of justice and I need to correct it."
Gray and 11 other jurors were deadlocked on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery in the 2007 fatal shootings of four Miami Beach, Fla., charter boat crew members. However, the jury convicted Hialeah security guard Guillermo Zarabozo of four counts of using a firearm in a violent crime, which carries a life sentence, she said in the interview published Thursday.
Two other jurors also said they wanted to withdraw their votes to convict.
Gray said one of the nine jurors who wanted to convict Zarabozo bullied her and the others who wanted to acquit.
"Every time we spoke up, he would attack us and yell 'Guilty, guilty, guilty!' and slam his hand on the table," Gray said. "We were absolutely under a lot of pressure."
Meanwhile, prosecutors said they intend to retry Zarabozo on the murder charges after a mistrial on those charges was declared.
Prosecutors alleged Zarabozo and accomplice Kirby Archer wanted to commandeer the "Joe Cool" to Cuba after chartering the vessel. All four victims were reportedly thrown overboard after being shot. Their bodies haven't been recovered.
