Vanderbilt rape retrial jury foreman speaks out

The jury foreman tried to put himself in Brandon Vandenburg's place, tried to understand what happened in a Vanderbilt dorm on June 23, 2013.

"I tried to put myself in his shoes at points," Mitchell Powell, the foreman, told The Tennessean. "But the situation was just so, it just wasn’t something ... I could never see myself in that situation."

Powell is 23 years old, the same age as Vandenburg. That similarity did not cross his mind last week as he weighed the evidence against the former Vanderbilt University football player. Powell read eight guilty verdicts on counts including aggravated rape Saturday night at the close of Vandenburg's six-day trial.

In deliberations, he said, the group of 12 jurors methodically compared evidence to the requirements set out in law. It took about 4 1/2 hours.

"We were all on the same page," he said. "It was harder for some more than others, which is understandable. It’s hard to sit down and judge someone. But at the end of the day we all knew we were making the right decision.

"You could tell it was taking a toll on some."

Related:From 2013 to today, read more about this case

Read more: Three years after rape at Vanderbilt, progress but work to be done

Three jurors declined to comment on the case or hung up when a reporter called. Others could not be reached.

Among the evidence presented to them were graphic photographs and images of the rape that were deleted but recovered by police. Powell said those were the most convincing.

He said did not know Vandenburg had gone to trial before. Vandenburg and another player, Cory Batey, were found guilty in January 2015, but an issue with a juror led to a mistrial. Batey, 22, was found guilty at a second trial in April.

Because of rules that prevent the use of incriminating statements when defendants stand trial together, prosecutors could not use Vandenburg's statement to police in trial last year. Last week, the jurors heard the statement. In it, Vandenburg says he watched his football teammates assault the woman and realized he should have called someone.

"We gave it weight," Powell said of the statement, "but when the other evidence came around, it brought that to be not as truthful."

Powell said he noticed Vandenburg's demeanor during the trial.

"I did notice he was very stoic the entire time, which I’m sure he was nervous as I think anybody would be," Powell said.

The jury was chosen in Memphis because of media attention of the prior trial. Jurors were sequestered in Nashville.

"When we were inside the courtroom it was strictly business," he said. "But when we came back to the hotel we were able to relax."

That included a three-day Monopoly tournament, he said. Though jury service required him to step away from his job at the Down Syndrome Association of Memphis and the Mid-South, he said it turned out to be a good experience.

"I went into jury duty not really wanting to do it, as most people think it’s this horrible thing," he said. "The whole process was very intellectually entertaining. I learned a ton about our legal system. I would do it again."

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 and on Twitter @sbarchenger.