buzzz worthy. . .
By Mona Austin
Yesterday Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda started to bring the 24 day trial to a close.
By Mona Austin
Arguments in the second degree murder trial of George Zimmeran concluded today. A jury of six women will decide if the former neighborhood watchman from Sanford, Florida acted in self defense or hate when he gunned down 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012 who allegedly attacked him.
"Who started this? Who followed who? Who was minding their own business? Of the two, who was the one that was armed?" de la Rionda asked the jury.
Taking over two hours to summarize the state's case, the prosecutor characterized Zimmerman as a lying, wannabe cop who took the law into his own hands --after authorities told him not to pursue Martin --and murdered the deceased in cold blood “not because he had to but because he wanted to.” De la Rionda angrily shredded the noble citizen image of George Zimmerman pointing to a string of inconsistencies in his account of what happened on the night of the incident. He said there would not be a case if Zimmerman had not profiled Martin, an innocent teen, as a criminal and acted on false assumptions.
This morning at the Seminole Country Justice Center in Sanford, Defense Attorney Mark O’Mara rebutted with a lecturer’s ease, using highly demonstrative cardboard cut outs, enlarged photos and animated video to emphasize the lack of proof from the state.
Although Trayvon Martin was only carrying Skittles and a can of tea, O’Mara said he had a weapon at this disposal. Pointing to a block of cement he brought in O’Mara said Martin was "armed" with the cement he smashed Zimmerman's head upon, which caused their client to fear for his life and led to justifiable homicide.
O’Mara, the Lead Defense Attorney, went on to answer the question his opponent posed on the previous day: Who started it ? "The person who decided this was going to be a violent event is the person that didn't go home.. . "
In one of the most dramatic moments of the trial, O’Mara told the court to wait idly for four whole minutes, saying Martin had four minutes of planning time to figure out what he wanted to do and he did not decide to go home.
In his final closing rebuttal Lead State Attorney John Guy was not equipped with props. He didn’t need them he said, getting to the “heart” of the case. Short on evidence, but confident his team had established more than a reasonable doubt, he looked directly at the jurors an appealed to their emotions and common sense by saying people say what’s in their heart. Reminding jurors of the negative names Zimmerman called Marti, the contradictions about the placement of the gun, the fact that Zimmerman did not call an ambulance or attempt to resuscitate the victim, he pressed the notion that Martin was an innocent kind who did not have to die.
"If ever there was ever any doubt about what really happened was it not completely removed by what the defendant said after all of the lies the defendant told. Only two people know what happened . . .one is dead and the other one lied over and over and over. Why did he have to lie if he had done nothing wrong?” Guy asked.
Outside the courtroom tensions are high as the nation is polarized in opinions largely divided by race. Judge Debra Nelson would not allow to race to be brought up as evidence during arguments, but today the prosecutor did addressed it, saying race was a non-issue.
Guy told jurors to consider how they would respond if the roles were reversed and Trayvon shot Zimmerman. "This case is not about race. It’s about right and about wrong. If the roles were reversed and it was Zimmerman walking home in the rain . . .and Martin was driving around with hate in his heart and Trayvon shot Zimmerman. . .That's how you know. . .”
Before turning the case over to the jury, the states hallowed last words were: “To the living we owe respect, but to the dead, we owe the truth."
Jurors are expected to deliberate over the weekend and return a verdict next week. All six members of the jury must agree unanimously on one of three options:
- George Zimmerman is not guilty
- The defendant is guilty of manslaughter
- The defendant is guilty of second degree murder.
There is no time limit on when they must render the verdict. The court adjourned without a verdict after three and a half hours of deliberation. Deliberation will resume on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. EST.