Sanford, FL – After taking less than a week to call 18 witnesses, George Zimmerman’s defense attorneys rested their case Wednesday in the neighborhood watch volunteer’s second-degree murder trial.
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Prosecutors called their first rebuttal witness immediately afterward— Adam Pollock, the gym owner who had trained Zimmerman. Following rebuttal witnesses, prosecutors and defense attorneys will then work out the jury instructions before presenting closing arguments. The judge then sends the case to six jurors.
Zimmerman never testified. But jurors saw repeated video recordings of Zimmerman telling his side of the story to police investigators. The defense started its case last Friday, and it presented half as many witnesses in half of the time that prosecutors did.
The defense rested on a day when the judge made two rulings that prevented them from introducing two pieces of evidence. Defense attorneys had wanted to present to jurors text messages discussing fighting from Trayvon Martin’s cell phone and an animation depicting Zimmerman’s fatal fight with Martin. But Judge Debra Nelson sided with prosecutors, who had argued the animation is inaccurate the texts were irrelevant.
During the four days they presented their case, defense attorneys called Zimmerman’s friends, parents and uncle to testify that it is Zimmerman screaming for help on a 911 call that captured sounds of the fatal fight. Martin’s mother and brother had testified for the prosecution that it’s Martin yelling for help.
Convincing the jury of who was screaming for help on the 911 tape has become the primary goal of prosecutors and defense attorneys because it would help jurors evaluate Zimmerman’s self-defense claim.
Zimmerman’s father, Robert Zimmerman Sr., was the last witness called by the defense on Wednesday, and he said it’s his son yelling for help on the call.
Defense attorneys also called a forensic pathologist who testified that the forensics evidence supports Zimmerman’s account of what happened.
Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and says he shot an unarmed Martin in self-defense during a scuffle in the townhome complex where he lived in February 2012. Martin was there visiting his father and his father’s fiancee. Some civil rights activists argued that the initial delay in charging Zimmerman was influenced by Martin’s race. Martin was black and Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic. The 44-day delay in Zimmerman’s arrest led to protests around the nation.
Earlier Wednesday, defense attorneys called public safety consultant Dennis Root to testify that Martin was in better physical shape than Zimmerman, and that the neighborhood watch volunteer wasn’t any athlete.
“He would find himself lacking when compared to Mr. Martin,” Root said of Zimmerman.
During cross-examination of Root, prosecutor John Guy used a life-sized foam mannequin in front of the jury to simulate the body positions of Zimmerman and Martin at the time of the shooting.
Straddling the dummy, Guy proposed a scenario in which Martin was on top of Zimmerman and asked Root if it was possible that Martin was backing away from Zimmerman at the time of the fatal gunshot.
“Yes,” Root said.
Root also said he may have taken different actions if he were in Zimmerman’s situation, but said that “it’s just a matter of what you as the individual view as options.”
Using the same mannequin during further questioning of Root, defense attorney Mark O’Mara challenged the notion of Martin retreating. Root said that while multiple gun angles were possible, he had no specific information to say what position Martin was in when he was shot.
“I think you’re not going to be involved in a conflict like this without it being dynamic,” Root said.
In the interest of justice, let us hope that the jury does the correct thing, and acquits George Zimmerman of all charges. Also, I hope that there are no civil disorders (riots) in American cities following an acquittal. Unfortunately, Mr. Zimmerman will have to live in hiding for the rest of his life, as he will not be safe without security, anywhere that he goes. It is a very sad commentary on our society, but unfortunately, it is a fact of life.
Thinking of purchasing a ticket to Florida. No, I don’t care about the case, but sure can use some free electronics.
I have not followed every twist and turn in the testimony, but I think I could vote to convict. GZ had evil intent. He got out of the car in order to confront TM. A fight occurred, one that would not have happened save for GZ’s actions. TM was fighting for his life and GZ ended it.
This is not a joke: 1 day before ZImmerman opened a PayPal account for his defense I tweeted him a suggestion to do just that. Don’t know if I caused it, but it seems that way.
To #4 - I don’t know where you get your facts from, but if you had watched the trial today, you would have noticed that the prosecutors have all but conceded that the deceased, Mr. Martin was on top of Mr. Zimmerman, and smashing his head numerous times into the concrete. The use of the concrete to repeatedly smash in someone’s head constitutes use of a deadly weapon, according to Florida law. Therefore, Zimmerman should be acquitted. Incidentally, it is not illegal to follow someone, and inquire what they are doing in a certain area. The latter action does not constitute justification for Martin lashing out, and violently assaulting Zimmerman. Even the prosecutors have conceded that Martin was in very good physical condition, and expert witnesses have testified that Zimmerman was in very bad shape physically, and was not well versed in street fighting. By the way, in your country of residence, Saudi Arabia, the religious police follow people all the time, and demand to know what they are doing in certain areas. If someone in Saudi Arabia lashed out violently at the religious police, they would soon be beheaded by sword, in a public square!
The testimony of Dr. Vincent DiMaio, the forensic pathologist, appears to be compelling evidence that Zimmerman was on the ground getting beaten up by Martin when Zimmerman shot Martin. By pointing out the pattern of blood splattering on Martin’s skin, he was able to show that the cloth of Martin’s shirt, where the bullet hole was found, was hanging 2 to 4 inches from Martin’s body, Dr. DiMaio also pointed out the lacerations on the back of Zimmerman’s head. I thought that the case was logically over at that point, but you never know, generally speaking, what will happen with juries.
To #14 - What difference does it make if Zimmerman was looking for street signs and/or following Martin? It is not illegal to follow someone, and inquire as to their business. Secondly, the area in his complex was pitch black, and street signs were very difficult to see. For example, In my own community, where I’ve lived for many years, I missed the turn into to my street, because of a blackout. All of the streets were extremely dark, and I did not know what street I was on. Therefore, I’m buying Zimmerman’s story.