Zimmerman will say that after following Trayvon (after being told not to follow him by police) he lost sight of him, was headed back toward his car, when Trayvon confronted him. They fought. He had to shoot Trayvon because he feared for his life .
George Zimmerman never denied shooting Trayvon Martin, but he said he did so in self defense. Late Saturday night, a Florida jury found him not guilty in the teenager’s death. The verdict caps a case that has inflamed passions for well over a year, much of it focused on race. The six jurors – all of them women – deliberated for 16½ hours.
Trayvon Martin was an unarmed American 17-year-old killed by George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012, sparking a national controversy.
The attorney that defended George Zimmerman in the deadly shooting of Trayvon Martin will represent an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student accused of plotting a mass school shooting. Mark O’Mara replaced John Hagins' public defender. Hagins is in court Tuesday.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The attorney who defended George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case will represent the student accused of planning a shooting on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. High profile attorney Mark O'Mara is now representing John Hagins and replaces his court appointed public defender.
Ben Crump"Ben Crump — the Man Who Represented the Families of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Tamir Rice — Will Not Stop Fighting for Justice." NowThis, 2018.
June 24, 2013 - The trial begins with opening statements. July 13, 2013 - The six-woman jury finds Zimmerman not guilty. They had three choices: find Zimmerman guilty of second-degree murder; find him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter; or find him not guilty.
His father, Robert Zimmerman Sr., is an American of German descent who had a military career of 22 years, first as an Army sergeant and then 10 years at the Department of Defense. Before retiring to Florida in 2002, Zimmerman Sr. had served as a magistrate in Fairfax County's 19th Judicial District.
Rand is the founding attorney of Rand Law, LLC, a Miami-based civil litigation firm. A successful civil rights attorney, professor and businesswoman, she has fought for the rights of others who faced discrimination based on race or gender.
Genae Angelique CrumpBenjamin Crump / Spouse
There was his cellphone, on which he had been talking to a friend. In his pockets were a cigarette lighter, some earphones, a can of Arizona watermelon fruit juice cocktail, a little over $40 in cash, a bag of Skittles he'd just bought from a nearby 7-Eleven, and no weapon of any kind.
SANFORD, Fla. — George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, igniting a national debate on racial profiling and civil rights, was found not guilty late Saturday night of second-degree murder. He was also acquitted of manslaughter, a lesser charge.
AmericanGeorge Zimmerman / Nationality
Robert Zimmerman Sr.Gladys Mesa ZimmermanGeorge Zimmerman/Parents
1. A local official whose authority is limited to whatever has been granted by statute or specified in the appointment. 2. In local or state courts, a justice of the peace or other judicial officer who has strictly limited authority and jurisdiction to hear certain cases, often criminal cases or small claims.
Uhrig, 75 , was arrested Monday as he was getting into an elevator at the courthouse in Kissimmee, officials said. Uhrig later told Orlando TV station Fox-35 that he is “not guilty of this.”
Hal Uhrig, who works for The Defense Group, was arrested Monday on charges of solicitation to commit perjury and witness tampering, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos López said during a news conference.
Zimmerman was charged in the 2012 killing of teenager Trayvon Martin, but was later acquitted at trial after claiming self-defense.
Uhrig, 75 , was arrested Monday as he was getting into an elevator at the courthouse in Kissimmee, officials said. Uhrig later told Orlando TV station Fox-35 that he is “not guilty of this.”
Hal Uhrig, who works for The Defense Group, was arrested Monday on charges of solicitation to commit perjury and witness tampering, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos López said during a news conference.
Zimmerman said he killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, on Feb. 26 in the gated community where the girlfriend of the teenager’s father lived in Sanford. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch member, called 911 and told a police dispatcher that Martin, who was returning from a trip to a nearby convenience store, “looked suspicious.” After an altercation, Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest. He told the local police that he shot Martin in self defense, and was not arrested or charged.
Zimmerman has been in hiding for weeks over concerns that he is in physical danger. A fringe group put out a $10,000 bounty on his head, which drew a swift rebuke from activists who were aiming to draw attention the Martin case.
The attorneys said that Zimmerman repeatedly ignored their legal advice.
Uhrig said that last Thursday, he and Sonner helped George Zimmerman’s father, Robert Zimmerman, set up a website to solicit donations for George’s legal defense and living expenses. They said that they had not been able to reach Zimmerman on Sunday, the day before the site was to go live. The site’s address, zimmermandefense.com, had been made available to news outlets.
On Monday, the special prosecutor said that she would not convene a grand jury in the case, which effectively rules out murder charges in the case, as only grand juries can issue murder charges in the state of Florida. Zimmerman can still be charged with manslaughter and other crimes for his role in the shooting.
Alan Dershowitz, the legal scholar and criminal attorney, also appeared on the show, and said he was “disturbed” by the conduct of Zimmerman’s former attorneys. Dershowitz said they may have damaged his defense by expounding on his state of mind, and they may possibly have violated attorney-client privilege. “All they had to do was quietly say that ‘we’re no longer representing [Zimmerman] and our role in the case is over.’”
The case has become a flashpoint in the national debates over racial profiling and gun control laws. Martin was black. Zimmerman’s father is white and his mother is Peruvian.
The night of the confrontation, Zimmerman called a police non-emergency line to report Martin as a suspicious person in the community, and told the dispatcher he was following the teen. West said there was "no suggestion" that Zimmerman continued to follow the teen after the dispatcher told him not to.
However, he said Zimmerman wouldn't "forfeit his right to bear arms under the second amendment just because an overzealous prosecutor decided to charge him with a crime he didn't commit."
Martin made contact with Zimmerman after a four-minute gap in which he could have walked the short distance home, West said. Rachel Jeantel, who was on the phone with Martin shortly before his death, testified that Martin was the first to speak, asking, "What are you following me for?"
West said he thought prosecutors withheld evidence, "took liberties with the truth" and made "emotional appeals to the jury notwithstanding the evidence."