LIVE VIDEO ? George Zimmerman faces charges of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Editor's note: This is a live feed of a criminal trial and may contain graphic imagery and language that could offend some viewers.
By James Novogrod, Tom Winter and Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News
The Florida judge in George Zimmerman?s second-degree murder trial will decide Thursday whether she will allow the jury to consider lesser charges ? manslaughter and aggravated assault ? when they begin deliberations on Friday.
The prosecution has requested that Judge Debra Nelson consider the lesser charges for Zimmerman, 29, the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, 17. Convicting Zimmerman of second-degree murder would still be an option for the jury.
The state is scheduled to deliver closing arguments at 1 p.m. on Thursday; the defense will present its closing arguments on Friday morning.
If convicted of second degree murder, Zimmerman could face up to life in prison.?Zimmerman did not testify on his own behalf during the trial.
"I think we have a very, very good chance with the jury," Mark O'Mara, Zimmerman's defense attorney, said at a press conference after the defense rested on Wednesday.
Zimmerman says he was acting in self-defense when he shot Martin on a rainy night last year in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge against him, saying the 17-year-old attacked him when the two encountered each other on Feb. 26, 2012.
The defense rested after briefly hearing testimony from Robert Zimmerman, George Zimmerman?s father, and Olivia Bertalan, a resident at the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community where Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch volunteer and where he and Martin had their fatal encounter.
Bertalan had been robbed while she was home with her young son by what she told the court were two teenagers about six months before Martin was killed. She said Zimmerman came over to her house and offered her a lock for her sliding glass door.
"We were terrified when this happened," she said. "He was just saying he wanted to make sure we were OK."
Robert Zimmerman,?the defense's final witness,?testified that on 911 calls from the night of the shooting, screams of ?help? were ?absolutely? his son George, despite conflicting opinions from others,?including Martin's mom,?that the yells could be from Martin. George Zimmerman?s mom, Gladys, testified the screams belonged to George Zimmerman, as did several other people.
Related content:
boston Cnn Live Logan airport Miranda rights Police Scanner boston herald mit
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.