The George Zimmerman murder trial continues with day 5 of live stream coverage of the trial in which he stands accused of murdering 17-year old teenager Trayvon Martin in cold blood. Yesterday, the defense cross-examined a witness who supposedly was speaking with Martin on the phone when he engaged with Zimmerman and was subsequently shot to death. Admittedly, she was unable to be perfectly sure as to who initiated the conflict. Check out the day 5 George Zimmerman trial live stream and slideshow below.
Live stream George Zimmerman trial day 5.
Per InTheCapital’s Anthony Sodd, here’s an idea of what to expect going forward:
Prosecution:
- Zimmerman profiled Martin because he was a young, black male in a hoodie. Zimmerman was motivated by racism.
- Martin was alone, unarmed and not committing any crime when Zimmerman started following him.
- Police told Zimmerman not to get out of his car and follow Martin, but he did anyway.
- Martin was on the phone when he was followed and told a friend that he was scared because an unknown male was following him.
- In recorded 911 calls, Martin’s mother says she can hear her son calling for help.
Defense:
- The taped 911 call shows that Zimmerman did not volunteer Martin’s race until the dispatcher asked him. An edited version appeared on NBC, which indicated that Zimmerman had volunteered Martin’s race, though NBC has since apologized.
- Audio experts say that the quality of the audio on the recorded 911 calls is too poor to say if the voice is Martin’s or Zimmerman’s. The defense will say that it’s Zimmerman’s.
- Zimmerman is Hispanic, raised in a multiracial family, and according to his father, “would be the last to discriminate for any reason whatsoever.” According to Zimmerman’s family, some of their relatives are black and Zimmerman had been a vocal advocate for a black homeless man who was beaten by Sanford police.
- Martin first attacked Zimmerman, which means that he has the right to claim self-defense under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
