George Zimmerman Jury Enters Second Day Of Deliberations
The jury in the George Zimmerman case did not reach a verdict on Friday. On Saturday they began the second day of deliberations in the murder of Trayvon Martin.
Jurors reconvened in the courtroom at 9 a.m. Saturday. A few smiled as the judge addressed them before they left the courtroom to continue their discussions.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the original charge in the George Zimmerman trial was second degree murder. The state prosecutors requested the judge to allow the jury to consider other charges, including manslaughter, third degree murder based upon child abuse, or aggravated assault.
The jury began deliberations Friday afternoon as police and civic leaders took to the airwaves on national television to plead for calm in Sanford and across the country, no matter what the verdict.
Racial tensions are high as Zimmerman is accused of shooting unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin in 2012. Zimmerman claims that he killed the young man in self defense.
During closing arguments the jury was presented with two different views of what took place on the tragic day. Prosecutors presented him as a cop-wanna-be who took the law into his own hands, while the defense tried to convince the panel that he was a well-meaning neighborhood watchman who was trying to protect himself.
Defense attorney Mark O’Mara said that prosecutors hadn’t been able to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
“If it hasn’t been proven, it’s just not there,” O’Mara said. “You can’t fill in the gaps. You can’t connect the dots. You’re not allowed to.”
For his part, prosecutor John Guy, said that Zimmerman had told so many lies and that Martin’s last emotion was fear of Zimmerman.
“Isn’t that every child’s worst nightmare, to be followed on the way home in the dark by a stranger?” Guy said. “Isn’t that every child’s worst fear?”
Now, Zimmerman’s fate is in the jury’s hand as they weigh the evidence presented in previous weeks. Visit The Inquisitr for all the latest information.
