Certainly worth a read:
Key Disputes in the Zimmerman Trial
The trial of George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, has focused on a handful of questions.
Who started the confrontation?
He told me the guy was getting real close to him.”
Rachel Jeantel, Mr. Martin's friend
22:23
One of the prosecution's key arguments is that Mr. Zimmerman chose to follow Mr. Martin after a police dispatcher told him not to. Ms. Jeantel said she heard Mr. Martin ask, “Why are you following me for?” and a “hard-breathing man” say, “What you doing around here?”
She said she heard a bump and Mr. Martin saying, “Get off, get off.’”
Ms. Jeantel is one of the prosecution's key witnesses, but the defense has picked away at her credibility. Mr. Jeantel acknowledged that she had lied twice: once about her age — she pretended to be 16, a minor — and then about why she did not attend Mr. Martin’s wake. She did not miss the wake because she was in the hospital, as she said at first, but because she did not want to see Mr. Martin’s body.
Defense lawyers say that once the police told Mr. Zimmerman not to follow Mr. Martin, he had turned around and was returning to his car. At that point, Mr. Martin confronted him, they maintain.
From the actual 911 call:
Who had the upper hand during the fight?
Mr. Zimmerman told the police that Mr. Martin jumped on him, pushed him to the ground, punched him and bashed his head against the pavement repeatedly. The neighbor who was closest to the altercation, John Good, said he saw a "lighter-skinned" man on bottom, wearing red or white. Mr. Zimmerman, who is Hispanic and fair-skinned, was wearing a red jacket that night.
But two other neighbors suggested that Mr. Zimmerman was on top. One woman said she saw the man on top walk away. The other said the larger man was on top, leading her to believe it was Mr. Zimmerman. But she acknowledged during cross-examination that she based her notion of who was larger on photographs of Mr. Martin when he was younger than 17, his age at the time of the shooting.
None of Mr. Zimmerman's DNA was found in scrapings from Mr. Martin's fingernails, and Mr. Martin's hands had no blood or injuries aside from small abrasions on the knuckles of his left hand pinky and ring fingers. Mr. Martin was right handed. However, there were stains on the knees of Mr. Martin's pants, and a police officer testified that Mr. Zimmerman's back was wet and had grass on it.
Who shouted for help?
“There’s someone screaming outside.”
Neighbor’s 911 call
2:35
During the fight, a neighbor called 911 to report screaming, and a male voice yelling “Help” or “Help me” can be heard in the background of the call's recording. Jurors have heard the recording in court, but Judge Debra S. Nelson has excluded the testimony of two audio experts for the prosecution. Defense experts said the science used by the state was not reliable and that it was impossible to decipher who was screaming.
Sybrina Fulton, Mr. Martin's mother, testified that the voice was her son's. Jahvaris Fulton, Mr. Martin's brother, agreed, although Mark O’Mara, a lawyer for Mr. Zimmerman, noted that previously Mr. Fulton had said in an interview that he was not sure who it was. Tracy Martin, Mr. Martin’s father, initially told the police the voice was not his son's. He later backtracked and concluded that it did belong to Mr. Martin. Mr. O'Mara points out that Mr. Zimmerman told the police that he cried for help numerous times.
How severe were Mr. Zimmerman's injuries?
The defense said Mr. Zimmerman's nose was broken, proving that he was hurt by Mr. Martin in the altercation. Convinced that Mr. Martin was going to reach for Mr. Zimmerman’s gun as he lay on the ground, Mr. Zimmerman said he pulled his weapon and shot Mr. Martin at close range in the chest. In Florida, using lethal force is legally justifiable if a person fears imminent death or great bodily harm.
Who shouted for help?
“There’s someone screaming outside.”
Neighbor’s 911 call
2:35
During the fight, a neighbor called 911 to report screaming, and a male voice yelling “Help” or “Help me” can be heard in the background of the call's recording. Jurors have heard the recording in court, but Judge Debra S. Nelson has excluded the testimony of two audio experts for the prosecution. Defense experts said the science used by the state was not reliable and that it was impossible to decipher who was screaming.
Sybrina Fulton, Mr. Martin's mother, testified that the voice was her son's. Jahvaris Fulton, Mr. Martin's brother, agreed, although Mark O’Mara, a lawyer for Mr. Zimmerman, noted that previously Mr. Fulton had said in an interview that he was not sure who it was. Tracy Martin, Mr. Martin’s father, initially told the police the voice was not his son's. He later backtracked and concluded that it did belong to Mr. Martin. Mr. O'Mara points out that Mr. Zimmerman told the police that he cried for help numerous times.
How severe were Mr. Zimmerman's injuries?
The defense said Mr. Zimmerman's nose was broken, proving that he was hurt by Mr. Martin in the altercation. Convinced that Mr. Martin was going to reach for Mr. Zimmerman’s gun as he lay on the ground, Mr. Zimmerman said he pulled his weapon and shot Mr. Martin at close range in the chest. In Florida, using lethal force is legally justifiable if a person fears imminent death or great bodily harm.
Who shouted for help?
“There’s someone screaming outside.”
Neighbor’s 911 call
2:35
During the fight, a neighbor called 911 to report screaming, and a male voice yelling “Help” or “Help me” can be heard in the background of the call's recording. Jurors have heard the recording in court, but Judge Debra S. Nelson has excluded the testimony of two audio experts for the prosecution. Defense experts said the science used by the state was not reliable and that it was impossible to decipher who was screaming.
Sybrina Fulton, Mr. Martin's mother, testified that the voice was her son's. Jahvaris Fulton, Mr. Martin's brother, agreed, although Mark O’Mara, a lawyer for Mr. Zimmerman, noted that previously Mr. Fulton had said in an interview that he was not sure who it was. Tracy Martin, Mr. Martin’s father, initially told the police the voice was not his son's. He later backtracked and concluded that it did belong to Mr. Martin. Mr. O'Mara points out that Mr. Zimmerman told the police that he cried for help numerous times.
How severe were Mr. Zimmerman's injuries?
The defense said Mr. Zimmerman's nose was broken, proving that he was hurt by Mr. Martin in the altercation. Convinced that Mr. Martin was going to reach for Mr. Zimmerman’s gun as he lay on the ground, Mr. Zimmerman said he pulled his weapon and shot Mr. Martin at close range in the chest. In Florida, using lethal force is legally justifiable if a person fears imminent death or great bodily harm.
Who shouted for help?
“There’s someone screaming outside.”
Neighbor’s 911 call
2:35
During the fight, a neighbor called 911 to report screaming, and a male voice yelling “Help” or “Help me” can be heard in the background of the call's recording. Jurors have heard the recording in court, but Judge Debra S. Nelson has excluded the testimony of two audio experts for the prosecution. Defense experts said the science used by the state was not reliable and that it was impossible to decipher who was screaming.
Sybrina Fulton, Mr. Martin's mother, testified that the voice was her son's. Jahvaris Fulton, Mr. Martin's brother, agreed, although Mark O’Mara, a lawyer for Mr. Zimmerman, noted that previously Mr. Fulton had said in an interview that he was not sure who it was. Tracy Martin, Mr. Martin’s father, initially told the police the voice was not his son's. He later backtracked and concluded that it did belong to Mr. Martin. Mr. O'Mara points out that Mr. Zimmerman told the police that he cried for help numerous times.
How severe were Mr. Zimmerman's injuries?
The defense said Mr. Zimmerman's nose was broken, proving that he was hurt by Mr. Martin in the altercation. Convinced that Mr. Martin was going to reach for Mr. Zimmerman’s gun as he lay on the ground, Mr. Zimmerman said he pulled his weapon and shot Mr. Martin at close range in the chest. In Florida, using lethal force is legally justifiable if a person fears imminent death or great bodily harm.
Key Disputes in the Zimmerman Trial
The trial of George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, has focused on a handful of questions.
Who started the confrontation?
He told me the guy was getting real close to him.”
Rachel Jeantel, Mr. Martin's friend
22:23
One of the prosecution's key arguments is that Mr. Zimmerman chose to follow Mr. Martin after a police dispatcher told him not to. Ms. Jeantel said she heard Mr. Martin ask, “Why are you following me for?” and a “hard-breathing man” say, “What you doing around here?”
She said she heard a bump and Mr. Martin saying, “Get off, get off.’”
Ms. Jeantel is one of the prosecution's key witnesses, but the defense has picked away at her credibility. Mr. Jeantel acknowledged that she had lied twice: once about her age — she pretended to be 16, a minor — and then about why she did not attend Mr. Martin’s wake. She did not miss the wake because she was in the hospital, as she said at first, but because she did not want to see Mr. Martin’s body.
Defense lawyers say that once the police told Mr. Zimmerman not to follow Mr. Martin, he had turned around and was returning to his car. At that point, Mr. Martin confronted him, they maintain.
From the actual 911 call:
Who had the upper hand during the fight?
Mr. Zimmerman told the police that Mr. Martin jumped on him, pushed him to the ground, punched him and bashed his head against the pavement repeatedly. The neighbor who was closest to the altercation, John Good, said he saw a "lighter-skinned" man on bottom, wearing red or white. Mr. Zimmerman, who is Hispanic and fair-skinned, was wearing a red jacket that night.
But two other neighbors suggested that Mr. Zimmerman was on top. One woman said she saw the man on top walk away. The other said the larger man was on top, leading her to believe it was Mr. Zimmerman. But she acknowledged during cross-examination that she based her notion of who was larger on photographs of Mr. Martin when he was younger than 17, his age at the time of the shooting.
None of Mr. Zimmerman's DNA was found in scrapings from Mr. Martin's fingernails, and Mr. Martin's hands had no blood or injuries aside from small abrasions on the knuckles of his left hand pinky and ring fingers. Mr. Martin was right handed. However, there were stains on the knees of Mr. Martin's pants, and a police officer testified that Mr. Zimmerman's back was wet and had grass on it.
Who shouted for help?
“There’s someone screaming outside.”
Neighbor’s 911 call
2:35
During the fight, a neighbor called 911 to report screaming, and a male voice yelling “Help” or “Help me” can be heard in the background of the call's recording. Jurors have heard the recording in court, but Judge Debra S. Nelson has excluded the testimony of two audio experts for the prosecution. Defense experts said the science used by the state was not reliable and that it was impossible to decipher who was screaming.
Sybrina Fulton, Mr. Martin's mother, testified that the voice was her son's. Jahvaris Fulton, Mr. Martin's brother, agreed, although Mark O’Mara, a lawyer for Mr. Zimmerman, noted that previously Mr. Fulton had said in an interview that he was not sure who it was. Tracy Martin, Mr. Martin’s father, initially told the police the voice was not his son's. He later backtracked and concluded that it did belong to Mr. Martin. Mr. O'Mara points out that Mr. Zimmerman told the police that he cried for help numerous times.
How severe were Mr. Zimmerman's injuries?
The defense said Mr. Zimmerman's nose was broken, proving that he was hurt by Mr. Martin in the altercation. Convinced that Mr. Martin was going to reach for Mr. Zimmerman’s gun as he lay on the ground, Mr. Zimmerman said he pulled his weapon and shot Mr. Martin at close range in the chest. In Florida, using lethal force is legally justifiable if a person fears imminent death or great bodily harm.
“There’s someone screaming outside.”
Neighbor’s 911 call
2:35
During the fight, a neighbor called 911 to report screaming, and a male voice yelling “Help” or “Help me” can be heard in the background of the call's recording. Jurors have heard the recording in court, but Judge Debra S. Nelson has excluded the testimony of two audio experts for the prosecution. Defense experts said the science used by the state was not reliable and that it was impossible to decipher who was screaming.
Sybrina Fulton, Mr. Martin's mother, testified that the voice was her son's. Jahvaris Fulton, Mr. Martin's brother, agreed, although Mark O’Mara, a lawyer for Mr. Zimmerman, noted that previously Mr. Fulton had said in an interview that he was not sure who it was. Tracy Martin, Mr. Martin’s father, initially told the police the voice was not his son's. He later backtracked and concluded that it did belong to Mr. Martin. Mr. O'Mara points out that Mr. Zimmerman told the police that he cried for help numerous times.
How severe were Mr. Zimmerman's injuries?
The defense said Mr. Zimmerman's nose was broken, proving that he was hurt by Mr. Martin in the altercation. Convinced that Mr. Martin was going to reach for Mr. Zimmerman’s gun as he lay on the ground, Mr. Zimmerman said he pulled his weapon and shot Mr. Martin at close range in the chest. In Florida, using lethal force is legally justifiable if a person fears imminent death or great bodily harm.
- play
“There’s someone screaming outside.”
Neighbor’s 911 call
2:35
During the fight, a neighbor called 911 to report screaming, and a male voice yelling “Help” or “Help me” can be heard in the background of the call's recording. Jurors have heard the recording in court, but Judge Debra S. Nelson has excluded the testimony of two audio experts for the prosecution. Defense experts said the science used by the state was not reliable and that it was impossible to decipher who was screaming.
Sybrina Fulton, Mr. Martin's mother, testified that the voice was her son's. Jahvaris Fulton, Mr. Martin's brother, agreed, although Mark O’Mara, a lawyer for Mr. Zimmerman, noted that previously Mr. Fulton had said in an interview that he was not sure who it was. Tracy Martin, Mr. Martin’s father, initially told the police the voice was not his son's. He later backtracked and concluded that it did belong to Mr. Martin. Mr. O'Mara points out that Mr. Zimmerman told the police that he cried for help numerous times.
How severe were Mr. Zimmerman's injuries?
The defense said Mr. Zimmerman's nose was broken, proving that he was hurt by Mr. Martin in the altercation. Convinced that Mr. Martin was going to reach for Mr. Zimmerman’s gun as he lay on the ground, Mr. Zimmerman said he pulled his weapon and shot Mr. Martin at close range in the chest. In Florida, using lethal force is legally justifiable if a person fears imminent death or great bodily harm.
- play
“There’s someone screaming outside.”
Neighbor’s 911 call
2:35
During the fight, a neighbor called 911 to report screaming, and a male voice yelling “Help” or “Help me” can be heard in the background of the call's recording. Jurors have heard the recording in court, but Judge Debra S. Nelson has excluded the testimony of two audio experts for the prosecution. Defense experts said the science used by the state was not reliable and that it was impossible to decipher who was screaming.
Sybrina Fulton, Mr. Martin's mother, testified that the voice was her son's. Jahvaris Fulton, Mr. Martin's brother, agreed, although Mark O’Mara, a lawyer for Mr. Zimmerman, noted that previously Mr. Fulton had said in an interview that he was not sure who it was. Tracy Martin, Mr. Martin’s father, initially told the police the voice was not his son's. He later backtracked and concluded that it did belong to Mr. Martin. Mr. O'Mara points out that Mr. Zimmerman told the police that he cried for help numerous times.
How severe were Mr. Zimmerman's injuries?
The defense said Mr. Zimmerman's nose was broken, proving that he was hurt by Mr. Martin in the altercation. Convinced that Mr. Martin was going to reach for Mr. Zimmerman’s gun as he lay on the ground, Mr. Zimmerman said he pulled his weapon and shot Mr. Martin at close range in the chest. In Florida, using lethal force is legally justifiable if a person fears imminent death or great bodily harm.
