#GZtrial: George Zimmerman’s fate now fully rests in the hands of the jury

Zimmerman Trial
The trial of George Zimmerman.
Graphic courtesy of WFTV.

Deep breaths, y’all:

George Zimmerman’s lead defense attorney urged jurors to let the Florida neighborhood watch volunteer “get back to his life” by finding him not guilty of murder or manslaughter in the 2012 confrontation that ended in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, saying the state prove Zimmerman did anything other than defend himself.

In a low-key and methodical presentation that began early Friday, defense attorney Mark O’Mara urged the all-female, six-member jury to not β€œfill in the gaps” or β€œconnect the dots,” but to stick to facts. He ridiculed prosecutors for their forceful portrayal of Zimmerman as a wannabe cop who profiled an unarmed teen when he cut through the gated community where Zimmerman lived.

“That is not an unarmed teenager!” O’Mara said, hoisting a chunk of concrete to represent the pavement Martin allegedly bashed Zimmerman’s head against before the fatal shot.

For most of the three-hour presentation, O’Mara’s style was in sharp contrast to the fiery summation delivered by lead prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda a day earlier, in which he forcefully told jurors that Zimmerman’s inaccurate “assumptions” about Martin were responsible for the teen’s death on Feb. 26, 2012. But O’Mara became more emotional toward the end, reminding jurors that even a reasonable doubt in their minds that Zimmerman committed a crime can only mean acquittal.

“It is a tragedy, truly,” O’Mara said. “But you can’t allow sympathy.”

O’Mara’s summation was followed by the prosecution’s rebuttal, in which prosecutor John Guy told jurors that Zimmerman would have had to have faced deadly force to be justified in shooting Martin. Guy showed a picture of Zimmerman’s scalp and downplayed cuts on it.

β€œDid that man need to kill somebody? Kill a teenager?

β€œDid he really need to shoot, did he have to shoot, Trayvon Martin?” Guy asked the jury. β€œNo he did not.”

Pray.

For those who watched the last two days of closing arguments, what did you think?

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