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Luscombe writes: "Zimmerman appeared before Judge Mark Herr in a short hearing at the Seminole County jail in Sanford. His arraignment was set for 29 May, when his formal plea of not guilty will be entered."

George Zimmerman appeared in court in Sanford, Florida. (photo: pool)
George Zimmerman appeared in court in Sanford, Florida. (photo: pool)



George Zimmerman Appears in Court on Trayvon Martin Murder Charge

By Richard Luscombe, Guardian UK

123 April 12

 

eorge Zimmerman has made his first appearance in court, less than 24 hours he was arrested and charged with the murder of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman appeared before Judge Mark Herr in a short hearing at the Seminole County jail in Sanford.

His arraignment was set for 29 May, when his formal plea of not guilty will be entered. There was no application for bail during Thursday's hearing. It is likely that his attorney will apply for a bond hearing before the arraignment.

Speaking before the hearing, attorney Mark O'Mara said Zimmerman, 28, was planning to plead not guilty. His client, O'Mara said, had "been through a lot" since he shot and killed Martin, 17, during a confrontation in a gated community in Sanford on 26 February.

Special prosecutor Angela Corey ended 44 days of uncertainty on Wednesday when she announced that Zimmerman would be charged with second-degree murder, an offence that carries a sentence from 25 years to life in prison.

Zimmerman was not arrested at the time because police believed his claims of self-defence, enraging Martin's family and sparking six weeks of mass protests in central Florida and elsewhere.

"I would like to get him out. I need to get him out to assist me in going over all the evidence and preparing our defence," said O'Mara, who met his new client for the first time on Wednesday evening.

"He is stressed. He's tired. He's been through a lot with the way this case has been handled to date. I'm just hoping that his mental health stays well and that we can move forward in getting this case figured out."

Zimmerman has been held in protective custody since his arrest on Thursday, with his brother Robert declaring that the family was disappointed by the severity of the charge.

"They [prosecutors] have thrown the book at him," Robert Zimmerman told CNN. "I would have hoped the more courageous decision would be to say we're not prosecuting, and here's why. Our brother could have been dead, our brother had to save his life by taking a life.

"The incident has been weighing on my brother in a way I couldn't possibly describe. As a family we're devastated. We are a strong family and we have been living a somewhat altered reality for some time."

"I trust that the system, the judge, the prosecutor and I will be able to, should the need arise, to get ourselves a fair and impartial jury to hear the case," he said.

Some legal analysts believe it might be difficult for state attorney Corey to make a murder charge stick against a defence under Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows for the use of deadly force if a citizen perceives his life to be in danger.

Zimmerman has claimed he was under attack from Martin, who was unarmed, and fired in self-defence.

"The only hurdle I see is a stand-your-ground motion to dismiss that will have to be made," Kenneth Nunn, a senior professor at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law, told the Guardian.

"The burden is on the defendant to show stand your ground applies, but the standard is only a preponderance of the evidence. If Zimmerman shows that then it is dismissed and Ms Corey's case goes away at that point. The prosecutor should be able to overcome that – but it's going to be a very difficult case."

Prof Nunn said he believed Corey might also have had a possible plea bargain, or a jury's "propensity to compromise" in mind when she decided to file a murder charge.

"Going in high and settling for manslaughter would be preferable to a manslaughter charge then settling for something like a gun charge," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said she believed that the shooting was "an accident".

"One of things I still believe in is a person should apologise when they're remorseful for what they've done," she told NBC's Today show.

"I believe it was an accident. I believe it just got out of control and he couldn't turn the clock back."

Frederica Wilson, the Miami congresswoman whose constituency includes Martin's home, said that Thursday's court hearing for Zimmerman was an important first step for the family following their protracted battle to have him arrested.

"I am thankful that the wheels of justice will continue to turn. This is just the beginning and we have a long process ahead of us," she said.

"The evidence influenced [Corey] to charge him but the outcry helped bring the case to justice. This case would never have been brought without that outcry. It was a case that almost slipped through the system without the public ever knowing about it."

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