George Zimmerman Found Not Guilty [VIDEO]
A jury reached a not guilty verdict Saturday night in the trial of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman accused of murdering teen Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. The acquittal came on the second day of deliberations for the sequestered, six person, all-female jury. The jury deliberated approximately 15 hours in total.
Listen to the verdict being read below:
Zimmerman Case Facts
Lead-up to the Trial:
April 11, 2012: Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder 46 days after shooting and killing Trayvon Martin
Audio and video recordings of police interviews with Zimmerman were made public in June 2012
Lead Detective Chris Serino told federal investigators that he was pressured into filing charges against Zimmerman
Jury selection began 470 days after George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin
The Prosecution:
Prosecution: Zimmerman “profiled, followed and murdered an unarmed youth”
The prosecution phase began on June 24 and ended on July 5
The prosecution submitted 200 pieces of evidence in the nine days they spent laying out their case against Zimmerman
The prosecution called a total 40 witnesses to the stand during nine days of testimony
The prosecution’s closing arguments on July 11 lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes
The prosecution’s rebuttal to the defense’s closing argument lasted roughly 45 minutes
The Defense:
Defense: Zimmerman “shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense after being viciously attacked”
The defense phase began on July 5 and ended July 10
The defense called a total of 19 witnesses to the stand during four days of testimony
The defense’s closing arguments on July 12 lasted 2 hours and 52 minutes
The Jury:
The all-female, six-member jury has remained sequestered throughout the trial
Five of the trial’s six female jurors are married with children
Key/Conflicting Testimony:
June 26-27: Rachel Jeantel, who was on the phone with Martin as the incident unfolded, spent nearly six hours on the stand
Rachel Jeantel, who was on the phone with Martin during the incident, testified she heard Trayvon say, “Get off, get off”
June 28: Zimmerman neighbor John Good testified that what he witnessed indicated that Martin was on top of Zimmerman
June 28: Zimmerman neighbor John Good testified that the person on the bottom had “lighter skin color”
Seven neighbor witnesses who heard the fight testified that they couldn’t say how it started
Neighbors gave conflicting testimony about who was on top in the struggle between Martin and Zimmerman
Six Sanford police officers testified during the prosecution’s nine days of testimony
Who Was Screaming For Help?
July 1: Voice analyst testified that it was “impossible to determine” who is screaming for help on 911 call
July 5: Martin’s mother and brother testified it was Martin who was heard screaming for help on a recorded 911 call
July 5: Zimmerman’s mother, uncle and father testified it was Zimmerman who was heard screaming for help on a recorded 911 call
At least seven people testified that it was Zimmerman’s voice that is screaming for help on a 911 recording
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