Florida teen’s killer charged
George Zimmerman, charged with seconddegree murder in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, faces his first appearance before a Florida judge on Thursday where his lawyer said he will try to get the crime watch volunteer’s release from jail.
The hearing, currently set for 1.30 pm EDT, will be the first appearance by Zimmerman, 28, since he became a national and highly divisive figure by shooting and killing Martin, 17, in a quiet gated community in the central Florida town of Sanford. The incident has set off a firestorm of debate about race relations and self- defence laws, punctuated by a series of demonstrations across the country. Even President Barack Obama commented on the case, saying, “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.” Mark O’mara, the Orlando criminal defence attorney Zimmerman hired on Wednesday after his first defence team dropped him as a client the previous day, said it was not immediately clear whether bail would be discussed during Zimmerman’s initial appearance before a judge. “I’m hoping the court will consider a bond motion,” Mr O’mara said on CBS’ This Morning show. “It may or may not. If not we’ll have a bond motion shortly thereafter. I hope to get him out. I need him out for my purposes to help me in preparing his defence.”
Arrested and charged with second- degree murder on Wednesday, Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, will not appear physically at the court for the hearing, local courthouse officials said. He will appear before the judge over closed- circuit TV from the jail immediately next door. Meanwhile, Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, said she hopes Zimmerman is remorseful and she believes the shooting was not intentional.