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[Update] George Zimmerman In Custody, Charged With 2nd Degree Murder Of Trayvon Martin
By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 11, 2012
Modified Apr 11, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 11, 2012
Modified Apr 11, 2012
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According to AP, George Zimmerman will be charged with second degree murder for the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin—Zimmerman also reportedly gave himself in willingly, and is in custody. Florida Special Prosecutor Angela Corey will announce the charged formally at a 6 p.m. press conference. We'll update the post once the "new information" has been released. Watch the live feed below.
Zimmerman hasn't been seen in public since the fatal shooting on Feb. 26—yesterday, his lawyers held a bizarre press conference to announce they were no longer representing Zimmerman, due to the fact they haven't been able to contact him lately. According to CNN, Mark O'Mara is Zimmerman's new lawyer.
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Rev. Al Sharpton and attorneys for the family of Trayvon Martin pleaded with supporters earlier today to remain peaceful: "We are not in the business of revenge. We are in the business of justice," said Sharpton, speaking at a convention for the National Action Network. "We must make the justice system work. Otherwise the movement is for nothing. To go outside the justice system is to achieve nothing."
The NY Times has an interactive feature that lets you go over the reported events of the night of the fatal shooting.
Update: Angela B. Corey, the Florida special prosecutor, said that her team filed the charge of murder in the second degree (you can read the Florida statute here) against George Zimmerman today: "We didn't come to this decision lightly...We do not prosecute by public pressure or petition—We prosecute based on the facts of any given case, as well as the laws of the state of Florida."
She confirmed that Zimmerman was indeed in custody—and had willingly turned himself in—but refused to tell reporters where exactly he was. Among other things, she took questions about the length of the investigation, the leaks in the case, and the possibility that Stand Your Ground might be used as part of Zimmerman's self-defense plea: "If Stand Your Ground becomes an issue, we will fight it," she said.
Corey opened up her statements saying that she had spoken to Trayvon Martin's parents before the press conference—she ended it by noting that her team had prayed with Martin's parents when they first met. "It was less than three weeks ago that we told those sweet parents that we would get answers," she said.
After she spoke, Rev. Al Sharpton addressed the media: "We do not want anyone high-fiving tonight. This is not a victory...we have not won anything...so we will not be gloating around here. We are still mourning with this family. We will monitor the trial every step of the way." Below, you can see a picture of the Martin family with Sharpton watching Corey announce the charges. Below that, you can see an AP video of Martin's parents talking about the case.
Tagged
death
fatal shooting
florida
george zimmerman
trayvon martin
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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