Assistant State Attorney John Guy uses foam dummy in Wednesday
questioning of "use-of-force" expert Dennis Root.
The defense team in the second-degree murder case of George Zimmerman rested Wednesday afternoon. As expected, Zimmerman never took the stand. But, early on in the trial, jurors nevertheless got to hear versions of his story via taped police interviews with him and a "reenactment" of what he claimed occurred in February 2012 when he got into a confrontation with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and shot him dead.
Closing statements from the defense and the prosecution will be presented Thursday beginning at 1 PM ET. The prosecution will begin with about two hours of closing remarks followed by three hours from the defense, followed by about an hour rebuttal from the prosecution. Then it's up to the jury.
Judge Debra Nelson threw out the testimony of a defense witness Joel Donnelly, a friend of Zimmerman, because he was in the courtroom prior to his testimony, which is prohibited. There is also the possibility the prosecution will call a lone rebuttal witness.
Judge Nelson and defense attorney Don West engaged contentiously during an exchange when she asked Zimmerman if he wanted to testify. West objected several times to Nelson's asking that question until she made clear by tone and glare that she wasn't interested in hearing further objections. "I'm speaking to your client," she emphasized at one point. Zimmerman came back after a short break and said he would not be testifying. Few observers ever thought he would.
Nelson ruled Wednesday morning that texts between Trayvon Martin and others as well as a defense-commissioned 3-D animation depicting the shooting and events leading up to it would not be allowed into evidence. The animation was the subject of an hours-long proceeding Tuesday night without the jury present.
During that proceeding, the prosecution asked scores of questions of creator Daniel Schumaker designed to show that the animation only approximated where Trayvon and Zimmerman were during the time that ended with Trayvon lying face down in the grass with a bullet in his heart. In other words, it could give a false impression to the jury. Nelson did rule, however, that the defense could use the animation for demonstrative, as opposed to probative, purposes in its closing statement.
A summary of statements by defense witnesses on the stand today and analysis can be seen below the fold:
• Dennis Root, formerly a law enforcement officer and trainer. Although testifying as an expert on defensive use of deadly force, Root said he personally had never used deadly force when he was a law enforcement officer. He testified that Zimmerman's injuries the night of the shooting were consistent with someone who had been in a fight, that Zimmerman was not a competent fighter, and that contradictory statements are to be expected when describing high-stress situations.
Under cross examination, he said that he had advertised that he was a witness in the case. He also said that if he were beating someone up and noticed his victim had a gun, he would try to get the gun, not scream for help. But if someone he was fighting pointed a gun at him, he said he would scream for help.
Assistant State Attorney John Guy brought a foam dummy that looked like a bizarre plush toy into the courtroom and both attorneys for the defense and the prosecution wrestled with it to bolster their claims about what happened in a struggle between Trayvon and Zimmerman. Guy sought to show that it would have been difficult for Zimmerman to retrieve his pistol from the holster in his waistband on his hip if Trayvon was straddling him, as the defense has claimed. Noting that the bullet was fired at a 90-degree angle into Trayvon's chest, Guy asked Root:
GUY: "Wouldn't that be consistent with Travyon Martin getting off of George Zimmerman and George Zimmerman raising the gun and firing it?"
ROOT: "It could be consistent with any kind of movement ... We weren't there so the info that we have is George Zimmerman's statement."
Defense attorney Mark O'Mara also used the mannequin, slamming its head on the floor to try to show the jury how Zimmerman claimed he got the injury to the back of his head during the struggle.
• Olivia Bertalan, formerly a Zimmerman neighbor. She was a victim of a home invasion several months before Trayvon was shot. Armed with scissors, she hid in a locked bedroom while the thieves dug through the house. Subsequently, she said, Zimmerman came to her home to introduce himself and discuss the crime, something they did repeatedly. One of the suspects was later arrested. Bertalan indicated Zimmerman had been courteous and she was thankful for his assistance. The prosecution sought to have her testimony stricken because she had watched the trial on television. Some tweeters claimed Bertalan had lied when she said she had not tweeted about the trial, pointing to this.
• Robert Zimmerman Sr., George's father. He testified that when he first listened to the audiotape of a 911 call captured on the night Trayvon was shot he knew the screaming he heard was his son's.
Some trial observers who believe Zimmerman is guilty but have not been pleased with the prosecution's efforts in the case have said the state's closing statement will make the difference. But fewer and fewer say they believe the second-degree murder charge will stick. Presuming the judge does not sustain objections the defense said it will raise, the jury will be instructed before it begins its deliberations that it can convict on the lesser charge of manslaughter. Georgetown Law Professor Paul Butler told NPR Wednesday:
"It's a kind of a lousy murder case because for murder the prosecution will have to prove what's going on in Zimmerman's mind. That he was malicious. That he hated Trayvon. That he had all this ill will. And I'm not sure we've seen a lot of evidence of that.
"On the other hand, it's a pretty good manslaughter case. And the jury will have the option, almost certainly, of convicting him of that. Because for manslaughter, all that has to be proved is that Mr. Zimmerman was reckless, that he's kind of a loose cannon. And I think we've seen plenty of evidence of that."
