(Image Source: Orange County Sheriff's Office)
BY SAMANTHA KUBOTA
ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN
After protests around the country, and weeks of waiting and wondering, a Florida prosecutor has charged George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case. Here’s CNN.
“Today, we filed an information charging George Zimmerman with murder in the second degree. a capias has been issued for his arrest.”
Officials had cited Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law as one of the reasons Zimmerman wasn’t initially arrested. That law allows people to “meet force with force” if they feel threatened in a public place. A second-degree murder charge does NOT involve premeditation. A University of Miami law professor tells The Wall Street Journal...
“It means you deliberately killed someone and did it in a way that’s particularly offensive to morality.”
17-year-old Trayvon Martin was unarmed the night of February 26th — when neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman noticed him walking through his Sanford, Florida neighborhood and called 9-1-1 to report him as suspicious.
The details of what happened in the moments leading up to Martin’s shooting death are in dispute — but Talking Points Memo reports...
“If the judge determines that Zimmerman was reasonably in fear for his life, the charge will be thrown out. But even if the judge rules against Zimmerman ... Zimmerman can still use that defense at trial.”
Newsy will continue to update you with the latest information as the story develops.
(Image Source: Orange County Sheriff's Office)
BY SAMANTHA KUBOTA
ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN
After protests around the country, and weeks of waiting and wondering, a Florida prosecutor has charged George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case. Here’s CNN.
“Today, we filed an information charging George Zimmerman with murder in the second degree. a capias has been issued for his arrest.”
Officials had cited Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law as one of the reasons Zimmerman wasn’t initially arrested. That law allows people to “meet force with force” if they feel threatened in a public place. A second-degree murder charge does NOT involve premeditation. A University of Miami law professor tells The Wall Street Journal...
“It means you deliberately killed someone and did it in a way that’s particularly offensive to morality.”
17-year-old Trayvon Martin was unarmed the night of February 26th — when neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman noticed him walking through his Sanford, Florida neighborhood and called 9-1-1 to report him as suspicious.
The details of what happened in the moments leading up to Martin’s shooting death are in dispute — but Talking Points Memo reports...
“If the judge determines that Zimmerman was reasonably in fear for his life, the charge will be thrown out. But even if the judge rules against Zimmerman ... Zimmerman can still use that defense at trial.”
Newsy will continue to update you with the latest information as the story develops.
