MSNBC's Martin Bashir leads attorney Jami Floyd and Mother Jones' David Corn in a discussion over the viability of George Zimmerman's defense, as the National Rifle Association meets to discuss standing their ground against gun control laws.
Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman has made his first court appearance on a second-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
During the brief appearance this afternoon, Zimmerman stood up straight and wore a gray prison jumpsuit. He spoke only to answer "Yes, sir," after he was asked basic questions about the charge against him and his attorney.
The judge said an arraignment would be held on May 29 before another judge.
Zimmerman was charged after a public campaign to make an arrest in the Feb. 26 shooting, which has galvanized the nation for weeks. Some legal experts had expected Zimmerman to face a lesser count of manslaughter and say a prosecutor will face steep hurdles to win a murder conviction. Zimmerman has claimed that he fired in self-defense.
Ed will have the latest developments in the case tonight on The Ed Show at 8pET on MSNBC!
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was he denied bail?
Yes he remains in protective custody. What is rather telling is he could have asked for a hearing on the evidence they have right now instead his lawyer wants it to go to a jury trial.
He wasn't denied bail. His lawyer didn't ask for it yet.
Right today was his preliminary hearing to inform him of the charges he is facing and if he pleads guilty, not guilty or Nolo Contendere, meaning not guilty but not fighting the charges against him. His lawyer choose to refrain from asking for bail until a later date.
no he was not denied bail otherwise the heading would have been zimmerman denied bail. This was just to set an arraignment date. There will be other court dates set like the bail seeking one. Also after the arraignment my suspicion is they will use stand your ground and there will be a court date set for that. Then they will go through that process and if the judge decides the prosecuter is right then they proceed to trial. There is still a long way to go.
Remember Florida is another country not part of the United States. They have shown someone other than Kasey Anthony murdered her child and she was out having a good time. Then to make it not her fault the defense attorney kinda sorta blamed her parents. Now these are the same people that helped her when she was down and out; help her take care of her child and the jury bought that pile of crap. So look for it not to go to trial and he gets off. I was of the same mind as Al Sharpton. I did not think they were going to bring charges against the man. They proved me wrong. Now I am waiting for them to prove me wrong again. NOT.
I agree with Al Sharpton. I don't think any charges will be brought against him. his arrest is just a smokescreen to allow the public, global outcry die down. If his attorney wanted bail, he would have requested.
granny 68, I hope this is not a smoke screen. I think the nation will explode like a volcano ! I do agree Florida seems to be like Texas. Not a part of US. they do what the please.
Pam, I don't think it is. The women knows what she is doing. She has worked with Trayvon's parents and they together have made the presentation of the arrest in a very calming manner. They know it could be a volcano. For Florida it is surprising but I think she has proven that every one in the state is not and idiot, as some would like to believe. She seems to be very well informed and a tribute to her job.
Pam remember that the FBI is sill looking into the case for a civil rights crime.
Zimmerman stalked Trayvon Martin on the basis of what he perceived to be a threat. He was WRONG. He was told to stop following Trayvon Martin. He ignored those instructions. He confronted Trayvon Martin, had to, or they would have never had any contact whatsoever, if Trayvon was trying to run away...what about the Stand your Ground law also applying to Trayvon? If someone was stalking me with a gun, and I had no other option, I'd fight like hell. If that is the case, and Trayvon did inflict some damage to Zimmerman in the final moments of his seventeen year life, Zimmerman should have realized he was dealing with a young boy. He did not need to shoot to kill, he could have shot him in the arm or the leg to stop his advances, if there were any. This is a guy who liked to imagine himself as a good guy, an equal with the police. None of this would have happened, if Zimmerman had followed the "Neighborhood WATCH" policies....WATCH being the key word. Where does George Zimmerman actually live? He would have also known that there were black families living in the complex, had he done more watching. He was the predator, without doubt.
REAL Neighborhood Watch people aren't allowed to carry guns. They are just to call police and let them handle it. They are not supposed to follow someone either. The funny thing is, Zimmerman wasn't really on "watch" that night. He was coming back from Target when he saw Trayvon and decided Trayvon shouldn't be there. I hope they are going to use the witness that said he heard the shot and the big guy that was on top got up and the other one was laying on the ground. Sure sounds like George was getting his brains knocked out, huh? I hope they televise this trial. I want to see all the evidence and see how Z's lawyer tries to get him off with pretty much no evidence to support Z's claims. And another thing, how was Trayvon supposed to have banged Z's head on the cement? Z has no long hair to grab onto, Trayvon would have had to grab Z by the ears or try to get SOMETHING to hang onto to be able to do that. It wouldn't be easy to just grab his slick, round head and NOT have anything to hold onto.
In the rain at that.
Can someone please explain to me why Zimmerman hung up with the 911 operator if his goal was to maintain visual contact for the police? Could it be that his intention toward Martin where wrong from the beginning.
Because the dispatcher said..."I will let them know to call you when they are in the area", effectively ending the call.
Prior to that, the dispatcher tried to tell zimmerman that the responding officers would meet him at a certain point, but Zimmerman wanted them to call so he could give them a precise location if he had to move.
Definitely sounds like someone who is planning something nefarious. That is what most people do before they plan on shooting someone...call the police.
I thank all of you that already said zimmerman is guilty. Your short sidedness astounds me. No wonder why an old couple had to move out of their home because of threats.
And the race pimps rejoice.
as a parent, because of child kidnappings and missing children. We teach our children when ever approach by a stranger to fight as hard as you can as long as you can, never give up, and at the same time yell for help as loud as you can. But now, if this stranger pulls out a gun and shoot my child, all he needs to do is claim "Stand your Ground" I feared for my life. But what about that childs Fear. Lets take the focus off this Zimmerman and focus on this child. They talk about what Zimmerman perceive to be a life threaten moment, But must have been going through Trayvon mind at that that moment. " is this stanger going to kidnapped me?" " is this stranger going to kill me?" "is this stranger going to rape me?" Instead of giving up he did what we all teach our children to do. and now he's dead. and were discussing Zimmerman right to " Stand your Ground". What about Trayvon rights?
Here we go again with that stranger danger nonsense used to scare people into believing there is a boogieman behind every tree and shrub to get frightened parents to support stupid laws. Here is the first clue, most kidnappings are done by people you know not strangers. Now I'm not saying that children shouldn't be taught skills that make them aware of their surroundings or that the world can be dangerous but you have to be careful what you tell kids so they don't end up being paranoid @!$%#s like the tea bagged nation.
Martin is a classic example of what happens when you do all the right things to protect yourself and you run across a person who see's those actions as signs of drug usage or criminal behavior while out playing super hero or cop. Really there is nothing you can teach your kids that will protect them from the George Zimmermans out there. Now where Martin screwed up, because of his he man youth thing was he didn't run home, he let his pride get in the way of good judgement, so he just walked faster whereas if he had bolted he might have avoided Zimmerman who was stalking him. Young people make bad decisions when it comes to pride, they haven't learned its best to look like a coward then the tough guy. I'm sorry to be a bummer but realities are sometimes it is just a matter of dumb blind luck if you become a victim or a survivor.
Just wondering when all these political shows are going to get back to politics instead of the prejudicial panels they've become. I think this unfortunate incident has already caused enough racial tensions and violence without it constantly being on the news to incite even further damage.