The attorney for George Zimmerman will try to get his client out of jail on bail in the start of what is likely to be a lengthy legal battle against a second-degree murder charge in the death of Trayvon Martin.
Criminal defense attorney Mark O'Mara has requested a hearing for April 20 before Seminole County Circuit Judge Jessica J. Recksiedler at which he will argue that the 28-year-old Zimmerman should be allowed to post bail and remain free pending trial.
Zimmerman, the community watch volunteer accused of murdering Martin, an unarmed black teenager, spent a second night in jail after making his first court appearance Thursday before a Seminole County judge.
Zimmerman spoke only once during the hearing, responding "Yes, sir" when asked if he had an attorney.
After the brief hearing, O'Mara told reporters outside his Orlando office that people should respect his client's right to a fair trial.
"He needs to be safe, but he doesn't need to be in a jail to be safe," O'Mara said. "He just has to be left alone and let the process work."
Zimmerman, whose mother is Hispanic and father white, says he shot Martin in self-defense after he was punched and slammed against the ground during a confrontation in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26. The encounter came after Zimmerman called police to report seeing what he called "a real suspicious guy.”
The special prosecutor in the case, Angela Corey, hasn’t specified what evidence she has to back up the second-degree murder charge. But in an affidavit released Thursday, prosecutors said Zimmerman “profiled” the hooded teen, continued to follow him after being told by a dispatcher that he shouldn't, and "confronted him." A struggle ensued and Martin was shot in the chest.
To prove second-degree murder, prosecutors must show that Zimmerman committed an "imminently dangerous" act that showed a "depraved" lack of regard for human life. The charge carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life.
The case has been assigned to Judge Recksiedler, a former assistant state attorney from Sanford who was elected to the bench in 2010. Arraignment is scheduled for May 29.
Meanwhile, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Friday shows most Americans support the right to use deadly force to protect themselves.
Most of the 1,922 people surveyed nationwide Monday through Thursday said they support laws that allow citizens to use deadly force to protect themselves from danger in their own home or in a public place.
"Americans do hold to this idea that people should be allowed to defend themselves and using deadly force is fine, in those circumstances," pollster Chris Jackson said, according to Reuters. "In the theoretical ... there's a certain tolerance of vigilantism."
reference: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/13/11182597-george-zimmerman-to-seek-bond-in-trayvon-martin-case?lite