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Trayvon Martin case: George Zimmerman charged with murder
Seventeen year-old Trayvon Martin. PHOTO/Martin Family/AP
The neighborhood watch volunteer who shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was arrested and charged with second-degree murder Wednesday after months of mounting tensions and protests across the country.
George Zimmerman, 28, could get up to life in prison if convicted in the slaying of the unarmed black teenager.
Special prosecutor Angela Corey announced the charges but would not discuss how she arrived at them or disclose other details of her investigation, saying: “That’s why we try cases in court.”
Second-degree murder is typically brought in cases when there is a fight or other confrontation that results in death but involves no premeditation to kill. It carries a mandatory minimum of 25 years behind bars when a gun is used.
Trayvon Martin’s parents expressed relief over the decision to prosecute their son’s killer.
“The question I would really like to ask him is, if he could look into Trayvon’s eyes and see how innocent he was, would he have then pulled the trigger? Or would he have just let him go on home?” said his father, Tracy Martin.
Corey would not disclose Zimmerman’s whereabouts for his safety but said that he will be in court within 24 hours, at which point he can request bail. He turned himself in in Florida.
