News
Zimmerman trial for Trayvon Martin murder commences with jury selection
Trayvon Martin. PHOTO/Martin Family/AP
The murder trial begins Monday for George Zimmerman, the volunteer night watchman who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, sparking protests across the United States and claims of racial profiling.
The trial, expected to last at least a month, began with jury selection at 9 am EST in the Seminole County Courthouse in central Florida, near where the crime took place on a rainy night in February 2012.
George Zimmerman, now 29, faces a charge of second-degree murder for killing Trayvon Martin, 17, as he walked through the gated community to the house where his father was staying with a friend.
Zimmerman, son of a white father and a Hispanic mother, has pleaded not guilty, arguing he acted in self defense when he shot Martin after confronting him.
When police arrived, the only items found in the pockets of his hoodie sweatshirt were a pack of skittles and a bottle of iced tea.
Sanford police initially released Zimmerman after the shooting, because they said he was acting in line with so-called “stand your ground” rules, which give immunity to those who use firearms when they feel their lives are in jeopardy.
The murder gripped the United States at the time, sparking massive protests in several US cities against what many saw as a racial bias in the crime and the police response.
