George Zimmerman Trial Update: Prosecution Rests Case

George Zimmerman was charged last year with murdering Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old he deemed suspicious while acting as a self-appointed neighborhood watchman. On Friday, prosecutors rested its case against Zimmerman, who they’re trying to convict of second-degree murder.

The state’s case against Zimmerman lasted nine days, and featured testimony from the late teen’s parents, a DNA analyst, the medical examiner who performed Martin’s autopsy and numerous witnesses of the attack and its aftermath, including Martin’s friend Rachel Jeantel, who spoke with Martin in the moments leading up to the fatal shooting. As the prosecution made its case, Zimmerman’s call into dispatchers was recounted, as well as a 911 call and Jeantel’s conversation with Martin.

The prosecution alleges that Zimmerman, who they view as an over-zealous volunteer neighborhood watchmen, shot and killed Martin after profiling him based off his race and his hooded sweatshirt. The defense maintained that Zimmerman acted in self-defense, firing his weapon as the unarmed teenager attacked him. On Friday, defense attorney Mark O’Mara attempted to get Circuit Judge Debra Nelson to acquit Zimmerman of the second-degree murder charges, suggesting that the prosecution presented insufficient evidence in the trial. O’Mara rejected Mara's argument.

On Monday, the defense will call witnesses to the stand to prove Zimmerman’s innocence by way of self-defense. In addition to new witnesses, Mara is likely to re-call some of the state’s witnesses.

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