George Zimmerman Trial LIVE STREAM Day 14, Defense Closing Arguments (Watch Online)
George Zimmerman is facing a possible conviction for the 2012 murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teen he shot and killed in what he claimed was self-defense.
(View Day 14 of the court session via free live stream on a computer, tablet or mobile phone below.)
Zimmerman's defense attorney Mark O'Mara will deliver his closing arguments on Friday, July 12.
On Thursday, Martin's family attorney, prosecutor Bernie De La Rionda argued during his closing argument for the state that Martin was followed and assumed to be up to no good and that is what led to his death.
De La Rionda said that Martin is dead "through no fault of his own, " adding, "He is dead because another man made assumptions."
"He is dead not just because that man made those assumptions but because he acted on them, and unfortunately because his assumptions were wrong, Trayvon Benjamin Martin no longer walks on this earth," he explained.
The state prosecutor also referred to Zimmerman's aspiring goal to become a police officer, and as the self-appointed neighborhood watchman he assumed Martin was a criminal who looked suspicious.
De La Rionda's argument became so fiery that he used several expletives to make his point.
He referred to Zimmerman's non-emergency 911 call and statements to police, saying "To quote the defendant, he was one of "those a--holes that always get away", he was one of those "f---ing punks".
De La Rionda also used a dummy to demonstrate how the fight between Martin and Zimmerman before the 17-year-old was shot. He also presented a crime scene photo of Martin's body and pointed out that the lack of blodd, lack of crucial DNA evidence on Zimmerman's and Martin's hands and Martin's body lying face up on the grass contradicts the 29 year-old's version of events.
He also held up the only items the teen was "armed with" he said, a pack of Skittles candy and a can of juice.
Zimmerman is now facing multiple charges in the trial, which began on June 24. Judge Debra Nelson ruled on Thursday that the jury can decide whether to convict Zimmerman for lesser charges, including manslaughter and third-degree felony murder, in addition to the second-degree murder charge he is facing.
Zimmerman faces life in prison if the jury decides he should be convicted of second-degree murder.
The state's prosecutor Richard Mantei argued in court on July 11 that the third-degree murder charge should be considered because Zimmerman committed an act of child abuse when he shot 17-year-old Martin.
Zimmerman wasn't arrested for Martin's killing, initially, which sparked protests around the country. The chief of Sanford's police department resigned amid the backlash. Zimmerman was eventually arrested and charged 44 days after the shooting on April 11, 2012.
Watch the free live stream of Day 14 of George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial below.
