Today will be one of the most emotional days in the trial of George Zimmermann for the shooting murder of teenager Trayvon Martin: Martin’s mother and brother are taking the stand — and both insist the screaming vote on the 911 tape is indeed the 17-year-old, Skittles-armed Martin:
Prosecutors on Friday called Trayvon Martin’s mother and brother to the stand in the trial of the man who fatally shot him.
George Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder. His defense team argues that he shot the teen in self-defense.
A key piece of evidence was at the center of Friday’s proceedings: a 911 call on the night of the shooting on which screaming can be heard.
Lawyers on both sides want to convince the jury of who was doing the screaming, Zimmerman or Martin.
The audio was played in court for Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton. She said she recognized the screaming as that of “Trayvon Benjamin Martin.”
Defense attorney Mark O’Mara asked Fulton if she had no doubt that it was her son screaming.
“Absolutely,” she said.
Martin’s older brother, Jahvaris Fulton, 22, also took the stand Friday.
Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda asked him if he recognized the voice on the tape.
“My brother’s,” Fulton said, adding that he had “heard him yell” before, but “not like that.”The question of whether Zimmerman’s actions were self-defense or murder could rest on who was the person screaming.
Reuters take on it:
The mother of Trayvon Martin said in court on Friday she recognized the voice of her son screaming for help in an emergency call on the night the black teenager was shot dead by neighborhood watchman George Zimmermann.
Sybrina Fulton’s testimony came as the state was preparing to wrap up its case after nearly two weeks of testimony aimed at showing inconsistencies in Zimmerman’s account of the fight in Sanford, Florida, in February last year that ended with Martin’s death.
Fulton told jurors she was certain it was her son who can be heard screaming for help in the background of an emergency call made to police moments before he died.
“I heard my son screaming,” said Fulton, who added that she first heard the recording in the office of the mayor of this town near Orlando where her son died.
Testimony from voice-recognition experts has been ruled inadmissible in the trial on the grounds that it was impossible to tell from the brief, poor-quality recording whether it was Martin or Zimmerman calling for help.
In addition to Martin’s mother, the state’s final witnesses included his brother, 22-year-old Jahvaris Fulton, who said he too was convinced it was his brother who can be heard screaming on the recording.
Other witnesses for the prosecution are expected to include the central Florida medical examiner who performed the autopsy on the teenager. Martin’s father may also testify.
It will then be the turn of the defense to present its case.
Legal experts said that before doing so, Zimmerman’s legal team could simply make an argument for acquittal on grounds that the state has failed to meet its burden of proof.
My own prediction on this case is:
1. Zimmerman will be acquitted or the jury will ask about convicting of manslaughter (which they are reportedly allowed to do).
2. Zimmerman if free will have a status similar to what O.J. Simpson did: many Americans will not accept the verdict at all.
3. The Martin family will file a civil suit and likely win it.
The Martin case has become highly politicized with liberals feeling Zimmerman was a cop wannabe with an itchy trigger finger and many conservatives suggesting Martin was up to no good or without saying it a thug. It’s no coincidence Zimmerman’s one major media interview was with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, about a knee-jerk conservative Republican partisan as you can find.
An interesting take from conservative talk show host Michael Savage:
“White people generally think Zimmerman is innocent, except for liberals who are sure he is guilty; black people probably to the 99th percentile are sure Zimmerman’s a murderer. So where does Michael Savage fit in? I’m an independent observer and I call them as I see them,” the conservative host continued. “I think Zimmerman committed what he’s being charged with: manslaughter. He didn’t intend to kill him, but he may as well have intended to kill him.”
Savage said that the Kel Tec 9mm handgun Zimmerman carried did not have the safety applied and had a bullet in the chamber, suggesting that Zimmerman was prepared to shoot someone that night.
“Had he not chambered a round prior to meeting Trayvon, and had he not taken the safety off — even if Trayvon, during the altercation even if Trayvon had tried to grab the gun away from Zimmerman — had that gun not been chambered with a round and safety off, Trayvon Martin would have had to use two hands. You can’t do it with one hand,” Savage asserted.
“Because Zimmerman carried a loaded weapon with the safety off, Trayvon Martin is dead,” he continued. “Therefore, the responsibility is in the hands of Zimmerman.”
Finally, Savage claims that it sounds to him like Zimmerman said a racist slur under his breath as he spoke with the 911 operator. “And I’m afraid that the fact that he has this racist statement — made this racist statement on the 911 call — and that he was carry a loaded gun with a bullet in the chamber and the safety off, you have to find this man guilty of second-degree manslaughter is my opinion,” Savage declared. “Something’s wrong with this whole story.”
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.