PBS and NPR for Southwest Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

In Opening Statements, Attorneys Present Very Different Interpretations of Trayvon Martin Shooting

In opening statements Monday prosecutors described a scene in which George Zimmerman followed and gunned down unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin. The defense countered Martin could have avoided the confrontation but instead attacked Zimmerman, forcing him to fire in self-defense.
Prosecutor John Guy began by using the same profanities Zimmerman used in a phone call to police when he first spotted Martin in his Sanford neighborhood.

"Those were the words in that man's chest when he got out of his car armed with a fully-loaded semiautomatic pistol and two flash lights", said Guy.

Defense attorney Don West said at one point Zimmerman lost sight of Martin, giving the teen the chance to run away and avoid the confrontation. 

"He either left and went back or just hid in the darkness to see about this guy that he thought was following him", West said.

It was two very different interpretations presented before a packed courtroom. Zimmerman looked on without showing emotion, but at one point Martin's father could be seen wiping away tears.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder.