Murder charge over Trayvon shooting

George Zimmerman is expected to be charged over the killing of Trayvon Martin (AP)
12 April 2012

The neighbourhood watch volunteer who shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder, after weeks of mounting tensions and protests across the US.

George Zimmerman, 28, could receive up to life in prison if convicted. His new lawyer said that Zimmerman would plead not guilty.

The shooting of Trayvon, 17, in Sanford, Florida, brought demands from civil rights leaders for Zimmerman's arrest and set off a furious debate over race and self-defence that reached all the way to the White House, where President Barack Obama observed: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."

Special prosecutor Angela Corey said Zimmerman turned himself in. She would not reveal where he was, saying it was for his safety, but she said he would appear in court within 24 hours.

Second-degree murder is typically brought in cases when there is a fight or other confrontation that results in death but involves no premeditation to kill. It carries a mandatory minimum of 25 years behind bars when a gun is used.

Zimmerman initially was not arrested in part because of Florida's "stand your ground" law, which gives people wide leeway to use deadly force without having to retreat in the face of danger. His new lawyer Mark O'Mara said he would invoke that law in Zimmerman's defence.

Trayvon's parents expressed relief over the decision to prosecute him. "The question I would really like to ask him is, if he could look into Trayvon's eyes and see how innocent he was, would he have then pulled the trigger? Or would he have just let him go on home?" said his father, Tracy Martin.

On Tuesday, Zimmerman's former lawyers withdrew from the case, saying they had lost contact with him and portrayed him as in a precarious mental condition. But Mr O'Mara said of Zimmerman's health: "I'm not concerned about his mental wellbeing."

Zimmerman, of Sanford, whose father is white and mother Hispanic, has said since the February 26 killing that he shot in self-defence after the teenager attacked him. But Trayvon's family argued Zimmerman was the aggressor, as he ignored an emergency dispatcher's advice and followed the teenager through a gated community, saying he looked suspicious.

Zimmerman's brother Robert told CNN: "Our brother literally had to save his life by taking a life. And that's a situation nobody wants to be in, ever."

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