This morning George Zimmerman was released on $150,000 bond. I'm not surprised. How much of a flight risk could he possibly be at this point? Everyone in America knows what he looks like. His passport has been confiscated. And he actually seemed calm and confident in his testimony this morning. Has his lawyer given him the sense that his case is strong? We'll see.
Zimmerman also apologized to Trayvon Martin's parents for the first time. It was an odd apology. It wasn't exactly heartfelt. And it revealed a key detail that could hurt his defense.
I thought Zimmerman's apology was hollow, like it had been written by his lawyer. "I'm sorry for the loss of your son," not "I'm sorry I killed your son" or "I'm sorry I shot your son." Is it an apology if you fail to acknowledge any responsibility for your action? It's like Trayvon Martin died of an illness or something. I don't know who that apology really was for, but Martin's parents couldn't possibly have been satisfied by it. I vote non-apology on this one.
But the one part that didn't sound like it was written by Zimmerman's lawyer was this telling detail: He said he "didn't know if [Martin] was armed or not." That was probably not the smartest thing for him to say. It kind of weakens his case for him to reveal that he thought Martin might be unarmed. Better not to bring that up at all!
No wonder he was asked to clarify whether his remarks should be regarded as actual court testimony or just an apology directly to Trayvon's parents. That distinction would matter. We'll see if the prosecution brings up the question of whether or not Zimmerman thought Martin was armed in the trial.
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
What did you think of Zimmerman's apology to Trayvon Martin's parents?
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