George Zimmerman's attorney implored the all female jury today to acquit his client, calmly assuring them Zimmerman acted in self defense when he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
"You want to take away somebody's liberty? They've got to prove their case. The burden is on the state," said Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara.
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Zimmerman, 29, faces a second-degree murder charge for killing Martin. If convicted of the murder, he could face up to life in prison. The six women jurors have also been given the option of convicting him of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
In a closing argument that was markedly more understated than the state's fiery presentation on Thursday, O'Mara scoffed at the prosecution's claims that Zimmerman lied and was a wannabe cop who profiled Martin, 17, to be a criminal.
What the Jury Must Decide to Acquit or Convict George Zimmerman
O'Mara punctuated his critique of the prosecution's case by repeatedly exclaiming, "Really? Really?"
"I don't think you should connect any dots at all. If the decision is made by the state to present additional evidence do not presume, do not assume, do not give anyone the benefit of doubt besides George Zimmerman," O'Mara said.
Towards the end of his more than two hour long closing argument, O'Mara held up a photo of Martin's lifeless body. It prompted Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, to get up and leave the courtroom.
This racially charged case began on Feb. 26, 2012 when Zimmerman - a white Hispanic -- called police to report what he said was a suspicious person in his neighborhood on a rainy night. He got out of his car to follow Martin, who was black, but claims he stopped when police asked him not to follow, but that he wanted to get an address for police.
Zimmerman told police that Martin confronted him, knocked him down and banged his head on the sidewalk and then started to reach for Zimmerman's gun. Zimmerman said he grabbed the gun and shot Martin once in self-defense.
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O'Mara used props that included a chart called the "self-defense burden of proof," a timeline of Zimmerman's call to a police non-emergency dispatcher and a 90 second animated video detailing Zimmerman's version of what happened that night.
But one of the most dramatic moments of O'Mara's closing argument occurred when the attorney looked at his watch and instructed everybody in the court room to remain still.
The clock kept ticking for what seemed like an interminable length as jurors, the judge, the parents of Zimmerman and Martin stared at the defense table as silence befell the courtroom and O'Mara sat down.
Four minutes later, O'Mara stood up and indicated the purpose of his demonstrative inaction.
"That's how long Trayvon Martin had to run," said O'Mara pointing out the length of time from when Zimmerman told the police dispatcher that he saw the teenager running to the moment he and Zimmerman began the lethal confrontation. "The person who decided this was going to be a violent event was the person who planned his move."
O'Mara shot back at many of the assertions made by prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda's closing argument on Thursday, challenging what the prosecutor claimed were inconsistent statements made by Zimmerman to law enforcement in the initial days after the shooting.
He also brought out cardboard cutouts of two figures to show the relative sizes of Zimmerman and Martin. The figure representing Martin was a couple inches taller than the Zimmerman cutout.
O'Mara also lugged before the jurors a slab of concrete.
"That is sidewalk and cement. That is not an unarmed teenager with Skittles trying to get home... That is a teen using all means to inflict great bodily harm," he said.
The lawyer also said the fact that Zimmerman talked freely with law enforcement despite having shot someone and after suffering injuries was an indication of his innocence.
"We have factual innocence," said O'Mara.
The defense's closing will be followed by a rebuttal from prosecutor John Guy. Fellow prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda delivered a fiery closing on Thursday and said that Zimmerman should be convicted because he was a liar, an aspiring police officer who assumed incorrectly that Martin was a criminal.
"A teenager is dead and he is dead through no fault of his own. He is dead because another man made assumptions," said de la Rionda. "What was his crime?" de la Rionda asked the jury about Martin. "He bought Skittles?"
The jury which has been sequestered for nearly three weeks is expected to begin deliberations later today.
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