Zimmerman jurors to be sequestered up to a month
Source: USA Today
The jurors and alternates selected to hear the trial of the man accused of killing Trayvon Martin will sequestered, a judge ruled Thursday afternoon.
Judge Debra Nelson announced during the jury selection that the jurors will be sequestered for George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial, which is expected to last two to four weeks.
During the first four days of jury selection, lawyers had been asking potential jurors whether being sequestered would be a hardship on them. Most said they could serve on the jury but cited family, work and school responsibilities as concerns.
Zimmerman is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder. He claims he shot Trayvon Martin, 17, in self-defense.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/13/zimmerman-jury-sequester-month/2419993/
grok
(550 posts)i can easily see them still subject to payback by their peers that disagree with their verdict.
Captain Stern
(2,201 posts)They're going to catch hell regardless of which verdict they reach.
iandhr
(6,852 posts)... I think it has been decided the jurors identities will be kept secret.
grok
(550 posts)They really are fair game for the media. the media will be free to do what they want with them afterwards. they know what they look like unlike us.nothing to keep them from stopping them on the street and asking for a statement. and so on.
Of course, the jurors probably don't know that. which is all to the good for the trial to be fair..
Kablooie
(18,645 posts)Generic Other
(28,979 posts)They will stoop to anything. I feel sorry for the Martin family and wish them strength.
2Design
(9,099 posts)stalking and killing
Nimajneb Nilknarf
(319 posts)It's an important murder case and IMO should be handled with all due caution and diligence by the state. It would be bad for all parties if they mess it up.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)but it is very hard to prove 2nd degree murder.
If Zimmerman's own story or stories about what happened contain contradictions or inconsistencies then he has a serious problem. Also his personality is going to cause him problems. But it is not easy to get a conviction for 2nd degree murder, so he could get off.
It would be pretty easy to convict him for manslaughter I think.
On the other hand, a good prosecutor may persuade the jury that Zimmerman was stalking Martin.
So, I think that the verdict could go either way.
And I hope that the trial is fair and the jury is unbiased.
GreenStormCloud
(12,072 posts)Just go straight to the verdict and sentence?
The only way YOUR right to a fair trial can be protected is the protect Z's right to a fair trial.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)It is actually not at all easy to convict a person of murder when there are no witnesses and the evidence is uncertain. I think that Zimmerman is guilty, but you have to prove it beyond reasonable doubt, and that can be very difficult.
I urge people to be cautious. If an error is to be made, it should be made to find a person innocent even if they are guilty. It is better not to convict a guilty person that to convict an innocent person. Convicting someone who is innocent is as bad as the original crime.