George Zimmerman Case: Judge Allows Trayvon Martin School Records, Parents Object
A Florida judge ruled Friday that attorneys for accused murderer George Zimmerman can proceed with a subpoena; they were attempting to obtain high school records and social media postings relating to the Trayvon Martin case.
Circuit Judge Debra Nelson gave Zimmerman's defense attorney Mark O'Mara the green light to pursue Martin's school records and information from Facebook and Twitter. He'll use them in preparation for Zimmerman's June 2013 second-degree murder trial, much to the dismay of Martin's parents
Zimmerman, 28, admittedly shot and killed 17-year-old Martin in Sanford, Fla. on Feb. 26 and if convicted in the killing, he faces up to life in prison.
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Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton protested the release of their late son's confidential school documents ahead of Judge Nelson's ruling.
"First I'd like to say that Trayvon was the victim. As human beings, our first priority shouldn't be to assassinate the character of the victims and make it seem as though they're the perpetrator," Tracy told reporters Friday, arguing that the confidential documents were irrelevant to the case.
"George Zimmerman, for whatever reasons, profiled. He made conscious decisions to get out of his car and pursue Trayvon, who was unarmed, and shot him in the heart, and Trayvon is not here to tell us his version," Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump explained. "So why is it relevant about his school records or his Facebook page? George Zimmerman knew none of that on Feb. 26, when he claimed Trayvon's life."
Friday's ruling comes just one month after results from forensic tests showed that Zimmerman's was the only DNA that could be identified on the grip of the gun that was used to kill Martin.
Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain, claims that he killed Martin in self defense, and his lawyers are expected to argue that Martin allegedly reached for his gun in an attempt to kill him first.
The test results, which were made public on Wednesday, ruled out Martin's DNA from being on the gun's grip. Zimmerman's DNA was also identified as being on the gun's holster, according to the Associated Press.
The Martin family launched their personal website, ChangeForTrayvon.com, on Tuesday, which is designed to help raise awareness about Florida's controversial "stand your ground law." The lesgislation will be used by Zimmerman's attorneys, who will apply it to his defense during the upcoming trial.
"Something has to change which is why we created the changeforTrayvon movement to shine the light on stand your ground laws across the nation," Sybrina is heard saying in a YouTube video.
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