Zimmerman School Records: Knew 'Stand Your Ground Law' Before Shooting
A judge ruled Wednesday that the prosecution in the George Zimmerman case would be allowed to enter school records as evidence that Zimmerman was aware of Florida's self-defense law before he shot and killed 15-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman studied Criminal Justice while attending college, although he maintained in an interview with FOX earlier this year that he was unaware of the "stand your ground" law. Prosecutors called to the stand witness Alexis Francisco Carter, the military attorney who taught Zimmerman's class. Carter confirmed that the self-defense law had been covered and that Zimmerman "was probably one of the better students in the class," calling him an "A" student, according to a Reuters report.
Zimmerman had also previously placed an application as a police officer in Virginia. The prosecution attempted to paint Zimmerman as someone who had failed to become a cop, but still had the desire to do so. It argued that Zimmerman had become frustrated with recent crimes in his neighborhood, pushing him to profile Martin.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Zimmerman "has applied to be a police officer before, he still wants to be one; according to some of his homework assignments ... this wasn't some sort of passive thing," prosecutor Richard Mantei said in arguments Wednesday.
The defendant also asked police officers in 2010 for permission to ride along a police car in order to improve his "chances of a law enforcement career."
Defense attorney Mark O'Mara argued that allowing records about Zimmerman's past into the trial could be the beginning of a "witch hunt" that only drudged up other information from Zimmerman's past.
"We have taken pains not to get into Trayvon Martin's school records," O'Mara said on Tuesday. He repeated a similar statement on Wednesday after Judge Debra S. Nelson ruled in favor of the prosecution.
