Trial Begins Today In Shooting Death Of Trayvon Martin. Will George Zimmerman Testify? [Video]

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Via The Orlando Sentinal

Jurors are hearing opening statements at the George Zimmerman murder trial today, as attorneys for both sides begin telling their version of what happened the night Zimmerman killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a homicide that set off weeks of civil rights rallies.

Prosecutor John Guy began his opening statement with a profanity: "F*cking punks."

He said that phrase was how Zimmerman described Trayvon during his non-emergency call to police before the shooting, and shows the defendant's mentality toward the teen.

When Zimmerman saw Trayvon, the prosecutor said, he "didn't see a young man walking home." Instead, he profiled, pursued and killed Trayvon, Guy said.

"He profiled him as someone who was about to commit a crime in his neighborhood, and then he acted on it, and that's why we're here," Guy said.

Later, Zimmerman "pressed that gun into Trayvon Martin's chest," Guy said, and pulled the trigger. He said that the evidence in the case, and testimony from witnesses, would contradict Zimmerman's account, which Guy called a "tangled web of lies."

Guy told jurors to listen closely to the "bone chilling" 911 call which captured screams before the shooting. They'll hear that Trayvon "was silenced immediately" by the shot, Guy said, adding the evidence will show no blood on Trayvon's hands and no DNA from Zimmerman under his fingernails, something Guy said was inconsistent with Zimmerman's account.

Defense attorney Don West's opening is coming next.

The six jurors and four alternates seated last week will be presented with starkly contrasting depictions of Zimmerman, 29: The state alleges that he profiled the unarmed teenager, then followed, confronted and killed Trayvon Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford.

Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder, says he fired the fatal shot in self-defense after Trayvon punched him to the ground and began beating him.

The trial resumed about 9 a.m. today. Earlier this morning, Trayvon's parents gave a press conference.

"I ask that you pray for me and my family," said his mother, Sybrina Fulton. Said family attorney Benjamin Crump: "We believe that the evidence is overwhelming" to hold Zimmerman accountable in Trayvon's killing.

Trayvon's family became a subject of debate as soon as the trial resumed. The defense wanted them to be removed from the courtroom, as potential witnesses. The court didn't grant that request, but did remove Zimmerman's parents, as well as Crump.

Circuit Judge Debra Nelson ruled late last week that the state could use several phrases in opening that Zimmerman's defense team had argued were too inflammatory: That Zimmerman was a "wannabe cop," or a "vigilante" who "confronted" Trayvon.

The judge also ruled the state could say Trayvon, a black teen from Miami Gardens, was "profiled" by Zimmerman, though she instructed prosecutors to avoid the phrase "racially profiled."

Guy followed Nelson's ruling in his opening.

Opening statements come on the heels of a major victory for Zimmerman's defense: Nelson ruled Saturday that forensic audio analysts the state hoped to call as expert witnesses will not be allowed to testify at trial.

The state's experts had said it's likely Trayvon, not Zimmerman, was the person heard crying for help in a recorded a 911 call. Experts for the defense said identifying the screamer was impossible, and the state experts were using junk science.

After openings, the state will call its first witness. It's unclear who that will be. Local lawyers interviewed by the Sentinel last week listed an array of options, including a 911 operator, the lead investigator in the case or Trayvon's mother.

The case will be closely watched across the nation. When Sanford police didn't arrest Zimmerman after the shooting, citing his self-defense claim, it prompted widespread civil-rights protests, in Sanford and across the globe. Zimmerman was later charged by a special prosecutor.

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