Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey plans to announce as early as Wednesday afternoon that she is charging neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, according to a law enforcement official close to the investigation.
It was not immediately clear what charge Zimmerman will face.
Martin, 17 and unarmed, was shot and killed Feb. 26 by Zimmerman, who said he was acting in self-defense. Police in Sanford, Fla., where the shooting took place, did not charge Zimmerman, citing the state?s ?stand your ground? law.
Corey told reporters Tuesday night that she would hold a news conference about the case within 72 hours. A news release from her office said the event will be held in Sanford or Jacksonville, Fla.
Benjamin Crump, who is representing the Martin family, said this week that Corey?s office had asked where Trayvon?s parents would be each day this week. They arrived Wednesday in Washington for a civil rights conference organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton, where they are scheduled to speak.
The announcement of a charge against Zimmerman would come a day after Zimmerman?s attorneys withdrew from the case, citing their inability to contact Zimmerman.
Lawyers Craig Sonner and Hal Uhrig on Tuesday expressed concern about Zimmerman?s emotional and physical well-being, saying he has taken actions without consulting them. They also said they do not know where Zimmerman is.
?You can stop looking in Florida,? Uhrig told reporters. ?Look much further away than that.?
Corey said Monday that she would not bring the case before a grand jury, which was expected to convene this week. She said her decision to forgo the grand jury should not be viewed as a factor in determining whether charges will be filed.
Corey has indicated in recent weeks that she might not need a grand jury to bring charges against Zimmerman.
The lawyers said they stand by their assertions that Zimmerman acted in self-defense when he killed the 17-year-old, who was unarmed, but they acknowledged that they formed their impressions without meeting Zimmerman.
Re: WaPo: George Zimmerman to be charged in Trayvon Martin shooting
That's fv cking crazy that his lawyers haven't even met him yet. Or former lawyers.
So is he on the run? Will they be able to find him?
But, yay! About fv cking time.
Off to the beach
DS 7/18/2010
Handy 2.0 Due Early August
2011/2012 Races
12/17/2011 Christmas Caper 10K
2/11/2012 Have a Heart 5K
3/17/2012 DC RNR Half Marathon
4/22/2012 10M Parkway Classic
10/28/2012 Marine Corps Marathon
Above Us Only Sky
About time.
I did a happy dance at my desk.
I hope they find this creep. I would love for this to go to trial and him to serve serious time.
Zuma Zoom
I'm not getting excited quite yet. HuffPo says that no grand jury means no murder charges (anything up to manslaughter, though) according to Florida law:
Corey announced earlier this week that she would not be convening a grand jury in the case. Experts familiar with Corey's background say she has a reputation of avoiding grand juries in cases in which they are unnecessary.Under Florida law, murder charges can only be issued by a grand jury. Zimmerman may face other charges in the shooting death, including manslaughter and assault.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/george-zimmerman-charged-trayvon-martin_n_1418351.html?1334168489
At least it's a step in the right direction.
Finally, *some* news out of my home state that doesn't shame or embarrass me.
To be honest, I never actually thought he'd face a murder charge. Maybe it's because of the way the investigation was handled, Florida's ridiculous "stand your ground" law, and a million other factors, I thought murder would be a stretch, but manslaughter was going to end up being the most likely charge.
I'm not saying that's right or wrong, but if she doesn't charge him with murder, I wouldn't be shocked.
Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.
my read shelf: