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Subscribe to RSSGeorge Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch volunteer charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, was released early Monday from a Florida jail on $150,000 bail. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.
George Zimmerman’s attorney said Monday that his client’s apology to the family of Trayvon Martin was ill-timed given the family’s previous statements, and he’s sorry if they felt it was insincere.
During his bond hearing last week, Zimmerman addressed Martin’s family directly, saying he was sorry for the loss of their son. Speaking on “CBS This Morning” Monday, attorney Mark O’Mara said he didn’t realize the family would feel the apology came at the wrong time.
“Had I known or been told that that wasn't the time, it wouldn't have happened. So, I apologize for that,” O’Mara said.
Before the hearing, Zimmerman’s camp had reached out to the family to see if he could apologize privately. But Martin’s parents rejected that invitation during a press conference.
“He had a Web page — never apologized there. Had the voicemails we’ve heard — never apologized then,” the family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, said at a news conference. “So, we feel that you all can conclude for yourselves what motivations there are.”
O’Mara said his client wouldn’t have apologized at the hearing had he seen the press conference.
“My concern is, I didn’t realize that the way that they had responded to me was through a press conference, where they said it was too late or not an appropriate time,” he said.
George Zimmerman released on bail in Trayvon Martin shooting case
At the bond hearing Friday, Zimmerman took the stand and addressed Martin’s parents, saying, “I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son,” adding he didn’t know how old Trayvon was or whether he was armed when he shot him.
O’Mara said the purpose of the apology was to reach out to the family.
Following the hearing, the Martin family's attorney characterized Zimmerman's apology as "insincere."
"The apology was somewhat of a surprise because we had told them this was not the appropriate time, but they just disregarded that, and he went and pandered to the court and the media and gave a very insincere apology," Crump told the media.
Zimmerman was released early on Monday from a Florida county jail on $150,000 bail while awaiting trial for second-degree murder in the shooting death of unarmed teen Martin. One of the conditions imposed for his bail is that he have no contact with Martin’s family.
O’Mara said Monday he still fears for his client’s safety, even though he hasn’t received any serious threats recently.
“We have not had any active threats recently,” he said, adding that he is keeping in touch with law enforcement officials.
Speaking about the recently released image showing Zimmerman’s bloodied head, O’Mara said it is “very compelling to support that there was an altercation,” but he is, for now, unsure where it’ll fit in his client’s defense.
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This case will get scrutiny no matter who is right, and who is wrong. Already someone screwed with the evidence just like the Simpson case in the 90's. I am the Watch for my neighborhood in my town, and am legally licenses to carry, but I do know the law on firing weapons in my state and when it is lawful to shoot someone. Example, if someone broke into your home and had a jackknife, you cannot shoot them, unless they attack. Even if they fled the scene, you cannot shoot to inure, or kill the said assailant. Say if they had a large weapon like a baseball bat, or gun, then yes, you can shoot if they go to attack you. Here is a great example: I would shoot them in the leg as they would not die from the wound, but I will not shoot them in the chest if I can help it. Proven your case is better when the suspect is alive. If you can get them to get down on their stomach while pointing the gun at them, you can restrain their wrists legally with tape, or cuffs, but again, you cannot shoot them out of fear they will run if in that position. As a former cop I know these things well and these laws are made public in every state over the internet for Joe Public to read and obey.
He shot him point blank to kill the poor kid, and was not trained to learn about gun safety. In fact, he did not have a license to carry of all things. Between these truths and the fact he was told not to do anything until the police came, of course he will serve time. Was what he did an honest mistake? Maybe.. but the law is the law and you must abide by that, no matter how right someone may think. In ending, I think this all sucks someone died and the media made this into a racist type of case. The New Panthers group is now wanting to go to the trials to make waves and cause a ruckus. This should never, ever have been made into a black, white, and green color case ever. People are people and not a set of colors in a box. We are all human. That, is the bottom line.
Your account is not FLA. law at all and you are dead wrong, he has a concealed weapon permit.
The ONLY race that plays and over plays the race card is the African American....not Hispanics, not Asians, not Native Americans, and not Caucasians. What's wrong with this picture? It's simple. The liberals, Obama, and the African American who wants to play the race card make the Constitution the issue while the other ethinic groups live the Constitution of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
The race card group needs to stop playing the race card and get a life off the streets, off the drugs, off the hoody image, off the thug image and off the gang image! Then perhaps the perception of racial profiling and African American and liberal media stupidity will come to an end.
WTH? The issue in this article is not race (which is non-existent in humans by the way), the issue is the "apology" for killing their son - I personally would not want an apology for someone killing my child I'd want to die myself. No one can apologize for killing someone no matter the circumstance so you shouldn't try, it would just make me want to become what he was that night, a vigilante and murderer.
Akeshka....are you that ignorant?! RACE has everything to do with this. There are members in Congress who blatantly stated that Travon was "racially profiled" even before they knew what the F was going on or knew any facts about the case because the "black" caucus said so. As a result, they're putting their foot in the mouths...yet again!
No I'm not ignorant, I said THIS ARTICLE has nothing to do with race!!!! Not this case or the handling of this case by the police or district attorney's office or by the media/politicians. Yes there is an issue in this nation with race because we have a long bloody history and the ripple effects continue, but the problem HERE is the apology issued by Zimmerman and its timing; no apology can ever be given to make up for taking a person's life. You need to have some English comprehension courses so you can understand what people are saying. Right now YOU are making this about race not Black people!
The fact is that this man killed an unarmed 17 year old young man, who only walking home from the store. Speaking as the parent of 3 young men, there is nothing the person who killed a child can ever say to apologize to that child's parents. NOTHING TO SAY and NO RIGHT TIME TO SAY IT!!!!! Apologize?!! Please don't condescend!!! You KILLED their son, what apology can you offer? I know, prison time or the death penalty, but not even that would be enough!!!
Wow, you still refuse to acknowledge the fact that the poor innocent 6'2" "kid" assaulted the victim before the victim defended himself?
Denial land must be filled with rainbows & unicorns---
My only point is there is nothing the killer of my son could ever say to me to apologize and no court that could ever give me what I would want, my son back!!! You are obviously not a parent. I wouldn't care is my son was a 350 pound 7' 2" dude, if you killed him you could never apologize for that!!!!!
You can take your foolish vengeance to a possible early grave then....sounds like Akeshka you need anger management help.
so, if your son happened to be a 350 pound 7'2" "dude' that attacked and killed someone - would that warrant an apology to the victim's family from you?
...or would an apology not be necessary; since after all, you still have your son and that's all that matters
No one here can comprehend English, why did I comment at all? All of you are ignorant and your arguments are nonsensical. You need a logic course.
Welcome to the blogsphere....where reading comprehension is not necessary and where opinions do matter. Lol
there is precious little "logic" in your comments, my dear
...only raw emotion and blind hatred - hallmarks of the lynch mob mentality which define the George Zimmerman haters
The fact is this is not a white child. It's a black one, so you can't really think they will care he is dead. Blacks are below every other race in the US. If all blacks and anything related could go to another planet that would be best. You can just feel all the racism coming from this case.
Akeshka- Since you say YOU would not accept ANY apology and that an apology would only be condescending, lets try this: "I'm really sorry that your son chose to attack me that night, I really wish he hadn't done that, because then I wouldn't have had to defend myself. Im also particularly sorry that your son is a moron for bringing his fists to a gun fight." Does that work better for you?
Damian Garcia,
Giant FAIL!
GZ profiled, pursued, confronted and MURDERED Trayvon!
Particularly unfortunate that Trayvon ONLY had his FISTS, cause he wasn't told he was in a "gun fight"
Corey will fry his ass!
JO-AN
damian garcia is a computer tough guy, his comments wreak of no real face to face confrontational awareness.
In Garcia world, its about what the RESULT WAS not how it came to be, which is a step used by the IMMATURE mind.
Common sense is a non factor, but karma is, so when it hits GARCIA who act like this is a video game, maybe he will get it that the one who knew he had the gun is responsible for that action which was based on a choice to get out of his vehicle.
More MSN crap. The apology would not have been accepted no matter when it was given. These worthless parents only care about the publicity, book deals and paid TV interviews. They sold out their own kid.
Zimmerman is the one they need to apologize to for putting him through so much crap when there is no evidence of his guilt.
Or maybe, their son is recently dead and they are not ready to forgive and forget, regardless of the circumstances?
But yes, let's think the worst of them.
It seems pretty clear TM's parents are just pre disposed to NOT accept any apology from Mr. Zimmerman regardless of whatever time it would have been offered.
Why should they? Forgiveness is hard and grief is harder still to overcome. Obviously, you are lucky enough to have never lost a loved one, regardless of cause of death.
You know I was just telling my husband how funny it was that the Martin case dissapeared off the radar the day that the secret service men were nabbed for thier misconduct. It wasn't even in the background of news.
Funny how the media makes things happen whenever there is nothing going on to sell thier wares. I am fastly becoming a memeber of the I DON"T like the media club.
No longer is the truth the most important thing. It's what gets the most hits and attention. Then they are off and running. No matter what the cost to those involved. Whoever looks most innocent at the time is the HERO.
Enough of this. How about all the youth quitting school......having babies.....illiteracy......people starving......NO???????????????????? Not news worthy I guess.
abc cbs nbc all of them have been accused of doing that to get ratings up.
54buick-totally agree
Like so many things these days judgement is made based on the court of public opinion and let's face it the media has painted a bad picture of Geo Zimmerman. And they have been proved wrong in several pieces of the "investigative reporting" so let the trial begin and we can find out the whole truth.
I am not sure whether Zimmerman is guilty or justified for shooting this young man but I can tell you this, if I had someone walking around my house, in our gated community, at night with a hoddie on I would most certainly be concerned and would most definitely be checking it out. There is no reason to be wandering around my neighborhood, at night, dressed in a suspcious nature. It immediately sends up red flags!
Cassandra Sanchez Quiroz said
"This makes me think of something my grandmother use to tell me as a child when i got into trouble, "you are not sorry for what you did, you are sorry that you got caught." (In Zimmerman's case, arrested)"
He wasn't caught. He was the one that called the police. What the police did or didn't do to the satisfaction of the masses is not his fault.
The attorney doesn't need to apologize. The family even said on a earlier coverage a few weeks back they wish he would apologize. So if the media and the family are having a problem with this maybe they should keep their mouth shuts period instead of trying to incriminate him even more. I don't know if hes guilty or not but what i do know is there is too much hypocrisy going on right now. You tell him to apologize, he does and your offended. He doesnt get charged and you complain there is no justice and state he is guilty, when he does get charge you claim you don't know if hes guilty or not and you will let the law decide. When I say "you" im stating the media and most of the public. The media needs to remember they are a neutral party and not a for or against. They want their rights as a journalist than they need to play their part. Its a shame martin died, a parent shouldnt have to burry their children. But we don't know exactly what happened and we will nv know since there is too much he said she said and most of the people that knew what happen agrees with zimmerman. Aka reasonable doubt is why he won't be convicted. One last thing, as for "he just wore a hoody" crap cloths and actions does make a difference. If you dont think so I want you to go to a bank wearing a trench coat, in a ski mask, with leather gloves and boots, a voice changer, stand in line for 30 min staring at the cashier while twitching then scream "i want my money". If you can make your withdraw without any complications then I will side with you, til then actions and clothes does make a difference.
When will Americans have justice? When will Mr. Holder etc. arrest the Black Panthers who put a bounty on Zimmerman? When will Spike Lee be held accountable for his intent to spread harm to the Zimmerman's? When will MS NBC have the guts to write a story about this side of the coin?
The most glaring thing about this whole mess is the complete lack of faith and trust in God to bring his justice in this. Especially all the supposed Christians that ignored what God plainly says: Vengeance is mine, I will repay! Instead they stired up the entire country into a whirlwind of hate to impose their brand of justice!
#267 - Mon Apr 23, 2012 2:06 PM EDT
The only thing Zimmerman is sorry for is the fact that he didn't listen to do as he was told by the 911 operator. It never should have happened. If a stranger accosted me in the same situation, he wouldn't have had the time to pull a gun. If I couldn't put his lights out in one punch, then I do my Jesse Owens routine & beat feet. Trayvon Martin went easy on him. It would be an easier case if Trayvon (armed only with a can of iced tea & a bag of Skittles). stood over Zimmerman's armed (with a concealed 9mm pistol) corpse. Now that is more justifiable. Imagine if Trayvon wasn't the victim & Zimmerman accosted an armed lunatic. Dental charts will be involved... And, depending on skin color, FOX would have a field day! And if it was self defense, why get close enough for a beating in the first place? You can't get decked from ten feet away. Use the ten foot rule, if he gets closer that ten feet, call 911. Let them decide the rules... Oh, yeah. They did........ Ignorance on behalf of the shooter? Would he have had pursued him knowing he were white? Oh, yeah, he was wearing a hoodie so he couldn't tell, only guess.
"if they get closer than 10ft call 911 and let them decide the rules." You cannot be serious omay. In your mind, if somebody attacks me then I should call 911 and ask for permission to retaliate? Do you know that a 17 year old football player can close a distance of 10 ft in the same amount of time it takes to pull a gun from the holster? It is idiots like you that make it necessary to have laws like the stand your ground law. I have a right to defend myself, even if the law says I don't, and I will exercise that right, even if the law says I can't.
Hey rere did you happen to forget the hands themselves are a weapon. Alot of people die every year due to beatings just like any other weapon. For that reason alot of peoples hands are considered a deadly weapon and try to avoid fights because they can seriously injure people aka boxers etc. If you think getting a beating isnt deadly than your one ignorant fool. It doesnt matter if there is 1 person or 5 people beating on you, you will take all the nessassary actions you can to stay alive. The majority of people would. If you had a gun on you and 20 people were beating on you i bet you would start shooting. There is isnt a difference. If you life is in danger than you do what you can to stay alive. In martins case he shouldnt have brought a knife to a gun fight in his case his fists. If he didnt atk anyone and was purly shot thats one thing but that didnt happen.
MooseyBoy-
You're an @!$%#. Tell that to the cops. And they will tell you the same thing. You're an @!$%#.
If you're reading comprehension is as bad as your English spelling, I don't need to argue. Hang with Nugent.
You obviously don't understand what you're reading and you both have an openly blatant disrespect for the law, macho men.
Besides, Martin wasn't going to a gunfight, it came to him. The end. Now go back to sleep.
I think it was appropriate to apologize. I don't agree with the "sorry for killing your son" apology because we still don't know how the things happened! C'mon people, were you at the scene? why demand for such a apology if nooo one knows wth happened!
There's too many "IF"'s around this case, but the only thing I know is the Martin's lawyer is messing up and make them look like media-hungry parents. Why not accept the private apology? I don't defend Zimmerman, but he only owes apologies to Trayvon's parents who are the ones that mourn him the most. Only them, no one else.
If he wanted to aplogize that badly, he would have done it a lot sooner than he did, like instead of hiding out. Also, someone made a comment about him apologizing for their loss and his part in their grief. According to what's being reported about the apology, he never apologized for his part in their grief. He obviously does what he wants when he wants to because according to this article, the family's attorney told him it wasn't the right time to apologize but he did it anyway; in front of the camera's so people can feel sorry for him. Pleeeease!!! Also, the pictures were "recently released" but when were they actually taken. I'm not sure if I've caught all the articles on this story but if they weren't taken the night of the altercation, he could have received his injuries from an altercation with someone else while he was hiding out all that time. Again, all I can go by is what I read so if the stories are accurate, this man is a wanna-be cop murderer; plain and simple.
Are you serious???? the stinking racist Black Panthers put a price on his head. He had to hide out to stay alive. How can you be that stupid?
Sorry I HAD to kill your son!
He saw what he thought was a suspicious person,he called police.He was told not to "stalk" him,he did and minutes later Trayvon was murdered in cold blood.Zimmerman assaulted a police officer,smack up his girlfriend and was still issued a gun permit.So tell me who fits the profile of a thug?He attacks law enforcement,and hits women.Can any of this be said about Trayvon..no.The only thing that can be said is he wears his hood in the rain and he likes candy and sweet tea as many "childen" do.He must pay for this,it was wrong and unjustified
He never assaulted a police officer and I have not seen any report of him smacking up his girlfriend. He was arrested for not leaving the scene when a friend was being arrested, and the charges were dropped. Assaulting a police officer is a felony, and domestic violence is either a felony or violent misdemeanor, both of which would have prevented him from purchasing a legal gun and obtaining a concealed carry permit.
Trayvon was a known trouble maker, he had been suspended from school twice for vandalism/destruction of property, once for possession of stolen property and a burglary tool, and finally got expelled for possession of marijuana. I do not know what point you are trying to prove here.
What a shame and disappointment? The guy apologizes and then, dam, it was the wrong time so we actually have to go through a trial too before we execute the guy. I wonder if the lawyers will use the facts or just put on a show for the media and the racist minorities!
What grand standing at a bail hearing, could be considered insincere?
How about taking responsibility for murdering a harmless teen?.... due to your own stupid mistakes.
a harmless teen? The kid broke his nose and slammed his head into the ground, how exactly is that harmless?
If you were being followed by a strange man you would not take any action?
I would.
Well here you go again dammed if you do and dammed if you don't. Martin's parents wanted an apology and they got one and there lawyer says's not good enough.
All you other racist people out there listen to the dispatched and Zimmerman's conversation nothing racist about what Zimmerman said. Are we to wait when we are attacked to ask the person attacking us are you armed and how old are you? by that time we're dead. This is so sad for all the people involved But if the liberal news had reported the facts instead of making them up this would have been done with weeks ago. What is Mr. Holder doing about the murder for hire by the black Panther's O yes Nothing that right
The reality is that blacks murder blacks and whites murder whites more commonly than black on white, white on black, hispanic on black, white on hispanic. Where is the outrage about black gang members killing opposing black gang members? What about the hispanic gangs? Why no outrage? What about the innocent children killed in the crossfire of gang violence? Where are all of these Johnny come lately leaders when those murders take place everyday? Why aren't the parents of the gang murderers forced by the communities to answer for their children? Why isn't the media camped in front of gang member's homes and asking questions? Why haven't these "leaders" called for justice to be served for these innocent children gunned down on their porches or in their homes by gang members in this country. The outrage should come from the majority of us that are smart enough to understand that these self ordained "leaders" are people that found a way to decieve others into believing they have the answers when, in fact, they don't.
Zimmerman provoked the incident resulting in a person dying. Zimmerman had the right to defend himself but was not justified pulling a pistol on Martin. If witness testimonial convinces the jury that Zimmerman was on his back being pummeled by Martin and his head was being slammed against the pavement then deadly force could be justified regardless of how the incident started. As for the racist comments and left wing slant on this case I find it sad. From the get go Martin's photo depicted him as a boy when in fact he was already man sized. Zimmerman's photo was one of him in orange jail clothing. How did this affect America's pre-judgment? Worse yet, Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton clinging onto some 60's race card issue did not help. What about the black panthers followed by Spike Lee's comments? True racism showing through. Lastly, I believe Zimmerman is guilty of at a minimum, man slaughter.
the incident started because TM came back to get GZ with the intent of beating him up - i guess he picked the wrong guy to try and beat up
damn right bob
Wow. Such evil. And many here say it's Trayvons fault?? Amazing.
If i had a gun and stalked someone...shot them...and then said it was self defense, how on earth would people not take my side of the story?? I mean Trayvon had a history of violence...right? Ohhh wait he didn't? ohh well...umm
he's black so it was OK. That's the Good "ol" boy train of thought anyway.
kingsman0, don't let the facts get in the way of your racist ideology.
KingsmanO, his race has nothing to do with the situation. Zimmerman had made almost 50 calls to 911 in the past this is the only one that ended in him using his gun. You have to ask what the difference in the 911 call was? The only apparent difference is Trayvon.
And perhaps if 18 homes in your neighborhood had been broken into and looted by kids wearing hoodies, you'd have a gun and try to protect your property.
ooomy,
And this kid was in Zimmerman's house? On his front lawn? Maybe breaking into his SUV? I know, attacking his wife? Get real! Post's like yours just crack me up. Stupid is as stupid says! LOL!
What is most troubling to me is the fact media continues to post the five year old photo of Trayvon even though more recent photos' are available, and people still refer to Trayvon as a child even though he was 6' 2 plus, and is as old as many now fighting in Afghanistan. Trayvon was a good sized youg man very capable of beating-up the much smaller Zimmerman..........When I was a very athletic, street fighter savy 17 year old there wasn't many men around of any size I could not take, and I am not nearly as big as Trayvon..........so stop referring to him as a child
Of course they don't want him to apologize, they don't want anything except for people to feel sorry for them - not for zimmerman. They need, they REQUIRE, that this remain a heated racial, divisive, issue, with a clear evil presence in Zimmerman. How dare Zimmerman steal away THEIR thunder!