George Zimmerman Trial: Prosecution Hits Hard in Dramatic Closing Argument

by Patrick H. Moore

There’s been a lot said about how the prosecution in the George Zimmerman second-degree-murder trial — in the course of putting on their case — has largely failed to prove that the Neighborhood Watch Commander was not acting in self-defense when he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. As we all know, the prosecution has been hampered in their efforts by the fact that they have no witnesses who actually saw George Zimmerman follow and/or attack the dead youth.

Well, yesterday during their closing argument, the prosecution got another chance — not in an evidentiary manner — but rather in a persuasive manner to make their case, and I would submit that on this occasion lead prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda — the bald-headed dude as he was referred to by Haitian witness Rachele Jeantel — rose to the occasion and persuasively demonstrated that George Zimmerman “profiled, followed and tracked” Trayvon Martin because he assumed, based purely on appearances that Martin was a “criminal”. I would also submit that De la Rionda persuasively demonstrated that Zimmerman bore great “ill-will” toward Martin as is shown by the “F—– punks, these a_______ always get away” rhetoric that Zimmerman muttered, more or less under his breath, while he was talking to the 911 dispatcher.

De la Rionda persuasively demonstrated that Zimmerman was far from on the level in claiming that the reason that he got out of his truck was not to follow the now deceased youth but rather to search for an address so that he could tell the police — who were presumably on their way — exactly where he was.

De la Rionda persuasively demonstrated that “Trayvon Martin died because George Zimmerman acted as a “wannabe cop” armed with “the equalizer.” De la Rionda showed the jurors ‘a photograph of the teenager’s corpse and told them, “His body speaks to you even in death.”

It was a dramatic and emotional closing speech in which de la Rionda urged the jury to use their “God-given common sense” to find the defendant guilty of second-degree murder, because his misplaced opinion that Martin may have been a criminal was at the heart of the tragedy.

“A teenager is dead. He is dead through no fault of his own. He is dead because another man made assumptions … Unfortunately, because his assumptions were wrong, Trayvon Benjamin Martin no longer walks on this earth.”

“He was wearing a hoodie. Last I heard, that’s not against the law, but in this man’s eyes he was up to no good. He presumed something, he followed him, he tracked him, because in the defendant’s mind this was a criminal and he was tired of criminals.”

The jurors sat still and listened intently. Some of them took notes. In keeping with their demeanor throughout the trial, the jurors showed little emotion.

De la Rionda persuasively resorted at times to sarcasm to ridicule the defense’s claim that Zimmerman acted in self-defense after Martin punched him in the nose, wrestled him on the ground and pounded his head on the concrete street:

“Poor defendant, poor George Zimmerman, he just kind of took it. He never did anything.”

De la Rionda persuasively pointed out the ludicrousness of the notion that Zimmerman, who had completed 18 months on MMA, training was at a huge disadvantage in the struggle with the slim, 17-year-old dead youth.

“One of them is a guy who’s had over 18 months Mixed Martial Arts fighting [training], but of course he’s just a pudgy, overweight man.

De la Rionda persuasively reiterated witness Rachel Jeantel’s claim that she heard Trayvon ask Zimmerman, “Why are you following me?” just before the line went dead.

De la Rionda persuasively pointed out that based on the fact it was a dark and rainy night, it was unlikely that Trayvon Martin ever even saw Zimmerman’s gun.

In an attempt to discount John Good’s testimony that he saw Martin on top of Zimmerman as the two men struggled, De la Rionda pointed out that one state witness, Jayne Surdyka, testified during the trial that she saw “the bigger man”– Zimmerman — on top of Martin as the two men fought on the ground outside her home.

“His body speaks to you and even in death. It proves to you that this defendant is lying about what happened.

“Trayvon Martin unfortunately can’t come into this courtroom and tell you how he’s feeling and that’s because of the actions of one man. The defendant.”

De la Rionda persuasively bolstered his argument that Zimmerman was nothing more than a misguided “wannabe cop” by pointing out that Zimmerman pretentiously resorted to law enforcement language in his first interview with police after the shooting, “referring to the dead teenager as “the suspect” and talking about how he “unholstered my weapon” and shot the boy “in the torso.”

“That night, he decided he was going to be what he wanted to be: a police officer.”

De la Rionda persuasively pointed out that if Zimmerman was, indeed, suspicious as to what Martin was doing there in the gated community, he should have simply challenged him verbally, but did not.

“Why? Because he’s got a gun, he has the equalizer, he’s gonna take care of it, he’s a wannabe cop.”

De la Rionda persuasively pointed out that in the police interview, Zimmerman said that Martin had run from him — which prosecutors say proves that the teenager was scared and was being pursued. De la Rionda also pointed out that in a subsequent Fox television interview, Zimmerman described the dead youth as having skipped, not run.

“Oh, he’s just skipping away, tra-la-la-la-la.”

De la Rionda persuasively made the case that Zimmerman, by describing the dead youth under his breath as a “f_____ punk” and an “a______”, had demonstrated “ill will and hatred”, a state of mind that is required for a second-degree murder conviction.

“He was verbalizing what he was thinking…In his mind he’d already assumed certain things; that Trayvon Martin was a ‘f______ punk’ and he was an ‘a______’ and he wasn’t going to get away this time.”

Finally, De la Rionda persuasively told the jury:

“There’s only two people who really know what happened out there and he made sure that other person couldn’t come to this courtroom and tell you what happened. He, the defendant, silenced Trayvon Martin, but I would suggest to you that even in silence, his body provides evidence as to this defendant’s guilt.”

* * * * *

Was De la Rionda’s presentation sufficiently powerful to persuade the jury to convict George Zimmerman of second-degree murder? Perhaps not, put perhaps he was sufficiently persuasive to convince the jury that the Neighborhood Watch Commander is guilty of manslaughter. We will know more in a few days. In the meantime, we can only wait and wonder.

Click here to read our earlier George Zimmerman trial posts:

George Zimmerman Defense Team Turns Up the Heat

Trayvon Martin’s Father Stands by His Son in Life and Death: Denies Stating That the Screams Were Not His Son’s

George Zimmerman Was Transformed by Shooting and Killing Trayvon Martin

George Zimmerman’s Defense Team Grills Trayvon Martin’s Mother

George Zimmerman Trial: Dangerous Game for Zimmerman to Take the Witness Stand

George “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” Zimmerman Had a History of Violence

Why the Case Against George Zimmerman Is Strong Enough for a Conviction

George Zimmerman Unlikely to Be Convicted of 2nd-Degree Murder

George Zimmerman Trial: John Good’s Testimony Is “Good News” for Zimmerman

George Zimmerman Trial: Key State Witness Rachel Jeantel Goes Toe-to-Toe with Zimmerman Defense Team

George Zimmerman Was on a Dangerous Drug Cocktail at Time of Trayvon Martin’s Shooting Death