Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton said this morning that she thinks her son’s fatal shooting at the hands of neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman was an accident.
“I believe it was an accident, I believe that it just got out of control and he couldn’t turn the clock back,” Fulton told the TODAY show.
“I would ask him, ‘Did he know that that was a minor, that that was a teenager and that he did not have a weapon?’” she added.
Prosecutor Angela Corey announced yesterday that Zimmerman would be charged with second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
“We did not come to this decision lightly,” said Corey, who had been appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott to investigate the case after the media firestorm that ensued when Zimmerman wasn’t arrested.
“We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition.”
George Zimmerman fatally shot the 17-year-old Martin in Sanford, Florida on February 26. The incident set off a nationwide debate about race and Florida’s controversial “stand your ground” law.
Zimmerman’s new attorney, Mark O’Mara, who took over the case after the previous lawyers withdrew saying they couldn’t reach Zimmerman, said his client would plead not guilty and would seek to be released on bond.
Zimmerman, 28, will have an initial hearing today at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
“He’s very stressed, very tired,”’ O’Mara told TODAY. “It’s been a difficult several weeks for him. He wants to be out to help with his defense, but he’s doing OK.’”
O’Mara added: “He is concerned about getting a fair trial and a fair presentation. He is a client who has a lot of hatred focused on him. I’m hoping the hatred settles down … he has the right to his own safety and the case being tried before a judge and jury.”
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