George Zimmerman is out of jail.
The man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin and won a $150,000 bond hearing last week, was released from jail late last night after paying a $15,000. bond fee.
Zimmerman delivered an Oscar worthy performance in court the other day, appearing in a dark business suit (instead of the orange prison jumpsuit we’ve seen photos of him in), adorned with shackles and handcuffs. He finally made a formal apology to the Martin family on “the loss of your son,” but when asked by the prosecution team why it took him 56 days to apologize, Zimmerman said he was told not to speak to the Martin family. Sybrina Brunson and Tracy Martin did not accept his apology, as they held back tears in court upon hearing that their son’s murderer would soon go free.
Zimmerman was released from jail late Sunday night so that he could disappear somewhere safely, although he will be forced to wear an ankle bracelet to monitor his location. His freedom is a huge win for the defense, since Zimmerman’s attorney can now use every legal trick in the book to slow the case down and delay a trial for years. Had Zimmerman lost the bond hearing, his attorney would have almost certainly rushed a trial in an attempt to rush Zimmerman out of jail.
Originally, Zimmerman had trouble raising the $15,000. required to earn his freedom. He also had trouble working out the financial and safety logistics of his freedom. Zimmerman, his wife (who knew he had one?) and the rest of his family all feared for their safety. So details of where and how Zimmerman and his wife would hide out, as well as the costs involved for some sort of security detail for he and his family, were all very complex issues that proved difficult to arrange. Zimmerman was (somewhat) safe while under protective custody in jail, but the moment he was released his safety was no longer guaranteed.
In an interesting turn of events during the bond hearing, Zimmerman’s apology may have provided the prosecution team with a crucial advantage. During the apology, Zimmerman said “I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I was, and I did not know if he was armed or not.” The entire basis of Zimmerman’s plea for innocence is that he shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense, saying he feared Martin was pulling a gun on him. But his accidental admission that he didn’t know if Martin had a gun or not, could deflate his entire case.
Tomorrow: WILL GEORGE ZIMMERMAN EVER BE FREE?
<span>This is so sickening. I know we had better wake up before "strange fruit" reappears.</span>