'Rush to judgement' about George Zimmerman

Updated at 5:21 p.m. ET: The attorneys for George Zimmerman, the Florida community watch volunteer who fatally shot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, said Tuesday they have lost touch with their client and are withdrawing from the case.

Craig Sonner and Hal Uhrig said at a news conference outside the Seminole County Courthhouse in Sanford, Fla., that they heard that Zimmerman had contacted a special prosecutor, who will decide whether or not to press charges against him, against their advice.

They said they have not talked to Zimmerman, whose location is not known, in at least two days but in the past had spoken with him over the phone. “We can’t represent him unless he comes forward and asks us,” Uhrig said.
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"We have a pretty good idea where he (Zimmerman) is," Uhrig said, but added that Zimmerman is not answering the phone. The attorneys said they thought Zimmerman was still in the United States, but not likely in Florida.

Uhrig said Zimmerman had called Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity, which also worried them. "We believe he spoke directly to Sean," Uhrig said. Fox News representative Dana Klinghoffer declined to elaborate to NBC News on the nature of Zimmerman's relationship with Hannity, saying it would be addressed on the show.

The attorneys said they still believe in Zimmerman's story that he was attacked by Martin and fired in self-defense.

The attorneys also expressed concern about Zimmerman's "emotional and physical safety" and said he may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. They also have reservations about a website Zimmerman set up to solicit money for help in his defense.

"Him setting up his own website is fine," Sonner said. "I wish he would have told me.” Sonner, the first attorney Zimmerman contacted, said he had been working on the case for free.

Zimmerman, whose father is white and his mother Hispanic, says he shot Martin, who was black, in self-defense Feb. 26 after following him in a gated community in Sanford.

Uhrig said that evidence, including a broken nose sustained by Zimmerman, confirms Zimmerman's account of what transpired the night Martin was shot.

“All the evidence that has come out is consistent with the story that George Zimmerman has told,” Uhrig said. He said Martin supporters have focused on "driving racial divisions" in the community.

Natalie Jackson, an attorney for the Martin family, responded to the news conference with a statement obtained by NBC News.

"These attorneys continue to make irresponsible statement to the media," Jackson said. "Not only have they spoken recklessly about racial issues, enflaming passions and reinforcing sterotypes, but now they have throw their own client, George Zimmerman, under the bus by allluding to his possible flight from justice."

"The family is very concerned he's (Zimmerman) unaccounted for, the killer of their son. It all begs the question of whether he will ever be brought to justice," Benjamin Crump, another Martin family attorney, told NBC News.

The lack of an arrest or charges in the case has sparked protests nationwide with many claiming that Zimmerman confronted Martin because of his race. Zimmerman's supporters deny that.

Special prosecutor Angela Corey is investigating the fatal shooting in Florida. She said on Monday said she would not convene a grand jury probe. The U.S. Justice Department is also looking into the case.

Alan Smithee wrote:

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/10/11124992-george-zimmermans-attorneys-withdraw-from-trayvon-martin-case?lite/

Suzi wrote:Zimmerman may not even still be in the US, his (ex) lawyers said he was in the US, but they also said they didn't know where he is. So either they are lying or it is possible that he has flown the coop.

Forgiveness Man wrote:I'm more annoyed by the liberal media

Forgiveness Man wrote:The guy was still wrong but the picture of him as this white racist is just looking more and more ridiculous. ("White Hispanic!" Funny how Hispanics are minorities when it's convenient for the media, but when it's more convenient that they be white, then they are white.)

Forgiveness Man wrote:The rush to judgment seems to be less that Zimmerman was wrong and more this media frenzy in response to it. I think the media and American response to Martin's death is disgracing the kid's memory. They are turning it into a circus. So yes, this circus the media's contriving is what is pissing me off.

JM130ELM wrote:How is this a rush to judgement?
Fact is Trayvon Martin would still be alive and George Zimmerman wouldn't be up the creek if Zimmerman hadn't profiled the boy, stalked, harassed and ultimately killed him for no other reason than his color. He wouldn't have done that to a 17 year old white boy. Furthermore Zimmerman had a gun, Martin had Skittles. How fair was that fight? The buffoon called the police paranoid over nothing and they told him plain as day to NOT follow him and yet he did it anyway. These are all the "facts" I need. The conservative faction hates this story because it shines a light on what they usually try to ignore or sweep under the rug, but in the meantime they haven't presented anything to contradict any of the facts that have come to light. Instead they've tried to either deflect by using terms like "rush to judgement" or have looked under rocks to try and find dirt on Martin to smirch his character to make him look like a thug who deserved what he got. Bullshit.

There is no rush to judgement here. Zimmerman is as guilty as the word implies and should be treated accordingly.

JM130ELM wrote:How is this a rush to judgement?
Fact is Trayvon Martin would still be alive and George Zimmerman wouldn't be up the creek if Zimmerman hadn't profiled the boy, stalked, harassed and ultimately killed him for no other reason than his color. He wouldn't have done that to a 17 year old white boy. Furthermore Zimmerman had a gun, Martin had Skittles. How fair was that fight? The buffoon called the police paranoid over nothing and they told him plain as day to NOT follow him and yet he did it anyway. These are all the "facts" I need. The conservative faction hates this story because it shines a light on what they usually try to ignore or sweep under the rug, but in the meantime they haven't presented anything to contradict any of the facts that have come to light. Instead they've tried to either deflect by using terms like "rush to judgement" or have looked under rocks to try and find dirt on Martin to smirch his character to make him look like a thug who deserved what he got. Bullshit.

There is no rush to judgement here. Zimmerman is as guilty as the word implies and should be treated accordingly.

Chris wrote:Is anyone else annoyed when the more conservative media keeps imploring about how the 'rush to judgement' where George Zimmerman is concerned, and waiting until we have 'all the facts?' He killed a kid who he stalked beforehand. What other facts do we need?

Forgiveness Man wrote:People really have concocted a bunch of stories in their head to paint Zimmerman the "White Hispanic" as some skinhead. It's not "fact," it's just emotion.

Forgiveness Man wrote:It's people seeing what they want to see. Frankly, I don't care about Zimmerman. I'll let the courts deal with him. Hope they punish him appropriately for his crime. It's just that every passing day, the "outrage" over this case makes the entire thing more of a circus. People don't care about Martin; he's just convenient to exploit. The circus created out of this by this supposedly seeking "justice" for him is doing everything but.

This case is just one of those blue moon murders America actually pays attention to when we can make it sudsy enough, while forgetting all the rest of the lives lost that don't make for nearly as juicy news stories.

captainbryce wrote: ...The FACT of the matter is that this case would have gotten ZERO attention from the media (liberal or conservative) if there hadn't been widespread protests resulting from social media. Because the real issue here isn't that George Zimmerman is being made out to be "guilty", it's the fact that he killed Trayvon Martin, was not charged with a crime and was out walking the streets with NO ANSWERS to why this happened! Everything else in this case has been a sideshow! From George Zimmerman's race, to whether or not he acted on racial profiling, to how "no good" Trayvon Martin was as a kid, to fake pictures, to shady lawyers to Skittles! It's all bullshit meant to distract us from the real issue, because the real issue here is that this case needed to be investigated, George Zimmerman needed to be arrested, charged with a crime, and given a court date to where his guilt or innocence could be determined. That's it! It's not that the liberal media has "rushed to judgement" regarding George Zimmerman, it's there was never any due process to begin with. Now that there is, people need to shut the hell up about it and wait and see how it plays out.