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Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda delivered closing statements in the George Zimmerman trail Thursday (July 11). Giving two-hours worth of information in a final push to get the accused killer convicted for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, the veteran prosecutor called Zimmerman a “liar” who “killed his only eyewitness.”

Coming off a week of testimony for the prosecution that legal analyst say wasn’t necessarily enough to find the one-time neighborhood watch captain guilty of second-degree murder (or lesser counts of manslaughter and third-degree assault by way of child abuse) De la Rionda voice was stern, loud, and sometimes angry when speaking about Zimmerman. “He brought a gun to a fight that he started… and now he wants you to let him off because he killed the only eyewitness.”

During the address De la Rionda painted Zimmerman as falsifying statements to show that he wasn’t following or profiling Martin asking, “If he wasn’t doing anything wrong, and he wasn’t following him, why does he have to lie?”

At one point a bag of Skittles and can of Arizona ice tea were held up to visually contradict the argument that Martin was aggressive and intimidating, rather than a defenseless child . “What was his crime?” he asked the jury. “He bought Skittles?”

Defense attorney Mike O’Mara will offer closing statements Friday (July 12), before the prosecution will give a rebuttal providing them with final words to jurors. O’Mara said that regardless of the outcome his client will always be a target. “He’s very worried about his safety, personal safety going forward,” he explained. “Because those same people who portended the fear and hatred leading up to this trial probably are not to accept an acquittal.”

The Martin family has called for a non-violent reactions to the verdict.

O’Mara plans to appeal should Zimmerman be found guilty. If convicted he faces life in prison.

 

Photo: Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel