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George Zimmerman at a hearing last week. Photo credit: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel
Pipitone studied the moves of Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, the night Zimmerman shot the teen to death in Sanford. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in Martin’s death. Zimmerman has said he shot in self-defense.
WKMG legal analyst Luis Calderon said the timeline shows that Martin had “plenty of time” to get home and “it’s obvious something made him stay there.”
The timeline hurts Zimmerman’s credibility, Pipitone said, if people want to believe that he was walking to his truck and was attacked by Martin. “So much time is unaccounted for that would allow him to get him back to the truck,” Pipitone said.
In his report’s second part, Pipitone looked at the burn marks and gunshot residue that would have been left after Martin was wounded. That evidence supports Zimmerman’s claim that he was under Martin when the teen was shot, Pipitone said.
Calderon said it’s important for the defense to highlight there was one shot and stress the angle of that shot. “It’s the key to their self-defense argument,” Calderon said. “Without that, they basically have no case.”
Pipitone added, “This does give credibility to Mr. Zimmerman when he testifies.”
A self-defense immunity hearing set for April will be especially dramatic if Zimmerman takes the stand, Calderon said. “He’s got to put the judge, or if it got to the point of trial, the jury in his shoes to show that he was in reasonable fear for his life,” Calderon said.
The local public-affairs programs provide precious time to explore issues that can’t be addressed in fast-moving newscasts. WFTV-Channel 9 did something similar last weekend on “Central Florida Spotlight” by expanding on Greg Warmoth’s startling report that dozens of sex offenders and predators are living in the same Osceola County hotels and motels where homeless families have landed.
On the Zimmerman reports, Pipitone took a low-key approach to the timeline re-enactment. WKMG took a more aggressive approach to the promotion because the reports aired during the important February ratings period. But Pipitone’s worthwhile reports ask viewers to think about the case again and focus on the evidence.
