Jury Deliberates in George Zimmerman Trial; Defense Attorney Presents Closing Argument

Deliberations resume at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The jury in the George Zimmerman trial began deliberating on Friday afternoon.

Earlier, his attorney Mark O' Mara brought a slab of concrete to court Friday, telling jurors Trayvon Martin used it as a weapon when he slammed Zimmerman's head to the ground.

And the suggestion by the state but that's not the weapon that that can't hurt somebody that that can cause great bodily injury is disgusting," O'Mara said.

Friday morning O'Mara delivered a calculated, closing argument, painting his client as a civically-minded man who had no option but to shoot Trayvon Martin in self-defense. O'Mara emphasized the concept of reasonable doubt.

"You look at all of this evidence and you have to say I have a reasonable doubt as to whether or not the state convinced me he did not act in self-defense that's all you have to do," O'Mara said.
 
On Thursday, prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda used a very different, animated style in presenting his closing argument.

Friday, fellow prosecutor John Guy spent about an hour wrapping up the state's case.
 
"In the end this case is not about standing your ground, it's about staying in your car, like he was taught to do, like he was supposed to do," Guy said.
 
Before starting deliberations, jurors received 27 pages of instructions, some of it simple, like the date of the crime, other pages were filled with legal language, not so easy to digest.
 
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the February 2012 shooting of Martin, of Miami Gardens. He has pleaded not guilty.

Deliberations resume at 9 a.m. Saturday.
 

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