Murder charges filed in Trayvon case

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - More than six weeks after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old with no criminal record, neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was charged by a special prosecutor Wednesday with second-degree murder and taken into custody.

The charges, which Martin's family praised but called overdue, opened a new chapter in a case that set off a searing national discussion of racial profiling, Florida's expansive self-defense laws and the fairness of the criminal justice system.

The charges against Zimmerman were announced by Angela Corey, the state attorney for the Jacksonville area, who was appointed as a special prosecutor in the case after the local state attorney stepped aside in the wake of criticism that the case had been moving too slowly. Corey would not discuss how she reconciled the conflicting accounts of what happened or explain how she arrived at the charges. But she made it clear she was not influenced by the uproar over the past six weeks. "We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. We prosecute based on the facts on any given case as well as the laws of the state of Florida," Corey said.

Asked about the racial overtones of the case -- Martin, who was black, was shot and killed by Zimmerman, a Hispanic man -- Corey said that law enforcement officials were committed to justice for all, regardless of race, gender or background. "We only know one category as prosecutors, and that's a 'V,'" Corey said. "It's not a 'B,' it's not a 'W,' it's not an 'H.' It's 'V,' for victim. That's who we work tirelessly for. And that's all we know, is justice for our victims."

'Look into Trayvon's eyes'

Many legal experts had expected the prosecutor to opt for the lesser charge of manslaughter, which usually carries 15 years behind bars and covers reckless or negligent killings, rather than second-degree murder, which involves a killing that results from a "depraved" disregard for human life.

If he is convicted of second-degree murder, Zimmerman, 28, could face life in prison. It is the toughest charge he could have faced, short of first-degree murder, which would have required a finding of premeditation -- something that all sides agreed was not present in this case.

Martin's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, praised the decision to arrest and charge Zimmerman at an emotional news conference in Washington, where they had been meeting with their lawyers and supporters.

"We simply wanted an arrest," Fulton said. "We wanted nothing more and nothing less; we just wanted an arrest. And we got it. And I say, 'Thank you, thank you, Lord, thank you, Jesus.'"

His father, Tracy Martin, said: "The question I would really like to ask him is, if he could look into Trayvon's eyes and see how innocent he was, would he have then pulled the trigger? Or would he have just let him go on home?"

Zimmerman turned himself in, arriving at the Seminole County jail around 8:25 p.m. and stepped out of a black SUV in the custody of law enforcement agents.

The killing of Trayvon Martin -- who was shot on the evening of Feb. 26 as he returned from buying Skittles and iced tea at a 7-Eleven, bound for the home in a gated community in Sanford, a small city just north of Orlando, where he and his father were guests -- incited outrage and protest marches across the country.

Zimmerman, the founder of the local neighborhood watch, called 911 that evening to report that Martin looked like "a real suspicious guy." Some questioned whether Martin attracted Zimmerman's attention simply because he was black. Others were outraged by the slow reaction of the local police and prosecutors, who did not immediately arrest and charge Zimmerman, saying that Florida's expansive self-defense law could make it difficult to prove a criminal case against him.

The case drew attention to Florida's so-called stand your ground law, which was enacted seven years ago after lobbying by the National Rifle Association. The law gives the benefit of the doubt to people who claim self-defense, even if they are not in their homes; it says that people who feel that they are in danger do not need to retreat, even if it would seem reasonable to do so.

'I'm expecting a lot of work'

In this case, Zimmerman, who had founded the neighborhood watch after a string of burglaries, saw Martin, began following him and called 911, telling the dispatcher that he appeared "suspicious." (A lawyer for Martin's parents, Benjamin Crump, said that Martin was speaking on his cellphone at the time with his girlfriend, and told her that he was being followed.)

The dispatcher asked if Zimmerman was following him.

"Yeah," Zimmerman said.

"OK, we don't need you to do that," the dispatcher said.

Zimmerman said: "OK."

The case will probably hinge on what happened next.

Zimmerman's new attorney, Mark O'Mara, said Zimmerman will plead not guilty and will invoke the stand your ground law. He asked that people not jump to conclusions and said he is "hoping that the community will calm down" now that charges have been filed. He said, "I'm expecting a lot of work and hopefully justice in the end."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.