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As we enter into the second week of the murder trial of George Zimmerman, I have been thinking a lot about whether George Zimmerman will take the witness stand.  For a man who spoke to Sean Hannity on Fox News on July 18, 2012, confidently claiming that he was acting in self-defense when he killed Trayvon Martin, I would think he has more of that confidence to make those same claims to a jury of peers.  But, if West and O’Mara have the guts to put their client on the witness stand, they will have a lot to worry about, as George has told a lot of different tales about exactly what happened that rainy night in Sanford, Florida. 

I know that if I was on trial for murder and I honestly believed that I was acting in self-defense, I would want not just to clear my name with the jurors, but I would want to clear my name with the world.  I understand that George is protected by the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution, however I would want to get in that witness box and shout to the world my innocence.

But, unfortunately for George there are five different interviews (Feb. 26 – Interview at Sanford Police Dept, Feb. 26 – Written Statement to Sanford Police Dept, Feb. 27 – Video Re-Enactment With Sanford Police Dept, Feb. 29, Interview with Sanford Police Detective Serino, July 18 – Hannity Report on Fox News) where he repeatedly contradicts himself, so he might think he is better off staying silent until the verdict is read. 

Here are some damn good reasons why George Zimmerman is afraid to take the witness stand:

First Thing’s First, Trayvon Was Not Circling Your Car!


Zimmerman told police investigators the night of the killing that Trayvon was circling his car and that he was frightened by him.  But, throughout his entire call with the non-emergency dispatcher, Zimmerman does not mention once that Trayvon was circling his car, in fact he is constantly telling the dispatcher that Trayvon is running away.  There is only one reference to Trayvon approaching Zimmerman’s car, and according to the time and distance from where Zimmerman last saw Trayvon, it would be impossible for Trayvon to have encountered Zimmerman where he says he was encountered (at the clubhouse). On to the next one…

Now, Trayvon Was NOT Running Away?

During the interview with Sean Hannity, almost four months after shooting Trayvon Martin, George claimed that Trayvon was not running.  This came after telling the non-emergency dispatcher on the night of the shooting that Trayvon was running not once, but two times away from him.  Even his buddy, Hannity didn’t believe him.

HANNITY: Why do you think that he was running then?

ZIMMERMAN: Maybe I said running, but he was more —

HANNITY: You said he’s running.

ZIMMERMAN: Yes. He was like skipping, going away quickly. But he wasn’t running out of fear.

HANNITY: You could tell the difference?

ZIMMERMAN: He wasn’t running.

HANNITY: So he wasn’t actually running?

ZIMMERMAN: No, sir.

HANNITY: OK. Because that’s what you said to the dispatcher, that you thought he was running.

Meanwhile, George told the non-emergency dispatcher on the night he killed Trayvon,

“… you go straight in, don’t turn, and make a left. Sh*t, he’s running.”

DISPACTCHER: “He’s running? Which way is he running?”

ZIMMERMAN:  “Down towards the other entrance to the neighborhood.”

After chasing Trayvon, he realizes that he got away and tells the dispatcher, “he ran.”  Just less than a minute later, he finds Trayvon and the altercation begins.

You Were Certainly Following Him

I don’t think anyone believes George when he has said in the past that he was not following Trayvon.  After the first week of testimony, if George takes the witness stands and claims he was not following Trayvon, his credibility will not be redeemable.

You Knew Trayvon Was A Teenager!

When Zimmerman offered an apology to Trayvon’s family during an April 20th bond hearing, Zimmerman said he didn’t realize Trayvon was so young.  But in his call to police moments before the shooting he described Trayvon, who was 17, as in his “late teens.”

There Was No Bush For Trayvon To Jump Out Of!

George told police the night of the killing that Trayvon “jumped out from the bushes” and sucker-punched him.  However, the next day when he went back to re-enact the event with the police, he told police that Trayvon approached him at a place where there are NO bushes.  Below is a screenshot from George’s re-enactment where he told police the location where Trayvon attacked him:

Furthermore, George claims that Trayvon attacked him right at the “T-intersection” which would not be consistent from where the witnesses saw the fight and where Trayvon’s body was found.  George wrote in his written statement before leaving the police station the night of the killing, “the suspect punched me in the face. I fell backwards onto my back. The suspect got on top of me.” In his police interview that same night, he said, “And he punched me in the nose. At that point I fell down.”; “I fell to the ground when he punched me the first time.”; “As soon as he punched me, I fell backwards, um, into the grass”; “He punched me in the face and I fell backwards.”

But, this could NOT be true, because Trayvon’s body was found almost 40 feet away to the South of where George says he was punched.  So, as George realized that his story from the February 26th was not going to hold up, he changed his story, and told Det. Serino on February 29th that “when he first punched me. I don’t know if I immediately fell down, he threw me down. I was stumbling, I ended up on my back” See picture below to see where George would have ended up if his story was true:

Could It Have Been That Is George Who Was Straddling Trayvon?

During the first week of testimony numerous witnesses have been questioned about who was on top during the altercation between George and Trayvon.  Almost all of the neighbors who witnessed part of this altercation have said that Trayvon was on the bottom, except for John Good, who claims that he saw Trayvon on top with “arm motions going down on the person on the bottom,” who he says was George.  However, the timing of John Good’s testimony contradicts with the 911 call placed by Jenna Lauer, so John might not have seen the end of the fight, to which he testified.  Not saying that John Good is lying, just that he might have seen a different part of the fight than what he thinks. So, could it have been George who was really on top of Trayvon?

Well, George told the Sanford Police the night of the killing, when he was brought to the station for questioning: “Either way, I ended up on top of him, straddling him.” However, John Good testified that of the opposite.

MARK O’MARA, ZIMMERMAN’S ATTORNEY: What you saw was the person on top (Trayvon) in an MMA-style straddle position, correct?

JONATHAN GOOD: Correct.

But, George claims that he did not know that he shot Trayvon and that after he shot him, he got on top of him because he “felt like (Trayvon) was hitting me with something in his hands.” (even though Trayvon was already dead?)  He also claims that he stretched Trayvon’s arms out to the side to restrain him, as Trayvon was allegedly saying something like “ah, ah,” and cursing and George claims he told him, “Stop. Don’t move.”  However, Trayvon was found by the first police officer on the scene, Officer Smith, with his hands under his body, clutching his heart and this is corroborated by all the witnesses who saw the same thing as Officer Smith.

P.S. No one heard “You gonna die tonight motherfucker,” which George claimed Trayvon said to him. Not heard on the 911 call made by Jenna Lauer and NO witness heard this from their home.

P.P.S. Zimmerman first claimed to the police that Trayvon threw 25-30 punches, then he told the police the next day that Trayvon only hit him once, and then he told Sean Hannity that Trayvon hit him over a dozen times. How many was it really?

P.P.P.S. How did George yell for help if Trayvon was covering his mouth, as he claimed?

The Bullet Was Shot Straight Through Trayvon’s Heart!

If George really shot him from the ground while Trayvon was on top of him, the autopsy report is going to be a real big problem for George if he takes the stand.  The autopsy states that the “entrance wound is located on the left chest, 17 1/2 inches below the top of the head” and that the direction of projectile is “directly, front to back.” 

If a man who is 5′ 9″ (Zimmerman) shoots a teenage who is 6′ (Trayvon) standing up with his arms directly out in front of him, guess where the bullet would land on the body of the victim? 17 1/2 inches below the top of the head. So, maybe Don West’s theory about the can of ice tea weighing down the hoodie while Trayvon was leaning over George’s body won’t stand up once a medical expert takes the stand. 

George, you sure you shot him from your back?

Who Really Knew How To Fight Like Chuck Liddell?

Lastly, with regards to that MMA claim?  Well, John Good later claimed during re-direct examination that it wasn’t him who came up with the idea that Trayvon was hitting George, “MMA-Style, ground and pound,” it was actually the investigators who used that term.  And we later learned that George was training at Kokopelli’s Gym in Lake Mary, 3 days a week, 3 hours a day, starting in August of 2011, right about the time he self-appointed himself at the Neighborhood Watch Leader.  So, was it really for exercise as Don West told the jurors during his opening statement, or was it to train to fight in case he found the “burglars.”

And let us not forget back in the second bond hearing when Mark O’Mara brought up John Good’s reference to MMA, he made it very clear that George didn’t know anything about MMA. Check out the clip below to see the blatant misrepresentation of facts from Mr. O’Mara, because on George’s medical report the day after he killed Trayvon, he told the physician’s assistant that he trained in MMA fighting for over six months, which certainly Mr. O’Mara had access to those transcripts. Start watching video at 39:40:

George (and Mark) you have some explaining to do. Go ahead and take the stand and we can start with the questions…

~Michael Skolnik

Michael Skolnik is the Editor-In-Chief of GlobalGrind.com and the political director to Russell Simmons. Prior to this, Michael was an award-winning filmmaker. Follow him on twitter @MichaelSkolnik

(shout to the following for their in-depth research on the case: The Grio, LLMPapa Youtube Video, TheViewFromLL2, Talking Points Memo and TeesLaw YouTubeVideo).  

If you want to do your own research, and find anything that I did not point out, please send them to me at EditorInChief@GlobalGrind.com.  Here are the three interviews and a link to the written statements:

LINK: FIRST INTERVIEW WITH DETECTIVE SERINO THE NIGHT OF THE KILLING

LINK: HANDWRITTEN STATEMENT TO POLICE