This morning, I had basically given up on the idea that George Zimmerman would be convicted of anything. I just didn’t feel like the prosecution had removed all reasonable doubt about self-defense. After watching the prosecution’s closing argument, however, my hopes are revived a bit. They really did a much better job of shredding Zimmerman’s credibility than they did during the evidentiary part of the trial. In part, this was because the Sanford police witnesses were defensive about not initially charging Zimmerman, and were therefore less than helpful to the prosecution. I also have to give the defense team credit. They have done a masterful job.
I still think a hung jury or a blanket acquittal are the most likely outcomes of the trial, but I base that on what I know will be a strong closing argument by the defense. I think it will come down to who the jurors think was crying out for help, and if they can all agree about that. There’s a possibility that the jury might reach a compromise. They could convict Zimmerman of manslaughter on the theory that he must be held accountable, but reject 2nd degree murder because of the doubts they have about what actually happened. This is definitely more likely than a conviction for murder.
