(Reuters) - George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, faces his first appearance before a Florida judge on Thursday where his lawyer said he will try to get the crime watch volunteer's release from jail.
The hearing, currently set for 1:30 p.m. EDT, will be the first appearance by Zimmerman, 28, since he became a national and highly divisive figure by shooting and killing Martin, 17, in a quiet gated community in the central Florida town of Sanford.
The incident has set off a firestorm of debate about race relations and self-defense laws, punctuated by a series of demonstrations across the country. Even President Barack Obama commented on the case, saying, "If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon."
Mark O'Mara, the Orlando criminal defense attorney Zimmerman hired Wednesday afternoon after his first defense team dropped him as a client the previous day, said it was not immediately clear whether bail would be discussed during Zimmerman's initial appearance before a judge.
"I'm hoping the court will consider a bond motion," O'Mara said on CBS' "This Morning" show. "It may or may not. If not we'll have a bond motion shortly thereafter. I hope to get him out. I need him out for my purposes to help me in preparing his defense."
Arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday, Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, will not appear physically at the court for the hearing, local courthouse officials said. He will appear before the judge over closed-circuit TV from the jail immediately next door, where he is being held in protective custody.
At a later date when he is arraigned, Zimmerman will plead not guilty, O'Mara said Wednesday. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
DEATH THREATS
If Zimmerman were released, it is unclear where he could safely live. He has been subjected to death threats and was in hiding from the public for weeks. But O'Mara said he hoped the fact of Zimmerman's arrest - the central demand of Trayvon Martin's parents and others across the country for more than a month - would help to diffuse the emotional intensity.
"I'm concerned about his safety to a certain extent, but I'm truly hoping that there'll be a receding of the frustrations or anger now that the process is moving forward," O'Mara said on CNN's "Starting Point."
Zimmerman's relatives and supporters have insisted he is not a racist and say he has been unfairly vilified. They said he feared for his life during his altercation with Martin and was justified in using deadly force.
Special prosecutor Angela Corey brought the charge against Zimmerman 45 days after the fatal shooting, having taken over the case from local authorities who declined to arrest Zimmerman based on his account of self-defense.
That previous decision cast a spotlight on Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force when they believe they are in danger of being killed or suffering great bodily harm.
"Let me emphasize that we do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition," Corey said. "We prosecute based on the facts of any given case as well as the laws of the state of Florida."
Zimmerman spent Wednesday night in protective custody in Seminole County's John E. Polk Correctional Facility after turning himself in earlier in the day. He arrived, escorted by officers from a black SUV, with a jacket draped over his head.
O'Mara said on CNN he spent about an hour with his client at the jail Wednesday in their first face-to-face meeting.
Meanwhile, Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said she hopes Zimmerman is remorseful and she believes the shooting was not intentional.
"One of the things that I still believe in (is) a person should apologize when they are actually remorseful for what they've done," Fulton said on the "Today Show" on NBC. "I believe it was an accident, I believe that it just got out of control and he couldn't turn the clock back."
"It's just very difficult to live with day in and day out," Fulton said. "I'm sure his parents can pick up the phone and call him, but we can't pick up the phone and call Trayvon anymore."
