ORLANDO, Fla. - On Thursday, the Justice Department released a report showing that George Zimmerman, a Florida neighborhood watch guard who is being charged with second degree murder for shooting 17-year-old Travyon Martin while on duty, is not racist.
The report reveals over 30 interviews showing that the Zimmerman is not racist, an argument held strong by prosecutors in charging him with the killing of Martin, an African-American.
FBI agents asked each of the interviewees whether Zimmerman "displayed any bias, prejudice or irrational attitude against any class of citizen, religious, racial, gender or ethnic groups," according to the Christian Science Monitor. The report showed that none of the 30 plus interviewees answered affirmative to show of any bias.
Last month, Zimmerman's lawyer, Mark O'Mara s released audio tapes in which Zimmerman told the police that he was attacked by Martin and thought he would be killed. In one of them, Zimmerman was heard saying that Martin "jumped out from the bushes and starting punching my face knocking me down. I started screaming for help. I couldn't see. I couldn't breathe...He grabbed my head and started hitting it into the sidewalk," he said. "When he started doing that, I slid into the grass to try to get out from under him. ... I'm still yelling for help."
Zimmerman, himself has denied the accusations of racism, telling police during his interrogation that if Martin were White or any other race, he would react in the same way as he did.
Last week Zimmerman was released on a bond of $1 million by Judge Kenneth Lester, who had revoked his previous bond of $150,000, after prosecutors proved that Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie misled the court about their finances. Zimmerman has been released from jail, but under stricter conditions including wearing a GPS monitoring device all time.
Zimmerman has always maintained that the shooting occurred as an act of self-defense. Zimmerman was on duty as volunteer watchman when he shot 17 year old Travyon Martin. He was charged with the second degree murder in February of this year.
