As the end of the second week approaches in the George Zimmerman trial, Seminole Court Judge Debra Nelson asked the defendant whether he will testify as part of the courtroom drama. After consultation with his defense team, Zimmerman decided that he will not take the stand, the Miami Herald reported. His defense team also planned to rest later on Wednesday afternoon.
Zimmerman is pleading not guilty, claiming he shot the 17-year-old Trayvon Martin only in self-defense after an intense fight where the neighborhood watchman was a volunteer in a gated Sanford Florida residence. Also on Wednesday, Judge Nelson made two key rulings: Zimmerman's team will not be allowed to present to juror texts and Facebook messages from the victim's phone, which mentions fights and a desire to buy a gun. The judge said that there was not a way to authenticate that the messages were written by Martin and not someone who had access to his phone.
Jurors will not be able to weigh as evidence a computer animated recreation of what may have happened the night Martin was shot and killed. The animation appeared like a computer game which showed Martin walking up to Zimmerman and punching him. Nelson concluded that Zimmernan's team can use the animation for demonstrative purposes in their closing arguments.
On Wednesday, defense law enforcement expert Dennis Root also took the stand. As part of his testimony, Root identified a particular piece of evidence, and stated in his opinion that that piece of evidence could be used as a weapon, which was part of the fight between Zimmerman and Martin. Zimmerman's defense lawyer Mark O'Mara used a foam dummy to describe the altercation between the neighborhood watchman and the 17-year-old teenager, Reuters reported.
Trayvon Martin's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton have already testified. During his testimony, Tracy Martin has denied that he told police the screaming in the background of a 911 call was not his son, contradicting the testimony of two officers who took the stand. If convicted, Zimmerman faces life in prison
