Trayvon Martin Case: George Zimmerman Lawyer Cites 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' As Defense
Trayvon Martin Case: George Zimmerman Lawyer Cites 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' As Defense
SANFORD, Fla., April 6 (Reuters) - "Shaken Baby Syndrome"
was cited on Friday in the defense of George Zimmerman, the Sanford,
Florida, man who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin
in a case that has sparked a widespread public outcry.
Hal
Uhrig, a lawyer and former Gainesville, Florida, police officer who
recently joined Zimmerman's defense team, cited in a TV interview the
brain damage that can seriously injure or kill an infant.
His
point, which has been made before, was that Zimmerman contends he shot
Martin in self defense and feared for his life after the 17-year-old
attacked him and began pounding his head into the concrete pavement of a
gated community on a rainy evening in Sanford on Feb. 26.
But
Uhrig's choice of words, and use of a recognized sign of child abuse
to defend a 28-year-old man who killed a kid, seemed likely to raise
more than just a few eyebrows.
"We're familiar
with the Shaken Baby Syndrome," said Uhrig on the CBS This Morning
program. "You shake a baby, the brain shakes around inside the skull.
You can die when someone's pounding your head into the ground."
Apart
from saying his client suffered a broken nose, Uhrig did not elaborate
on the extent of any injuries Zimmerman actually suffered. But
characteristic injuries associated with SBS, as Shaken Baby Syndrome is
known, include bleeding in the brain. There are often no visible
external signs such injuries have occurred.
Police
have not arrested Zimmerman because the use of lethal force in self
defense is permitted under the Stand Your Ground law approved by former
Florida Governor Jeb Bush in 2005.
The lack of
an arrest in the Martin case has triggered protests across the United
States. A special prosecutor appointed by Governor Rick Scott is
investigating to decide whether charges are warranted, amid allegations
of racial profiling and initial police bungling of the case.
If
it goes to trial, Uhrig said he and his fellow defense attorney, would
defend Zimmerman under the Stand Your Ground statute.
"He
didn't commit any crime," Uhrig said on CBS. "He was attacked, broke
his nose, hit his head into the ground and he defended himself. That's
not against the law."
A USA Today/Gallup poll
published on Saturday showed that Americans are deeply divided across
color lines in their opinions about Martin's killing.
Seventy-three
percent of blacks in the survey said they believed Zimmerman, a white
Hispanic, would have been arrested if the person he shot dead was
white.
Only 33 percent of whites agreed with that
view while the majority of whites polled, 52 percent, said race made
no difference in the case.
(Reporting By Tom Brown; Editing by Philip Barbara)
Zimmerman's nose was not broken, that much is clearly obvious to anyone who has ever seen a broken nose. If his head was seriously being beat on the ground, he'd have a lot more than a tiny scratch on the back of his head.
Nice. He's no baby, though. And I highly doubt that poor boy put a hand on him.
Wait, I thought it was self defense?
This new lawyer's claim would seem to indicate that GZ has had brain damage for 28 years? How does a brain damaged person obtain a CC permit, and if they can legally do so, MORE REASON to stay the he!! out of FL-
Throwing everything against the kitchen wall to see what sticks defense-
Quoting kailu1835:Zimmerman's nose was not broken, that much is clearly obvious to anyone who has ever seen a broken nose. If his head was seriously being beat on the ground, he'd have a lot more than a tiny scratch on the back of his head.
Actually the Mayo clinic would differ with you on that. I would think it would be pretty stupid of his lawyer to lie about that wouldn't you?
Signs and symptoms of a broken nose may appear immediately or may take up to three days to develop. Signs and symptoms may include:
- Pain or tenderness, especially when touching your nose
- Swelling of your nose and surrounding areas
- Bleeding from your nose
- Bruising around your nose or eyes
- Crooked or misshapen nose
- Difficulty breathing through your nose
- Discharge of mucus from your nose (rhinorrhea)
- Feeling that one or both of your nasal passages are blocked
I *think* they are saying Z was afraid he would get Shaken Baby Syndrome. Which isn't any less absurd.
Quoting Sisteract:
Wait, I thought it was self defense?
This new lawyer's claim would seem to indicate that GZ has had brain damage for 28 years? How does a brain damaged person obtain a CC permit, and if they can legally do so, MORE REASON to stay the he!! out of FL-
Throwing everything against the kitchen wall to see what sticks defense-
Vocal anti gay marriage, award winning far right historian kills himself inside Notre-Dame Cathedral
First Posted: 04/ 6/2012 12:04 pm Updated: 04/ 6/2012 2:16 pm