The jurors overseeing George Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial will be sequestered for the duration of the proceedings. The decision was made by Circuit Judge Debra Nelson during Thursday’s jury selection.
Selection of jurors has been going on for four days, but no jurors have been seated as of Thursday afternoon. While Nelson announced the sequestration, she did not say how they will be sequestered once the jury panel is found.
Nelson added that the Zimmerman trial will last between two and four weeks . George Zimmerman is on trial for the February 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
While Zimmerman alleged that the teen attacked him, forcing him to use lethal force, he elected not to use Florida’s controversial Stand Your Ground law.
During jury selection, attorneys from both sides have questioned potential jurors on what they already know in the case, which has periodically made national headlines for more than a year. Attorneys also questioned whether they reached any firm conclusions on Zimmerman’s guilt or innocence in the Sanford, Florida shooting.
Nelson announced the jury sequestration while attorneys were questioning potential juror K-80, a middle-aged white woman who said being sequestered for a long time was her “biggest fear.”
K-80 added that she believes the news focuses more on the gruesome. All she knows is that a “scuffle” took place between Trayvon and Zimmerman. The protests the case inspired, along with the case’s “racial undertones,” were described by her as “disturbing.”
It will likely be difficult to find jurors not familiar already with the case, which caused widespread protests and forced the Sanford police chief to resign. The case also prompted a review and discussion of Stand Your Ground laws across the United States.
George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin’s accused killer, has also come under scrutiny by the media. While he was in jail at least two times regarding the case, he posted bail both times and is currently in hiding. The 29-year-old self-described neighborhood watch captain has received several death threats for his part in Martin’s death.
Zimmerman will be forced out of hiding for the trial, which will start as soon as jury selection is over. Do you think the judge in George Zimmerman’s case is making the right choice to sequester the jury?
