Social media prompted murder charges, attorneys say

ORLANDO — If it was not for social media, said attorneys who figure in the racially charged Trayvon Martin case, very probably no charges would have been filed.

Trayvon Martin

The attorney handling the defense of George Zimmerman, the young man accused of murdering Trayvon Martin, said social media will impact how a jury will be picked in the case.

“I think that if I could do away with all media, including all social media, that I would not have it involved in a criminal case,” said Mark O’Mara. “But that’s a fantasy that is 40 years ago.”

George Zimmerman

He and Benjamin Crump, the attorney who represents the parents of Trayvon Martin, both spoke at the Florida Associated Press Broadcasters Banquet.

Mr. Crump said that social media has given “people who normally would not have a voice in matters like this” a forum to engage in the case.

Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, fatally shot Martin in February 2012 during a confrontation in Sanford, about 30 miles north of Orlando.

He is charged with second-degree murder and says he was attacked and acted in self-defense. Martin’s family says Zimmerman targeted the unarmed 17-year-old mainly because Martin was black. Zimmerman’s parents are white and Hispanic.

O’Mara said that if it were not for the intense coverage on the shooting, Zimmerman “may never have been charged.” Now since he is, the case “probably would have been addressed as a matter at a self-immunity hearing and it would have gone away that way.”

Zimmerman’s trial is in June.