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Opening statements in Trayvon Martin case

Prosecution said George Zimmerman shot "because he wanted to." Defense said he was viciously attacked.

The father of Trayvon Martin, Tracy Martin, cries over the description of his son's death, at the George Zimmerman trial. Next to him are Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon's mother, and Daryl Parks, a family attorney.
The father of Trayvon Martin, Tracy Martin, cries over the description of his son's death, at the George Zimmerman trial. Next to him are Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon's mother, and Daryl Parks, a family attorney.Read moreJOE BURBANK / Orlando Sentinel
    by By Mike Schneider and Kyle Hightower, Associated Press, Inquirer
    Published 

SANFORD, Fla. - A prosecutor told jurors in opening statements Monday that George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin "because he wanted to," not because he had to, while the neighborhood watch volunteer's attorney said the shooting of the teen was carried out in self-defense.

The opposing attorneys squared off on the first day of testimony in a trial that has attracted international attention and prompted nationwide debates about racial profiling, vigilantism, and the laws governing the use of deadly force.

Included among the millions likely to be following the case are civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who joined national protests in the weeks before prosecutors filed second-degree murder charges against Zimmerman. The charges came 44 days after the shooting.

Zimmerman, 29, who identifies himself as Hispanic, has denied that his confrontation with Martin before the shooting had anything to do with race. His mother was born in Peru. His father is a white American. Martin was black.

Just before opening statements began, Martin's parents sent out an urgent plea to their supporters to pray with them for justice.

Prosecutor John Guy's first words to jurors recounted what Zimmerman told a police dispatcher in a call shortly before the fatal confrontation with Martin: "Punks. . . . They always get away." Guy included the expletives Zimmerman used.

He was profiling Martin as he followed him through the gated community where Zimmerman lived and Martin was visiting, Guy said.

Zimmerman didn't have to shoot Martin, Guy said. "He shot him for the worst of all reasons: because he wanted to."

Defense attorney Don West told jurors a different story: Zimmerman was being viciously attacked when he shot Martin, he said. He was sucker-punched by Martin, who then pounded Zimmerman's head into the concrete sidewalk.

West also played for jurors the call to a police dispatcher in which Zimmerman used the obscenities.

Martin had opportunities to go home after Zimmerman followed him and then lost track of him, but instead, the teen confronted the neighborhood volunteer, West said.

Guy argued, however, that there was no evidence to back up other claims by Zimmerman, including that Martin had his hands over Zimmerman's mouth. Guy said none of Zimmerman's DNA was found on Martin's body.

Zimmerman is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder, claiming self-defense. If he is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.