Thread: Prosecutor: No grand jury for Trayvon Martin shooting

Prosecutor: No grand jury for Trayvon Martin shooting

By Andrew Jones
Monday, April 9, 2012 12:22 EDT



Topics: George Zimmerman ♦ grand jury ♦ Trayvon Martin

Florida State Attorney Angela Corey decided Monday morning not to use a grand jury for the Trayvon Martin case, overturning a decision made by her predecessor, according to The Orlando Sentinel.

Corey, who was appointed a special prosecutor for the case, overturned the decision made by Norm Wolfinger last month, who scheduled a grand jury to convene on Tuesday. Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman on February 26 in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman has claimed self-defense for the shooting.

Corey will decide herself if George Zimmerman will be charged. The Martin family’s attorneys have opposed a grand jury and are requesting that any prosecutor charge Zimmerman directly.



Andrew Jones


Andrew Jones is a staff writer/reporter for Raw Story. Besides covering politics, he is also a freelance sports journalist, as well as a slam poetry and music artist. You can follow him on Twitter @sluggahjells.

Prosecutor: No grand jury for Trayvon Martin shooting | The Raw Story

Trayvon Martin death won't go to Fla. grand jury

By Mike Schneider and Curt Anderson April 9, 2012 12:55 pm

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Special prosecutor Angela Corey said Monday she will not take the Trayvon Martin shooting death before a

grand jury.
Corey said she continues to investigate the case and will not involve a grand jury that had been set to meet Tuesday in Sanford, Fla.
Corey said her decision to skip the grand jury shouldn't be considered a factor in determining whether charges will be filed against George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who has admitted to fatally shooting the unarmed Martin.
The announcement means the decision on charges now rests solely with Corey, who had a reputation for not presenting cases before grand juries if it wasn't required. Under Florida law, only first-degree murder cases require the use of grand juries.
Corey took over the case last month after the prosecutor who normally handles cases out of Sanford recused himself. That prosecutor, Norm Wolfinger, had originally called for the case to be presented before a grand jury.
"From the moment she was assigned, Ms. Corey noted she may not need a grand jury," said a statement from Corey's office.
Martin was killed Feb. 26 during a confrontation with Zimmerman in a gated community in Sanford.
The case has led to protests across the nation and spurred a debate about race and the laws of self-defense. Martin was black; Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Hispanic.
Zimmerman has claimed self-defense, and Florida's self-defense law gives wide leeway to use deadly force and eliminates a person's duty to retreat in the face of danger.
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GOPUSA Editor's Note: Trayvon Martin protest closes Sanford Police Department

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