The six jurors and four alternates for the George Zimmerman murder trial were approved by the judge, prosecutors and Zimmerman’s attorneys.
Zimmerman is the former Florida neighborhood watch leader who is being charged with the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012. The case is being closely watched across the country, since it sparked discussions on race and Florida's stand-your-ground law. It had taken weeks between the shooting and Zimmerman’s arrest. During those weeks, protests started and even President Obama commented on the case.
As a result of the media attention, last week, Judge Debra Nelson announced that the jury would be sequestered until the trial ends. It is expected to last anywhere between two and four weeks.
According to The Miami Herald, all six jurors selected are women. Five are white and one is Hispanic. The Hispanic woman had lived in Chicago when Martin was shot.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that two of the alternates are men. One is Hispanic and the other is white.
Before the jury selection was approved, the attorneys and prosecutors spent Thursday morning still quizzing potential jurors. According to CBS News, many of them were asked about the self-defense, stand-your-ground law.
“I think we get our common sense from life experiences. We don’t expect you to become robots,” Zimmerman’s defense attorney Mark O’Mara told the potential jurors, notes the Herald.