George Zimmerman, the former Neighborhood Watch volunteer acquitted in the shooting death of teen Trayvon Martin, is asking the state of Florida to pay between $200,000 to $300,000 to cover his legal expenses.
Defense attorney Mark O'Mara told the Orlando Sentinel Monday that his office is readying a motion to ask Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson to approve of the payments. His office estimates that the trial cost Zimmerman at least $300,000.
According to Florida law, since Zimmerman was acquitted, the state has to pay his legal fees, minus the fees for the lawyers. But what Florida has to pay still covers a wide variety of costs, including testimony from expert witnesses, travel, depositions, photocopies and the animated video that the jury was shown during the defense’s closing argument.
Public authorities already spent $902,000 on the trial, which lasted five weeks and ended on July 13 with a not guilty verdict. Zimmerman, 29, was charged with second-degree murder in the February 2012 shooting death of Martin, 17. He was acquitted by a jury of six women.
Despite being found not guilty over a month ago, Zimmerman has been successful at keeping out of the public eye. After the verdict, he was pulled over for speeding in Texas and said he was armed. Just last week, TMZ posted a photo of him visiting a gun manufacturer in Florida. He was even seen shaking hands with the owner.
The trial sparked debates about race, since Martin was black and it was argued that Zimmerman had ‘profiled’ Martin.
image: Wikimedia Commons
