SEAN HANNITY

Friday, July 12th

Zimmerman Trial Closing Arguments Today we heard the closing arguments from the defense as well as the rebuttal from the prosecution in the trial of George Zimmerman. Yesterday we heard the prosecution's closing statement, which was laced with profanity, conspiracy theories, innuendo and even took a shot at yours truly. In the end, I don't think the prosecution's closing argument was all that convincing in proving that George Zimmerman did not need to resort to self defense to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. The prosecution's rebuttal focused on the idea of “what was in Zimmerman's heart.” But I think it is quite a stretch on the part of the state to try and convince the jury that Zimmerman was acting out of hatred or malice. If they were trying to prove that Zimmerman was a bad guy, or a liar, I don't feel they did an adequate job in doing so. Was George Zimmerman unreasonable in his belief that his life was in danger or that he could suffer great bodily harm? Th at was the state's burden to prove. In my opinion, they failed to do so. For more on the Zimmerman closing arguments, check out my article on Hannity.com. The Zimmerman Defense Meanwhile, the defenses' closing argument today by Mark O'Mara was methodical, utilizing calm language, charts, and even four minutes of silence to help emphasize one of his points. The jury finally got to see an animated rendition of what happened the night of the shooting. O'Mara also used actual concrete slabs to make the point that Martin did have weapons at his disposal to cause great bodily harm: Concrete. Between that and the testimony we've heard of Martin's ground-and-pound, MMA-style assault on Zimmerman, I think it is extremely difficult to say that George Zimmerman didn't feel as though he could at least suffer great bodily harm at the hands of Martin. O'Mara told the jury today that he believes the only conclusion they could reach is "innocence. Pure, unadulterated innocence." It's incredibly difficult to predict how a jury will decide, but based on what I've seen I believe we should see an acquittal.

The Politics of the Zimmerman Trial It's unfortunate that the trial of George Zimmerman has become so politicized. At the end of the day, it is a true tragedy that a 17 year old boy lost his life. But it is also sad that there seems to be such a compulsion to paint George Zimmerman as a racist monster in order to support a political cause. Based on everything I've come to know about George Zimmerman, he cannot be described as such … and yet here we are. While rhetoric from those in leadership positions has toned down a bit, that doesn't excuse their initial reaction to stir things up. Last March, Al Sharpton was appearing at rallies for Trayvon, stirring up this issue based on his race. To his credit, he is now calling for peace. Barack Obama, who stepped into the issue by stating that if he had a son he would look like Trayvon, now does not have any further comments on the case. That doesn't, however, explain how it is OK that the Department of Justice organized Trayvon Martin ral lies in Florida. This means that our government engaged in community activism to support a specific cause. I find that to be outrageous, though not shocking for this Department of Justice. While Al Sharpton may be calling for peace, that hasn't stopped many in the media, including his colleagues at MSNBC, from going as far as to say that discussions of possible riots as a result of the jury's decision amounts to nothing more than profiling or even racism. For more on this and some links to a few great articles, check out Hannity.com. T oday's "Hot Topic" From the Hannity Forums: Justice is Justice, Why Riot? - Posted by Ryooper Perhaps I'm naive.  Okay, I'm definitely naive.  I hear all this talk about rioting and not rioting and are Floridians safe if George Zimmerman receives a not guilty verdict.  I just don't get it.  Justice is justice and we may not like the result but, unlike many other countries in the world, our system is designed to offer swift and just decisions.  The system does fail from time to time but why resort to violence?  Again, I just don't get this world sometimes. >>TV Tonight (9PM ET on Fox News) A live studio audience joins Sean to sound off on the Zimmerman trial.