As NBC's Kerry Sanders reports, George Zimmerman's legal team says newly-released video of Trayvon Martin's killer re-enacting the shooting with investigators helps support their claim of self-defense.
By msnbc.com staff and news services
George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the killing of black teen Trayvon Martin, poses no threat to the community and should be released a second time on bail, his attorney said in a court motion released on Monday.
Defense attorney Mark O?Mara asked that Zimmerman be granted bond as he awaits a trial in the 17-year-old Martin's shooting death during a confrontation in February in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. O?Mara says Zimmerman isn't a flight risk and stayed in touch with law enforcement during his initial release on bail.
A judge will consider the request at a second bond hearing Friday.
Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense.
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Zimmerman recounts shooting Martin in vivid detail
The neighborhood watch volunteer was granted a $150,000 bond in April but it was revoked earlier this month after prosecutors accused Zimmerman and his wife of misleading the court about how much money they had raised from donations to a website created by Zimmerman. Prosecutors say the couple?had raised at least $135,000 from the website.
During the hearing, Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, testified that the couple had limited funds to use for bail since she was a fulltime nursing student and he wasn't working. Zimmerman did nothing to correct her as she testified by telephone due to safety concerns. Prosecutors say jailhouse calls between Zimmerman and his wife a few days before the hearing show the neighborhood watch volunteer instructing his wife on how to transfer funds raised by the website to her account.
Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, was later charged with making a false statement.
"Mr. Zimmerman's failure to advise the court of the existence of the donated funds at the initial bail hearing was wrong and Mr. Zimmerman accepts responsibility for his part in allowing the court to be misled as to his true financial circumstances," O'Mara wrote in the motion.
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O'Mara also will ask Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester to reconsider his decision to make public all of Zimmerman's jailhouse calls and the statement of an unnamed witness. O'Mara said most of the calls aren't subject to the state's public records laws and the witness statement is irrelevant and could prejudice a potential jury.
Attorneys for two sets of media groups, one of which includes NBC Universal (msnbc.com is a joint venture of NBC and Microsoft), filed motions Monday arguing there was no need for the judge to reconsider his decision.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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