FILE – This Wednesday, April 11, 2012 file booking photo provided by the Sanford Police Department shows George Zimmerman. (AP Photo/Sanford Police Department, File)CURT ANDERSON and MIKE SCHNEIDER
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) – The neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing Trayvon Martin is asking a Florida judge to let him out of jail while he awaits trial, and legal experts say he stands a good chance of being granted bail at the hearing Friday.
George Zimmerman’s attorney will make the request at the hearing at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center. Two questions likely to be at the center of the proceeding are whether he would be allowed out of the country and how he would remain safe.
Family members of Zimmerman’s are expected to testify by phone at the hearing.
Legal experts say factors in Zimmerman’s favor include that he has ties to the local community and that he doesn’t appear to be a flight risk since he turned in voluntarily after second-degree murder charges were filed against him last week. He also has never been convicted of a crime, which would indicate he doesn’t pose a threat to society.