Newly released photo shows bloodied George Zimmerman from night of Trayvon Martin incident

By Perry Chiaramonte

Published December 03, 2012

A newly released, graphic photo of George Zimmerman, taken the night of his fateful confrontation with Florida teen Trayvon Martin, shows the accused murderer with a bloody face.

Zimmerman’s legal team released the photo, which they believe bolsters their case that Zimmerman, 29, was being beaten when he fatally shot the 17-year-old Martin in the chest. The photo was taken by police and only released to Zimmerman’s team recently, said Zimmerman’s lawyer. Previously, the team only had a black-and-white photocopy of the picture.

“That's really one of my frustrations. They originally submitted a black and white photo so we asked for a color copy. They then submitted a color photo copy that was drab," said Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara to Foxnews.com.

"We kept asking for a digital copy and then we had to file a motion [in court] to have it submitted."

O'Mara says that the discovery phase has been rife with issues.

"It just seems like it's been pulling teeth for discovery in this case," he said.

Martin was killed Feb. 26, in a confrontation that sparked a national debate on race, guns and Florida’s controversial Stand Your Ground law, which states that people under attack do not have a duty to try to retreat before using deadly force.

Martin’s defenders say the youth was merely cutting through a gated community in Sanford, Fla., after picking up snacks during halftime of the NBA All-Star game when Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watch captain, racially profiled him. Zimmerman claims the youth acted suspiciously, and attacked him, bashing his head against a sidewalk.

Zimmerman told investigators he grabbed his gun from a holster on his waist before Martin could get it, and shot the teenager once in the chest. A tape released by his lawyer shows two butterfly bandages on the back of Zimmerman's head and another on his nose.

Zimmerman’s lawyers said the photocopy of the image was provided by the prosecutors in the first round of discovery. The high-resolution digital file was finally provided to the defense on Oct. 29, and defense attorneys have said they will make all public documents related to the case available on their website.

Prosecutors had asked for the gag order, claiming a website and social media used by Zimmerman's attorney could influence potential jurors in the racially charged case.

On Monday, Zimmerman's defense team publicly released a motion, filed the same day, asking for the additional deposition of one of the lead investigators due to information that surfaced during his original interview on Nov. 19th.

Requests for comment to special prosecutor Angela Corey's office were not immediately returned.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012