he shot trayvon martin in self-defense after being viciously attacked. reporter: but if the prosecutors see their case slipping away, there is another option that could still put zimmerman behind bars for years. if requested, and allowed by the judge, the prosecutors can ask the jury to consider lesser charges, like aggravated assault, which still carries the potential for decades in prison, due to a florida state statute called the 10-20 life law. it s dubbed the use a gun and you re done law after a popular pfa campaign that newly elected governor jeb bush championed and signed into law back in 1999. it means that with certain crimes in the state of florida, if you use a gun, you ll face enhanced time in prison or mandatory minimum sentences. like ten years for showing a gun.
bullet hole in trayvon martin s clothing and body, said it proved that martin was on top. he said he could tell martin was on top, because even though zimmerman s gun was touching the hoody, the hoody was not touching marty s skin. in fact, we know that the clothing was two to four inches away is consistent with somebody leaning over the person doing the shooting and that the clothing is two to four inches away from the person firing. reporter: he also countered the medical examiner s testimony from the prosecution who said martin could have survived and suffered up to ten minutes. he said shot in the heart, martin would have unconscious in 10 to 15 seconds. he s going to be dead within one to three minutes after being
his or her discretion when assigning prison time than say a legislature is. you would expect the blood in the sweatshirt, correct? reporter: many legal experts say the prosecutors may have to include those lesser charges for the jury to consider. maybe like manslaughter, which in this case carries a maximum sentence of 15 years. unless, of course, a gun is used. and then that time is doubled. in the end, the prosecution s level of confidence will likely determine just what charges they ll go after. ashleigh banfield, cnn, florida. with me again, our panel. sunny, i think you may be right now would argue that the state has proved second degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt. but if you were prosecuting this case, would you still request for the jury to be able to consider a lesser charge? oh, no question about it. you want the jury to have
kill trayvon martin out of hatred. trayvon martin was murdered. in the back of two sets of town homes, there s no street lighting back there. there s no pole lights. there were one or two porch lights on. george zimmerman is not guilty of murder. he shot trayvon martin in self-defense after being viciously attacked. reporter: but if the prosecutors see their case slipping away, there is another option that could still put zimmerman behind bars for years. if requested, and allowed by the judge, the prosecutors can ask the jury to consider lesser charges, like aggravated assault, which still carries the potential for decades in prison, due to a florida state statute called the 10-20 life law. it s dubbed the use a gun and you re done law after a popular pfa campaign that governor jeb
state versus george zimmerman. reporter: the prosecution wants to see george zimmerman behind bars for the rest of his life. but to do so, they need to get a second degree murder conviction. and to do that, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that zimmerman intended to kill trayvon martin out of hatred. trayvon martin was murdered. in the back of two sets of town homes, there s no street lighting back there. there s no pole lights. there were one or two porch lights on. george zimmerman is not guilty of murder. he shot trayvon martin in self-defense after being viciously attacked. reporter: but if the prosecutors see their case slipping away, there is another option that could still put zimmerman behind bars for years. if requested, and allowed by the judge, the prosecutors can ask the jury to consider lesser charges, like aggravated