distractions about painting trayvon martin in a very negative way that was not addressed well, that was not refuted, that was not challenged, in my opinion, in terms of what i saw throughout the trial. but that s what i was speaking to when i was talking about my challenges and my rooting for that family was just that. i understand their loss, and i understand their frustration and i was encouraged by the fact they re relying on the criminal justice system to serve them and address their needs. i just feel that conversation could have been broader and could have included more tools from the prosecution that i didn t see being used effectively. seema and then patrick. you know, i ve noticed it seemed mark o mara and to a lesser extent don west were doing this media tour, which sometimes felt like a sort of touchdown dance. is that appropriate? is that inappropriate? is that normal? is that actually looking ahead to the civil case that might be coming? i think there are two types of
examiner who performed the autopsy on trayvon martin s body. his testimony was clinical, as he shuffled through notes and looked at the details. it s a sharp contrast to how the forensic pathologist played when he looked at the gunshot wound under the defense s theory. his testimony was in layman s terms, much easier for the jury to understand. number two, the testimony from the mothers, both zimmerman s and martin s mothers took the stand in this case. they seemed to effectively cancel each other out, both saying the voice screaming for help on that famous 911 tape was their own son. third and finally, how the shooting happened. after initially trying to disprove it, the prosecution adopted a form of the defense narrative that it was trayvon martin on top of zimmerman, even going as far as straddling the mannequin like the defense and hovering over zimmerman, as everyone remembers from that chilling scene. now, let s bring back our panel. seema, i want to start with you and ask the ba
question. therefore, self-defense is called into question. you take self-defense out of this case, you have a murder or manslaughter conviction because there s no doubt that zimmerman pulled that gun intentionally and shot and killed trayvon martin. let s get patrick, seema, and paul into the conversation. the term reasonable doubt is coming up all the time. i m a legal layman. i don t know a lot about legal strategy and philosophy. it always seems to be the greatest advantage for the defense is reasonable doubt. in baseball, the tie goes to it the runner. in a courtroom, tie goes to the defense. did you hear anything today from the defense that you think might stick with jurors and might plant that seed of doubt as they go into deliberate that will stick with them? what o mara did that was masterful was that he continuously referred to the term reasonable doubt. that s in a way subliminal messaging. you keep putting it to the jury. set up a set of facts from the trial that are in
its course. and we will move forward from here. thank you and have a great afternoon. thank you very much. you ve been listening to local law enforcement in sanford, florida, assuring the public they are prepared for whatever reaction comes to the verdict in the george zimmerman trial. so we are now on verdict watch. after 24 days in court, 12 days of testimony, 56 witnesses, george zimmerman s fate is in the hands of six female jurors. with me today for it all, jonathan capehart, steve kornacki, lisa bloom, and patrick murphy, seema ayer, and paul henderson. of course, we have kerry sanders live in florida. let s start down there. kerry, riveting stuff in the defense s final arguments and the prosecution s rebuttal. you were inside the court for it all. how did it play out in the courtroom, kerry? reporter: well, it was fascinating to watch it unfold. you know, it s a different view than when you see it on those
is, eye candy for the ladies. not so bad. wow. you went there, seema. that s the x-factor. i thought that was the rabbit out of the hat. honesty from seema. wow. the nonphysical x-factor i want to ask about, paul, it s interesting to me that in florida, you know, the procedure here is the prosecution gets sort of a second crack at the jury. right, there s a rebuttal to what the defense just said. i know that doesn t happen in every state. does getting the last word, is that an extra leg up for the prosecutor there is? do you think just being able to sort of be everything that the defense just said in terms of planting doubt, they can say once again, don t believe it. does that really help? is i don t know that it s an extra leg up. we have to remember the prosecution has the burden. that s why they re given a second opportunity to address whatever the defense brings up. then to put a big bow on their argument and to leave that lasting impression and the final