The judge in the Trayvon Martin 2nd degree murder trial will decide on Thursday whether to allow the jury to convict George Zimmerman of lesser crimes if he is acquitted, People.com reports.
Prosecutors asked the judge to let the all-female jury consider manslaughter and aggravated assault when they begin deliberations on Friday, USA Today reports. But Zimmerman’s attorneys opposed the request.
The request caused some in the legal community to say the prosecution isn’t confident they will win a conviction. “They aren’t going to go all or nothing,” said Jose Baez, the attorney who successfully defended Casey Anthony. Baez added he doesn’t think the prosecutor’s office proved their case of 2nd degree murder.
Zimmerman, 29, did not take the witness stand in his own defense Wednesday.
Defendants in a criminal trial are not required to testify in their own defense because they have the presumption of innocent until proven guilty. But jurors are often suspicious of defendants who refuse to take the witness stand and explain their side of the story.
The defense rested their case on Wednesday. Closing arguments begin on Thursday. Zimmerman faces up to 30 years for manslaughter; and up to five years for aggravated assault.
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