Zimmerman Defense Rests; Case Heads to Jury

The defense has rested in George Zimmerman's trial, reports the Miami Herald, with attorney Mark O'Mara denouncing prosecutors' depiction of an "unarmed" Trayvon Martin as "disgusting." Slamming a chunk of concrete down, O'Mara said, “That’s a sidewalk. That is not an unarmed teenager with nothing but Skittles, trying to get home.” O'Mara told jurors he'd proven his client's "pure, unadulterated innocence," adds the AP, and accused the prosecution of building a case based on "could've beens" and "maybes." Prosecutor John Guy, in his rebuttal, accused Zimmerman of telling "so many lies." Zimmerman, he said, "didn't shoot Trayvon Martin because he had to, he shot him because he wanted to." Elsewhere in today's developments:

• The jury will soon get instructions from the judge and likely begin deliberations today. The six women must base their verdict on more than 50 witnesses, many of whom offered up conflicting testimony.
• Gawker is running a picture of Trayvon's body at the scene. The picture, which shows a thin teenager in skinny jeans, was shown in court yesterday and accidentally aired on MSNBC. It is graphic and disturbing. It is here.
• Zimmerman's team held up that same photo again today during closing arguments, adds ABC, prompting Trayvon's mom to leave the courtroom.
• As Florida awaits a verdict, police are taking precautionary measures in case mass protests erupt.

(More Trayvon Martin stories.)