Killer of Trayvon Martin gets bail, apologises to family

By Barbara Liston and Chris

Francescani

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) – Neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman apologised to the family of

Trayvon Martin on Friday, stunning a rapt courtroom and a national television audience at a hearing in which the judge

granted Zimmerman $150,000 bail on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of the unarmed black

teenager.

Zimmerman’s surprise appearance on the witness stand added an unexpected twist to a saga that has

riveted the country, provoked civil rights protests nationwide and fired a national debate over guns, self-defence laws and

race in America.

“I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son,” Zimmerman, 28, told Martin’s parents, Tracy

Martin and Sybrina Fulton, briefly looking toward them in the gallery.

“I did not know how old he was. I thought he

was a little bit younger than I am. And I did not know if he was armed or not,” Zimmerman, dressed in a suit and tie with

shackles around his waist and wrists, said in his first public remarks on a shooting that has topped the news for

weeks.

The parents of Martin, 17, were outraged Zimmerman was allowed to make what they considered a self-serving

apology meant only to improve his chances of making bail, their lawyer said, calling the apology too late to be

genuine.

Zimmerman’s release from jail could take days while his family raises cash and prosecutors and defence

lawyers work out an agreement to protect his privacy and safety. Prosecutors must also consider a defence request allowing

him to leave the state.

Trayvon Martin’s parents, who divorced in 1999, left the court stone-faced with arms locked,

declining to answer questions from reporters.

“They are devastated” that Zimmerman might soon be free on bail,

attorney Benjamin Crump told reporters, adding that Tracy Martin had tears in his eyes throughout the hearing.

“And it

was devastating that he got to give a self-serving apology to help him get a bond,” Crump said of Zimmerman. “They (the

parents) were very outraged at that.”

Though dramatic, Zimmerman’s testimony could be used by prosecutors later in

the case to impeach his credibility should they discover contradictions with previous statements to police.

Assistant

State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda was limited to the apology in his cross-examination of Zimmerman and prohibited from

delving into the facts of the case. But he made a point of locking Zimmerman into his statement that he also told police he

“felt sorry for the family” about the death of Trayvon.

Zimmerman also testified he never changed his story in three

separate statements to police.

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Moments later, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. set bail

at $150,000. Zimmerman’s defence lawyer had requested bail of no more than $15,000 and prosecutors, who had opposed his

release, suggested bail of $1 million.

The judge set a number of conditions including electronic monitoring he said

would prevent Zimmerman from being released on Friday. Zimmerman is also barred from further contact with the Martin family

and cannot possess a gun or drink alcohol.

His release would be a “several day process,” said defence attorney Mark

O’Mara.

Earlier in the hearing, Zimmerman’s wife, father and mother told the court Zimmerman was not a violent

person and they would help ensure he does not flee if released on bail.

The three were allowed to testify by telephone

from outside the court to protect their privacy in the face of hate mail and the intense emotions the case has

generated.

“I’ve never known him to be violent at all, unless he was provoked, and then he would turn the other

cheek,” father Robert Zimmerman testified under defence questioning.

Zimmerman, a white and Hispanic neighbourhood

watch volunteer, shot and killed the unarmed Martin in what he said was self-defence following a confrontation that occurred

as Martin was returning to his father’s house in the gated community after buying candy from a convenience

store.

Police initially declined to arrest Zimmerman, citing Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows people

to use deadly force when they believe they are in danger of getting killed or suffering great bodily harm.

The lack of

an arrest led thousands to march in rallies in Sanford and around the nation to demand Zimmerman’s arrest and criticize

investigators. The public outrage forced the Sanford police chief and regularly assigned prosecutor to step

aside.

Gov. Rick Scott appointed Angela Corey as special prosecutor, and Corey charged Zimmerman on April

11.

(Reporting by Tom Brown, Barbara Liston and Chris Francescani; writing by Daniel Trotta; editing by Vicki Allen

and Todd Eastham)