George Zimmerman Prosecutor 'Prayed' for Him to Testify
Source: ABC
Florida prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda had "prayed that (George Zimmerman) would have the courage to take the stand," he told ABC News in an exclusive interview Sunday, adding that Zimmerman's "inconsistent statements" would have made him the prosecution's star witness.
In the interview with the four Florida prosecutors who fought to convict Zimmerman, lead prosecutor de la Rionda said, "I prayed that he would have the courage to take the stand but, as we all well know, he's got the right not to."
"Anytime you put in a defendant's statements and a lot of those are self-serving, then usually a defendant will make the decision not to testify because you've got his story out. We felt it was important to get his story out because there were so many lies."
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerman-prosecutor-prayed-testify/story?id=19666346&singlePage=true
Sorry Bernie, prayer doesn't work in the REAL WORLD. You and your team fell into the defense's traps. Too late buddy.
crim son
(27,464 posts)is a ridiculous way to accomplish anything.
nyquil_man
(1,443 posts)yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Prayer can work, but to pray that someone else puts themselves in a precarious situation is not advised. I say that the Prosecutor did a horrible job the whole trial. I know people are blaming the jury, but I think it was completely the prosecutors fault 100 percent.
Ash_F
(5,861 posts)swayne
(383 posts)The prosecutors went along with the whole farce. The jury was packed with sure-fire Zimmerman supporters. I bet that they all were registered Republicans. That's how you will know the "fix" was in.
Case closed.
alp227
(32,064 posts)Don't know about the other prosecutors. State Attorneys hire assistant SA's in Florida, so whoever serves as ASA has nothing to do with the partisanship of the governor or attorney general.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)and the police corruption/ineptitude tied the prosecutors hands. this entire case stinks to high heaven. i am waiting for the dirt on the jurors. they might not be JUST republicons.
Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)If you wanted him on the stand you shouldn't have entered all his videos into evidence that let him tell his story without cross examination.
He had nobody to blame but himself for that one- it was incredibly foolish to let all that video in, it gave Zimmerman an out to never take the stand.
warrant46
(2,205 posts)After the various clips were played there was no reason for him to say anything.
DefenseLawyer
(11,101 posts)I'm not quite convinced. What prosecutor tells the jury in closing that there are "questions"?
warrant46
(2,205 posts)to say since the Burden is theirs.
I don't however think the 4 prosecutors as a group were out to deliberately "throw the case"
The CCC
(463 posts)Nothing against prayers, but that is hardly the way to prove your case.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)God always answers your prayers. Sometimes the answer is No.
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)Defendants always have that choice,
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)I've tried very hard to give the prosecutors the benefit of the doubt, but someone up high should start asking for resignation letters...Because it's looking more and more that they were either woefully inept at best or fixing the trial at worst...
Deep13
(39,154 posts)...is evidence of guilt. What the state CAN do is argue that the defendant's hearsay police statement need not believed and that there where no witnesses who testified under oath and subject to cross-examination who corroborated what the defendant told the cops.
SleeplessinSoCal
(9,150 posts)Just don't take the stand. That this prosecutor thought he might take the stand says more about how incompetent he was.
RussBLib
(9,043 posts)Spirochete
(5,264 posts)he sure as hell isn't going to listen to a lawyer.