New manslaughter charge improves chances of Zimmerman going to jail: expert
While George Zimmerman’s defense lawyer cried foul when the prosecution asked Judge Debra Nelson to include manslaughter, under Florida law it is mandatory to attach a lesser charge if either side requests it.
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BY JANET JOHNSON / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2013, 12:30 AM
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Janet Johnson, criminal defense attorney, says the prosecution's move to include the manslaughter charge improves the chances of George Zimmerman going to jail.
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The addition of a manslaughter charge improves the chances that George Zimmerman could wind up in jail.
Zimmerman had initially been charged with second-degree murder, a sentence that could land him in prison for life.
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And while Zimmerman’s defense lawyer cried foul when the prosecution asked Judge Debra Nelson to include manslaughter, under Florida law it is mandatory to attach a lesser charge if either side requests it.
Normally, the lesser charge option helps the defense. But this time there is the risk of a compromised verdict.
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The jury has not been told that the lesser charge could still send Zimmerman to jail for up to 30 years.
Jurors, however, are instructed to work from the top down, starting with the most serious charge.
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They deliberate over the greater charge, vote and if they are all not guilty, they move down to the next.
However, if they find Zimmerman acted in self-defense on the second-degree murder charge, that would also apply to the manslaughter charges. So they would have to acquit.
But that’s assuming they’re abiding by logic and the law.
Janet Johnson is criminal defense lawyer based in Jacksonville, Fla.
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