George Zimmerman Prosecutor 'Prayed' for Him to Testify

[alp227]

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

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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]

1. More proof that prayer

is a ridiculous way to accomplish anything.

[nyquil_man]

2. Amen. nt

[yeoman6987]

12. More proof that prayer

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]

3. Doesn't matter. White jury. /nt

[swayne]

4. This might be up for the award of "Most Self Serving Statement That Means Nothing"

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]

6. Angela Corey is a Republican.

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]

15. it certainly seems so

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]

5. Well, dumbass

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]

13. Absolutely, the strategy in the case was extremely flawed

After the various clips were played there was no reason for him to say anything.

[DefenseLawyer]

17. It was only flawed if you assume that they wanted a conviction

I'm not quite convinced. What prosecutor tells the jury in closing that there are "questions"?

[warrant46]

18. Must admit that as a retired legal person that was a dumb thing for a Plaintiff/Prosecutor

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]

7. George Zimmerman Prosecutor 'Prayed' for Him to Testify

Nothing against prayers, but that is hardly the way to prove your case.

[KamaAina]

8. KamaAina 'Prayed' That The Prosecutors Wouldn't Be Knuckleheads

God always answers your prayers. Sometimes the answer is No.

[dipsydoodle]

9. Its not a matter of courage : its a matter of choice.

Defendants always have that choice,

[Blue_Tires]

10. No one takes the stand in a murder trial...

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]

11. the state may not, of course, argue that failure to testify...

...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]

14. Could mean that "mistatements" and lies are the way to get away with murder

Just don't take the stand. That this prosecutor thought he might take the stand says more about how incompetent he was.

[RussBLib]

16. now we KNOW the guy is a fool

[Spirochete]

19. If there's a god worthy of acknowledgement

he sure as hell isn't going to listen to a lawyer.

[notadmblnd]

20. maybe he should have spent less time praying and more time working on his case?