good evening, everyone. welcome to our special continuing coverage of the george zimmerman trial. tonight, a big ruling and high drama in the courtroom. the prosecution putting their star witness on the stand, a female friend of trayvon martin who was on the phone with him as the fatal confrontation began. from the initial questioning to the cross-examination ran the gamete. we're going show a lot of it tonight to you. a warning as well. some of the language was harsh in the courtroom. so if you would rather not hear it, we'll tell you when to turn the volume down. with that in mind, turn the volume down now, if you don't want to hear that language. here's randi kaye's report. >> reporter: rachel jeantel and trayvon martin were good

friends. they had known each other since elementary. contrary to reports, they were only friends. >> you weren't in any way his girlfriend? >> no. >> reporter: the two reconnected just weeks before trayvon martin's death. on the night he died from the other end of the phone line, she was, in a sense, within earshot of the tragedy as it unfolded. that's why she's the state's star witness, the only one they think who can tell trayvon's side of the story. >> what was he complaining about? >> that a man kept watching him. >> reporter: it was clear from the start she does not relish her new found fame, mumbling her answers. making her difficult to hear. the court reporter had to keep stopping for clarification, and the defense complained repeatedly. >> give your answers as slowly and clearly and as loudly as you can. >> reporter: it wasn't easy, but she painted a picture of trayvon

martin that night. a picture of a teenager feeling threatened and on the run from a strange man. >> i asked him how the man looked like. he looked like a creepy ass cracker. >> let me make sure we got that. creepy -- >> ass cracker. >> yeah. is that what you recall him saying? >> yes. >> does that to you mean like a white individual? >> yes, caucasian. >> reporter: she told the court trayvon martin tried to walk home and get away from the man. but that he continued to pursue him. >> then he said he's still following me now. >> he's still following you? >> yes. >> did he use a word to describe that? >> reporter: she said she could hear trayvon talking to the stranger over the phone. >> then i said trayvon. and then he said why are you following me for? and then i heard a man say what

are you doing around here. >> reporter: then she said she heard a bump and struggle in the grass. she said she kept yelling for her friend to talk to her. moments later, trayvon martin was dead. a short break, and then it was the defense's turn. jeantel seemed annoyed by their questions of the timeline of phone calls. >> the next call starts at 6:30:40, and ended at 6:43:15. do you see that? >> yes. >> the next one starts at 6:41:05 and ends at 6:44:32. >> yes. >> and the next one starts at 6:45:01 and ends at 6:49:17. >> yes. >> reporter: she was combative. >> you right. you can go. you can go. >> i'm sorry, it takes me a

little bit of time sometimes to come up with the next question. >> you can go. >> okay. >> reporter: and she was especially frustrated when the defense pressed her about lying when she said she skipped trayvon martin's funeral because she was in the hospital. today she testified she didn't want to view his body, and felt guilty about seeing his parents since she was the last to speak to him. >> you told mr. crump you had gone to the hospital instead of the wake, which was a lie? >> yes. >> and you also lied and said that you were 16? >> i don't remember saying that. >> reporter: rachel jeantel may not like that line of questioning, but she isn't done yet. the defense is expected to put her back on the stand for at least another couple of hours tomorrow. randi kaye, cnn, atlanta. >> and she was definitely not happy about that fact. that prompts the question which

side will benefit more from her testimony? sunny hostin, jeffrey toobin join us. and mark geragos is also here. jeff, what did you make of her, rachel jeantel's performance on the stand today? >> performance, it sure was. it was compelling, even if you couldn't understand half of what you said. i thought it was interesting that you decided to use subtitles. it was very helpful, but the jury didn't have those subtitles. so it really was hard to understand in places. i thought she seemed like an authentic mixed up, resentful, angry kid. she's in 12th grade, 19 years old, she obviously didn't want to be there. the core of her testimony is that trayvon was afraid of zimmerman, as zimmerman was pursuing him. that's the only reason she's on the stand. i thought that came across. obviously she's got a lot of problems. she lied. she's combative.

she's not very communicative. but do i think the jury will believe trayvon's side of the conversation? i think they will. >> this is the first time we learned she was trayvon's friend. there had been indications before after she gave the interview to mr. crump that she was his girlfriend. what did you think of her? >> yeah, i mean, i agree with jeff. i thought that she was a credible witness. i thought it was raw, uncoached. i thought that she spoke like a teenager, and what i thought was very important is everything she says, anderson, is corroborated. she says she was on the phone. there are phone records. she says the amount of time she was on the phone, there's record to that. she is at least the third or fourth witness that contradicts what george zimmerman told police his version of events. when you look at it in context, it's very, very helpful to the prosecution. >> let's talk to our folks from the defense. mark, there were several moments

when she was combative with the defense attorney. i want to play one of them for the viewers. >> do you watch "first 48?" >> i didn't hear you. >> do you watch "first 48?" they call the first number -- [ inaudible ] >> i'm sorry, the first 48? >> a show. >> had you seen any press conferences or any news whatsoever? >> i had told you, i don't watch news. i do not watch news. >> and then we met again the next month. >> no, we met again that friday. >> hmmm. >> when you did not want to interview me, that friday. >> hmmm. are you finished? [ inaudible ] >> i'm sorry? >> yeah. >> how much more time do you think that you need to finish your cross? >> i certainly wouldn't -- i

don't know for sure. i think we should at least plan on at least a couple hours. >> what? >> mark, what do you make of her tone on the stand of how she did on the stand today? >> you know, it's amazing. i love jeff, love sunny. the idea that this was a compelling witness, the idea that this witness is going to play well with this jury, save this tape, anderson, please, save this tape. she seems like a very sweet high school senior, but please. i mean, i get it. but come on, guys, you've got to be kidding me. who are you guys kidding? >> not at all, not at all. >> do you have your fingers crossed. >> not at all. >> you've got to be kidding me. not with this jury. save the tape. >> danny, do you agree? >> mark, finally a voice of reason. this is the prosecution's star witness, it's not their second best. it's not their third best. it's their star witness. and when you just watch her demeanor on the stand, as a

juror, if she is -- number one, florida has depositions before trial, which is very unusual. and it's true, that does yield a treasure trove of inconsistent statements. that always benefits the cross examiner, like in a case like this. however, the jury is free to evaluate this witness' credibility. they can believe some of it or none of it. and just looking at her demeanor, just hold it in your mind and let's save this tape, like mark said. this is their star witness. and they have the burden beyond a reasonable doubt and -- >> when they get that -- >> you know what -- >> one at a time. >> sunny, when they get that jury instruction that says if a witness was willfully false, in other words, they lied and you can disregard everything they said, then come back, as i said, save the tape. that jury is not buying anything. >> the fact that this is the prosecution's star witness, how damaging is that? >> the prosecution will take her to the wood shed.

>> i stand by what i just said. bottom line is, she's clearly a reluctant witness. she doesn't want to be there. i think that makes her more credible. she's not a witness that wants to be there, that wants the limelight, that wants to get a book deal. she's not a professional witness. she's a raw, uncoached young teenager who just happened to be on the phone with trayvon martin when this happened. and again, i hope that we do save the tape, because she is at least a third or fourth witness that directly contradicts what george zimmerman said. so even if you don't believe everything she says, it is corroborated by other witnesses. that's the bottom line. >> sunny, why do you think that he was methodically going through the phone records? because what she is saying was virtually impossible based upon the physical evidence. that's what you're going to see in closing. save the tape. >> i don't think we're going to see that. >> why is that, mark? >> wait and see. i don't want to give it away. i'm just saying save the tape. they're going to lay out -- the reason west was doing that today

is because she -- it's impossible for what to have occurred, for what she said occurred to have occurred. i don't want to give it away. they still have her on the stand. let's just see what happens. >> we've got to take a -- >> mark's keeping secrets. that's not fair. >> stick around, because there's a lot more to talk about. let us know what you think. you can follow me on twitter. just ahead, two other key witnesses took the stand today, as well. neighbors who testified about what they say they saw and heard the night trayvon martin was killed. their testimony. who it helps most, we'll take a look at that. also, how the deadly night unfolded, from george zimmerman's perspective. a day after the shooting, he walked police through the fatal encounter. we're going to follow that step by step. lactose-free lactaid® it's 100% real milk that's easy to digest so you can fully enjoy the dairy you love. lactaid®. for 25 years, easy to digest. easy to love.

rachel jeantel was the prosecution's star witness, but she wasn't the only witness to testify today. two other women took the stand. prosecutors asked them what they saw and heard outside their windows on that rainy night. remember, the prosecution is trying to portray george zimmerman as the aggressor. the defense got both to admit it was too dark to see faces that night. so rachel wasn't the only witness. explain what the other witness described here. >> he was brought on by the state basically because of what she heard, she's an earwitness. she said initially she heard a yelp, and that caught her attention. she heard the screams for help. she says she could ascertain the

person screaming for help was trayvon martin. that would bode very badly for the defense. here's how she testified. >> as i was pressing 911 is when i heard very clearly i say the two yells for help. >> in terms of the two individuals, the voices that you've described, one a more dominant or aggressive and the other one, what word did you use to describe the other one? >> higher pitched. >> the yells for help that you heard at that time, could you identify whether it was the dominant, louder voice or the higher pitch one? >> in my opinion, i truly believe, especially the second yell for help, was like a yelp. it was excruciating. i really felt like it was a boy's voice. >> the court heard the 911 call, as well. >> right. there were a number of 911 calls made on that particular night. but hers has to be the most emotional.

because what you realize is that like a lot of people, she was witnessing something, but she was experiencing something. listen to this. >> who is saying they shot who? >> the people out there, a guy is raising his hands up, saying he shot a person. i think it's a police officer with him right now. oh, my god. >> the police officer is there. >> yes. >> they're going to handle the situation from here. >> oh, my god. i know -- [ inaudible ] >> we don't know if they've been killed, okay? we know they've been -- >> he just said he shot him. yes, the person is dead, laying on the ground. >> just because he's laying on the ground -- [ inaudible ] >> maybe someone could call me.

i've never seen someone like this except in the movies. [ sobbing ] i'm sorry. i don't know why, i'm shaking. i can't stop shaking. >> it is disturbing when you witness something like this. another witness testified about who she believed was on top during the fight, martin on zimmerman. what did she have to say? >> you're right. she said she heard, this time it was a howl. both of these women live in the complex where this tragedy played out. she heard this howl. she looked out a couple of times and remembers seeing shadows in the darkness and said there was one shadow large on top of a smaller shadow, and then she later sort of essentially translated it to mean that it was george zimmerman on top of trayvon martin. now, again, the defense did not want to hear that, and they were aggressive going after her on cross-examination. here's some of that. >> do you recall march 26, 2012 where i went to your house and

took a sworn statement and i asked you about the individual whether you could identify either one? >> yes. >> and you recall your statement that you stated that i think zimmerman is definitely on top because of his size? >> yes. >> now, in addition after that, ma'am, do you recall giving a deposition where you questioned by mr. west, you were asked if you could identify mr. zimmerman because you had seen him on tv, the photograph on tv and based on his size, it was mr. zimmerman on top? >> yes. >> reporter: that was not the defense, that was the prosecution talking to that witness. later, the defense did go after her, and she did sort of back off that statement. she said, you know what? now i'm not so sure. so the defense would say that was a win for them. >> marty, thank you very much. >> i want to dig in deeper with our panel. danny what effect do you think

these witnesses had? >> well, let's take a step back. i think they are credible. they don't have a dog in the fight. but what is their final take. what are the lawyers going to say about the witness? if you believe everything they said, where does that get us? somebody screamed. sounded like a boy. not sure. does that take us anywhere, is it probative of any fact in this case? which again, i keep going back to it, in this case, the prosecution has the tremendous burden. not only of beyond a reasonable doubt, but they must disprove zimmerman's self-defense claim the prosecution must prove it and do any of these witnesses get us there? somebody screamed, we can conclude that. but if we don't know who at the end, we're at a draw. >> mark, one of the zimmerman's neighbors was on the stand. she was asked about it on the stand today. i want to listen to a short clip of that. >> didn't you, though, go on

national television to tell what you think you saw? >> i was disguised and not shown on television, and they had a distorted voice, so no one knew who i was. >> but it was you, wasn't it? >> yes. >> so you did go on national television to tell what was it, anderson cooper? >> only th the agreement that i would not be seen or heard or recognized. >> and they respected that? >> yes. >> so mark, going on tv to give an interview, does that hurt a witness' credibility? that seemed to be what the defense was driving at, or is that because she gave the interview after telling police she didn't want to be a witness? >> i think the thing that hurts is that she wanted to be disguised and have her voice altered. i think those are the kinds of things, if you're a witness, if you're a willing witness, why

are you going to those lengths and having an agreement with "ac 360" or anderson cooper or charlie or whoever made the agreement. the thing about these witnesses that you have to remember, this is not a civil case. this is not where we just got to prove something, you know, a kind of clear and convincing or more probable than not standard. this is beyond a reasonable doubt. >> oh, come on. >> the quality of the evidence that you're getting here, i know you can say that, jeff, but understand something, they have to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt. this is exactly why you've seen over three days, this is why this case was not filed initially. >> oh, come on. that's ridiculous. >> jeff? >> oh, my god, beyond a reasonable doubt, this enormous standard. you know what? the prisons are full, and every single one of those people either was convicted or pled guilty, because they knew they would be convicted under the

beyond a reasonable doubt standard. so the idea that this is some insurmountable burden for the prosecution, that's ridiculous. i agree that these two witnesses -- >> i don't remember saying -- did i say it was insurmountable? what i -- >> danny implied that. >> when you get -- >> the bottom line -- >> one at a time. because everybody hates it when everybody talking over each other, i especially. sunny, make your point. >> these witnesses are reluctant witnesses. maybe that's why she went on "ac 360" and wanted to be shrouded. they're not professional witnesses. i think that makes them more credible. we're hearing witness after witness after witness contradict george zimmerman's self-defense claim. george zimmerman saying that he was sucker punched, george zimmerman saying he didn't follow trayvon martin. every witness is saying something different. how can you say what they're testifying to doesn't matter? that just doesn't make sense. which trial are you watching? >> i don't think i said it didn't matter.

but if you're going to tell me that the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt is a witness who gets up there and says, you know what? i could have been mistaken. you know what, i know i said something else under oath but today i'm telling the truth, that's beyond a reasonable doubt? >> by the way, jeff, a lot of those people in prison are there wrongfully convicted, as you well know. >> the innocence project has no bigger fan than me, but that's not really what we're talking about today. i agree that these two witnesses were not the most -- they are not going to seal this case, but they are yet more witnesses who seem to suggest that trayvon martin was not the aggressor in this situation, and when you add them all together, it starts to have a pretty impressive effect. >> it's quality, not quantity. >> after all these witnesses, we added them up, and what do we know? somebody screamed. trayvon martin used some inappropriate language.

we had a star witness who is barely understandable. look, it's not a sympathy game. sure, she's young, and i understand, and i think mark would agree. those witnesses appear every day in criminal court. they're not uncommon at all. people who especially want to mix it up with the cross examining attorney. if that's your most credible witness, what do we know? but we know somebody screamed, somebody may have been on top of someone else. the prosecution has a long way to -- >> not somebody. they're saying differently. it's not fair. >> the witnesses are saying differently. you just proved my point. the witnesses are saying differently. you just proved my point. they don't know -- >> they're saying they thought george zimmerman was on top. they're saying they thought trayvon martin was yelling. they're not just saying they don't know. >> and then they say yeah, i could have been mistaken. that's beyond a reasonable doubt? >> jeff, to danny's point, do you feel like at this point -- you're saying it's little bits here and there, painting a picture. do you feel the prosecution has

a smoking gun? do you feel the prosecution has painted a picture that you know for sure what happened that night? >> the irony is we haven't talked about the most important part of the case, which is that there was a 17-year-old boy shot dead with skittles and an iced tea in his pocket. that is -- that's the key factor here. there is no evidence. why would trayvon martin be the aggressor in this situation? the other thing is, the 911 call where the operator says don't approach him. that's a terrifically incriminating piece of evidence. do i think they've proven second degree murder? no, not yet. that's a very difficult burden. but a lesser charge, i think zimmerman is in a lot of trouble on that. >> it's interesting, mark, the argument jeff is making with the skittles and the soda, the defense countered saying trayvon martin was armed with a weapon, it was the concrete that he was slamming george zimmerman's head

into, those pictures of george zimmerman's head, the lump or two, does that paint a picture of someone who had their head slammed into a sidewalk? >> let's get a full picture. it's not just the back of the head. he has a -- he was bleeding profusely front. i believe they are going to put in evidence that says he had a broken or fractured nose. i don't know. how much do you have to get beat up before you use whatever force? and i know that it's a great -- look, i have great sympathy for trayvon martin's family. great empathy. having kids who just left their teenage years, this has to be a parent's worst nightmare. but the fact remains that you're not going to be able, i don't think, to try this case on pulling on the emotional heart strings. at some point, you've got to put on real evidence and evidence that is going to be credible to

a jury. the jurors are not going to say, we feel bad because he's a 17-year-old who had skittles and iced tea in his pocket, so we're going to convict somebody of second degree murder. >> it doesn't work that way. >> he was also unarmed. >> we can talk about skittles. we can talk about hoodies. we can talk about iced tea. none of those things are elements of a crime. here is what is jermaine to a crime. the injury. if zimmerman shows that he was in fear of great bodily injury, and what we have is evidence of injury. skittles, grapes, iced tea, those are all red herrings and they're not central issues. >> they are not red herrings. danny, you cannot follow someone and start a fight. >> by danny's argument, you're saying it was george zimmerman who was a victim of a crime. >> not at all. that's not his burden to show. his burden is to show that he used force. he committed a homicide, that's agreed. but is it an excusable homicide?

did he act with justification? in other words, what they need to show and the prosecution needs to disprove it, not george, is that at the time, he believed he was in fear of grave bodily injury. >> we have to take a break. we'll have more with the panel coming up. coming up also, george zimmerman in his own words a day after the shootings. zimmerman walked police through what happened. what he said in detail, next. >> i felt like my body was on the grass and my head was on the cement and he kept slamming it, slamming it. i kept yelling help, help. he put his hand on my nose and just -- his other hand on my mouth and said shut the [ bleep ] up. and i tried squirming again, because all i could think about is when he was hitting my head, i thought my head was going to explode and i thought i was going to lose consciousness. bulldog: oh, the dog days of summer!

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i asked him how the man looked like. he looked like a creepy [ bleep ] cracker. i just told him run. then he said, why are you following me for? and then i heard a man say, what are you doing around here? that's when i heard grass sounds, wet grass sounds. i was calling trayvon, trayvon. then i heard trayvon saying get off, get off. then a second later the phone hung up. >> that's one side of the story. george zimmerman, of course, tells a very different version, a day after the shooting. zimmerman walked police through the events of that night in the place that it happened. the video runs about 12 minutes. we're going to show you a shorter version, picking up where zimmerman says he spotted

trayvon martin and parked his suv. take a look. >> i saw him walking back that way, and then cut through the back of the houses. he looked back and he noticed me and he cut back through the houses. i was still on the phone with 911 emergency. and then he came back and he started walking up towards the grass and came down and circled my car. and i told the operator that he was circling my car. i didn't hear if he said anything. but he had his hand in his waist band. and i think i told the operator that. they said, where are you? i could not remember the name of the street, because i don't live on this street. >> right. >> and then i thought to get out and look for a street sign. >> right. >> so i got out of my car and i started walking. >> go ahead. >> back there, they said, are you following him? i said yes, because i was in the area. they said we don't need you to do that. i said okay. that's when i walked straight

through here to get the address to meet the police officer. when i got to -- i passed here. i looked. i didn't see anything again, and i was walking back to my truck, and then when i got to right about here, he yelled from behind me, to the side of me, he said yo, you got a problem? i turned around, and i said no, i don't have a problem, man. >> where was he at? >> he was about there, but he was walking towards me. >> so coming from this direction here? >> yes, sir. like i said, i was already past that, so i didn't see exactly where he came from, but he was about where you are. i said, i don't have a problem. i went to grab my cell phone and i looked down and he said you got a problem now. and then he was here and he punched me in the face. i stumbled, and i fell down. he pushed me down.

somehow he got on top of me. >> on the grass or the cement? >> it was more over towards here? i think i was trying to push him away from me, and he got on top of me somewhere around here. that's when i started screaming for help. i started screaming help as loud as i could. that's when he grabbed -- oh, i tried to sit up and he grabbed me by the head and tried to slam my head down. my body was on the grass, my head was on the cement. [ inaudible ] >> yes, sir. >> okay. >> that's as best i could feel is i felt like my body was on the grass and my head was on the cement and he kept slamming it, slamming it. i kept yelling, help, help.

he put his hand on my nose and other hand on my mouth and said shut the [ bleep ] up. then i tried squirming again, because all i could think about is when he was hitting my head, i felt like my head was going to explode and i thought i was going to lose consciousness. so i tried to squirm, because he only had a small portion of my head on the concrete, so i tried to squirm off the concrete. when i did that, somebody here opened the door and i said, help me, help me. they said, i'll call 911. i said no, help me. i need help. i don't know what they did, but that's when my jacket moved up and i had my firearm on my right side hip. my jacket moved up, and he saw it, i feel like he saw it. he looked at it and he said you're going to die tonight mother [ bleep ]. he reached for it, i felt his

arm going down to my side, and i grabbed it, i grabbed my firearm and shot him one time. >> after you shot him, what did he say? >> after i shot him, he sat up -- i shot him, and i didn't think i hit him. he sat up and he said, you got me. you got it, something like that. so i thought he was just saying, i know you have a gun now, i heard it, i'm giving up. so i don't know if i pushed him off me or he fell off me. either way, i got on top of him, and i pushed his arms apart. >> you flipped him over? >> i don't remember how i got on top of him, but i got on his back and moved his arms apart. because when he was repeatedly hitting me in the face, i thought he had something in his hands. so i just moved his hands apart. that's when the police officer came around and i saw the police officer. i stood up and holstered the weapon.

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are you following him? >> yes. >> okay, we don't need you to do that. >> okay. >> that's a portion of george

zimmerman's phone call to the 911 dispatch the night he encountered trayvon martin. the prosecution seeking to use it to show that zimmerman exceeded his role as a neighborhood watch volunteer as became in theory, in the theory of the case, a vigilante. to bolster that, they've been seeking to put a series of prior emergency calls from george zimmerman as evidence. today, the judge said yes. here is a series of moments. >> our neighborhood got robbed today, and my wife saw one of the kids that did it, and we see someone that matches his description in the neighborhood right now again. >> is he white, black or hispanic? >> black. my wife talked to detective walker and gave him a description of the guy we see now. hi, there's a break-in in my

neighborhood recently and two youths that match the description of the people -- my wife i.d.'d them and saw them, they're back in the neighborhood. >> who do they look like, white, black or hispanic? >> two black males in their late teens. we actually just had our neighborhood watch meeting yesterday and officer buchanon came out here and told us to report anything suspicious. it's late and they usually don't have their garage door open all night. hi, i was just calling because we've had a lot of break-ins in our neighborhood recently and i'm on the neighborhood watch. there's two suspicious characters at the gate of my neighborhood. i've never seen them before. i have no idea what they're doing. they're just hanging out, loitering. >> mr. zimmerman, can you describe the two individuals? >> two african-american males. they look -- i know one was in a white impala. >> how old do they look to you? >> mid to late 20s, early thirties.

i'm with the neighborhood watch, and we've had some burglaries and vandalisms lately. and this gentleman was walking in the neighborhood i've seen before on trash days going around picking up trash. i don't know what his deal is. >> is he white, black or hispanic? >> black. >> that's just a portion of the audio evidence. with real questions how the jury will react, back with our panel. jeff, you said yesterday you didn't think that these calls should be allowed in. were you surprised that they were and what kind of impact are they having? >> i guess i was a little surprised. i think it was a close legal question. i just don't know what they prove one way or the other. i suppose you can establish if you're the prosecutor that he seems obsessed with black kids roaming the neighborhood. but on the other hand, he's on a neighborhood watch. this is what he's supposed to do. he's not confronting these kids, he's calling into 911. that's what people on neighborhood watch are supposed to do.

so i don't see why it's probative as the lawyers say, what it proves one way or the other. it strikes me as irrelevant. >> mark, do you agree with that? >> look, i don't agree with judge toobin. i think it should have come in. but i think this is more helpful to the defense than it is to the prosecution. i'm at a complete loss, if you're the prosecutor as to why you want this in, and i also am a little bit perplexed as to why the defense wants to keep this out. he doesn't sound rabid or some guy on a mission. he doesn't. if the idea is he's building up to a crescendo so all of a sudden he just explodes, all of a sudden, it isn't characterized or it doesn't come through on these tapes. >> the defense bitterly of posed the admission of these tapes. but now this may be one of those times during trial, sometimes you get a cloud with a silver lining.

because the admission of these tapes, the panel has got it. what do they show? they show a guy called the police and did so in a calm way. in any of those phone calls, did he follow up with i'm going to put the phone down and hunt some people in my neighborhood? no. it just shows a person who calls the police several times and does so in a calm manner. i think this is one of those things that the defense bitterly opposed and ultimately they may be able to parlay it into a plus for the defense. >> sunny, when they cross examined the official who maintains the emergency phone lines about those pascals, the defense attorney had this question for her and i want to play that. >> on the 2-2-12 event, let's go to that one for a minute. >> okay. >> were you aware that the person who was identified in that report was arrested for burglary in that neighborhood and he lived in that subdivision? >> no, i'm not aware of that. it's not indicated. >> so sunny, to danny's point, to mark's point, that could play for the defense, the fact one of

those calls did lead to an arrest. >> i don't know. i think it just reinforces actually that george zimmerman felt that he was doing the right thing by, you know, always calling and identifying young black males as perpetrators. he didn't call and watch any white males. he didn't call any hispanic males. he only seemed to be watching and calling about young african-american males. since we're in the habit of saving tapes when people are right, i hope we saved the tape from yesterday's show when i said yesterday that the 911 calls were coming in because they're relevant to show he liked to call and provile, in a sense, young, black males. that's what he was doing. >> but sunny, if 100% of the people -- >> i agreed with -- >> we have all the tapes saved. if 100% facttually of the people

happen to be black, it's not racial. it just happened that those people were black in the neighborhood. the alternate theory you're proposing is he was making up black people in his neighborhood to call 911 and complain and do nothing further? >> i'm not suggesting that at all. >> he's a guy that calls 911. [ all talking at once ] >> we should all be so lucky to have somebody keeping an eye out on the neighborhood. i'm not saying that's what happened. don't we want neighbors that call the police and neighbors that do so in a calm way. >> we don't want neighbors walking after people, and shooting unarmed teens. i don't want a neighbor like that. >> we should all be so lucky, danny. come on. >> to have people that call 911. that's all this tape shows. >> mark, you've expressed your disdain for security guards, but go ahead. >> by the way, jeff was right. i got several letters. >> i bet you did, as well you should. i'm a fan of them for the

record. >> getting out of the bureau was dangerous as well. but the fact remains, you know, whether we like or don't like the busy body, you still have six jurors who have had encounters with crime. and now you have proven that this guy wasn't hallucinating, he wasn't under a delusion that actually, if o'mara is correct, and i don't think he could have brought that up if he didn't have it to back it up, that turned out there was an arrest, that's substantial evidence that this guy had a good sense for who was up to no good in that neighborhood. i'm telling you -- >> but he was wrong about trayvon martin. he was wrong. >> that's for the jury to decide. and sunny, we might agree what's going on really here, but the fact remains, you have to remember the demographic of this jury. and that's what you can't forget. >> we've got to leave it there. >> i think it's a demographic that helps the prosecution.

those women are riveted by the prosecution's case. >> sunny, jeff, danny, mark, thank you very much. good discussion. coming up, same-sex marriage celebrate after two historic supreme court rulings. what the court decided, next.

randi kaye has the latest on the stories we're following. >> same-sex marriage advocates are celebrating two rulings in the supreme court today. the court struck down part of the defense of marriage act that denied benefits to gay couples and cleared the way for same-sex marriage to resume in california. aaron hernandez of the new england patriots has been charged with first degree murder. lloyd's body was found less than a mile from hernandez's home. ecuador has asked the united states to argue in writing why edward snowden should not get asylum. the foreign minister said ecuador had not provided papers to him as reported. senior u.s. officials said today that the u.s. is biding its time in that matter. vigils continue tonight for nelson mandela, with word that he's now on life support in a pretoria hospital according to an official briefed on his condition.

the anti-apartheid icon will be 95 next month. and a close call for tourists trapped in the canadian arctic on a drifting ice floe. by a stroke of luck, their sheet of ice bigger than three miles bumped into another one, which was touching land and they were able to get to safety. >> scary stuff. join us again tomorrow night for special coverage of the george zimmerman trial at 10:00 p.m. eastern. "early start" begins after the break. have a great day.

a new america for gay couples. this morning, the fresh questions the new challenges and the legal battles ahead for same-sex couples after the historic supreme court rulings. this morning, president obama in africa. a major mission of diplomacy. how will the health of nelson mandela affect his visit. >> the star witness for george zimmerman case takes the stand after a stunning day in court whachlt the defense needs to do now. >> welcome to "early start." i'm christine roman. >> i'm john