underwater city, a lost city, an atlantis. when that day comes, most probably in this century people will look back at those on the piggy side today, those who laugh at climate change and say they were the ones who did this. that's "hardball" for now. our thanks for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, chris, and thanks to you for tuning in. a dramatic day in the george zimmerman murder trial. for the first time, the jury sees graphic photos from the crime scene. and hears about the moments after police arrive on the scene. we'll bring you all today's news on the trial. but we start with the other big legal story of the day, the supreme court's 5-4 decision to gut a key part of the voting rights act. one of the signature achievements of the civil rights era. the conservative majority ruled that congress has to find a new

way to decide how states get federal permission to change their voting rules, or if they have to get permission at all. chief justice roberts wrote that, quote, things have changed in the south, and that after 50 years, things have changed dramatically. but millions of americans know firsthand that is simply not true. yes, the country has changed. but not enough. president obama said he was deeply disappointed. quote, for nearly 50 years, the voting rights act enacted and repeatedly renewed by wide bipartisan majorities in congress has helped secure the right to vote for millions of americans. attorney general eric holder also condemned the decision. >> this decision represents a serious setback for voting rights and has the potential to negatively affect millions of americans across the country.

these problems have not been consigned to history. they continue to exist. their effects are real. they're of today, not yesterday, and they corrode the foundations of our democracy. our country has changed for the better since 1965, but the destination that we seek has not yet been reached. >> he is right. our destination has not been reached. for congressman john lewis, beaten within an inch of his life while marching in selma, alabama, in 1965, today's ruling was personal. >> these men that voted to strip the voting rights act of its power, they never stood in unmovable lines. they never had to pass a so-called literature test. come and walk in our shoes. come and walk in the shoes of those three young men that died in mississippi. come and walk in the shoes of

those of us who walked across the bridge on bloody sunday, march of 1965. >> no question about it. this ruling is a direct blow to the heros of the civil rights movement, a blow to all those who were beaten and bloodied on the march from selma to montgomery in 1965, a blow to the legacy of dr. martin luther king jr. and rosa parks, who were in the room when president johnson, as he signed the voting rights act into law. and as if to mock justice roberts' claim that things have changed dramatically, right after the ruling today, the state of texas implemented its voter id law, a law that a federal court has already said intentionally discriminates against and black hispanic voters. this was ruled by federal court last year showing that we're not

talking about just 1965 abuses. we're talking about things that are going on right now, that still needs preclearance by the justice department to protect voters today, which is why this decision is so egregious in the sight of so many of us. joining me now is congresswoman terri sewell, democrat from alabama's congressionalth district which includes selma and montgomery, and jeffrey rosen, president and ceo of the national constitution center. thank you both for coming on the show. >> thank you, reverend al. >> jeffrey, give me your reaction to today's ruling. >> i think it's a remarkable act of judicial activism. as justice ruth bader ginsburg pointed out in her passionate dissent, this is an attempt to overturn the considered decision of republicans and democrats in

congress, of president george w. bush, who signed the law, and of more than two decades of settled expectations. and justice ginsburg produced lots of empirical evidence of how voting discrimination continues in places like texas and alabama and all the states that are covered under those jurisdictions. she showed that the law has actually worked in preventing discrimination. and she had an incredible line. she said "the fact that section 5 has worked in stopping discrimination means that throw it out is like throwing out your umbrella in a rainstorm, because you're not getting wet." i mean, she really understood how significant the affect of this decision was and how active it was to strike down this law. >> no, it was devastating. congresswoman sewell, you know the importance of section 5. in the last two decades, the justice department has used section 5 to block more than 2,000 proposed voting changes

because they were discriminatory. so we're not talking about a '60s problem. we're talking about all the way through the last election. now with this gone, it only enables people to discriminate according to the courts now. >> exactly, reverend al. you know, this is a sad day, not just for this nation, but especially for alabama. you know, the very case, the shelby case actually points to the discriminatory effects of what happened when we don't have preclearance. you know, the shelby county case was brought because of a redistricting plan that the effect of which actually ousted the african-american elected official. and this, as you said, wasn't in the '60s or '70s or '80s. this was in 2006. you know, i can't say what the intent was of the redistricting plan. but we can all agree that there

was discriminatory effect on that plan. and so for the supreme court to rule, to strike down the coverage formula in the shelby county case i think is not only ironic, but it's really tragic. i really hope that we in congress will act quickly to make sure that we protect the right to vote for all americans. >> well, you know, jeff, when you look at the fact that the chief justice roberts, he wrote a majority opinion, quote, our country has changed. and while any racial discrimination in voting is too much, congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions. well, that sounds to me like, well, the patient is not all the way healed. so find out how to heal the patient in total, and we'll withdraw the medicine that has been keeping the patient going while you're looking for that. it seems like a crazy way to do something, unless you really

don't care about the patient. >> well, i think your metaphor is even better than justice ginsburg's metaphor about the umbrella and the rain. you should be on the supreme court, reverend. but i think you're absolutely right that according to the dissenters, this was just completely unrealistic. chief justice roberts basically said you know what? in 2009, we told congress that we thought these preclearance formulas were a problem, and we gave congress an opportunity to change them. since they didn't do that, we're going to have to strike the law down. but in practice, and the congresswoman knows better than anyone, it is very hard to persuade majorities in congress to single out some states and not others for special federal preclearance. so it's an unrealistic decision. although chief justice roberts held open the possibility that congress could act to resurrect these formuli, in practice it's going to be very, very tough. already we're seeing things like voter id requirements which are being resurrected in texas after the supreme court approved them earlier this week. those are going to proliferate

throughout the country. and the truth sits not enough to challenge these requirements after they're already implemented. you need preclearance to prevent them from happening in advance. >> exactly. >> that's what is going to be much, much harder to do after today's decision. >> but texas, for example, congresswoman, the federal court there's said it was discriminatory. not in 2006, last year, in the last election. and had not the justice department had this section 5, the ability to stop it with a preclearance, that section 4, which was overturned today had named texas, texas, south carolina, florida. >> right. >> we would have had those discriminatory things in place where a lot of people couldn't have voted last year. and tonight they don't have that protection. this night we're sitting somewhere where we were a long time ago where there is no protection in those areas, states, or districts, including some in new york that have a

history of discrimination and as late as last year in texas and other places that is named in section four now that the green light has given, change and do what you want, and texas has already run through that green light, congresswoman. >> and you know, reverend, i have to tell you this that in this, the 50th year of so many pivotal events in the civil rights movement, i'm a daughter of selma, i grew up in selma, alabama, i think it's appalling that the supreme court threw out 12,000 pages of evidence that congress used in order to uphold the current formula. it's as if the will of the people doesn't matter. and so i think that while it will be hard-pressed to actually come up with a new formula, i think that it is incumbent upon all of us to rally and really make congress institute a better formula. so i just think that we -- on

the cusp of the 50th anniversary of the march on washington, i really hope that the march on washington will be about voter rights as well as about jobs and freedom. >> i guarantee you it's going stop about that this year. we announced it yesterday. it will definitely be about voter rights since this august. let me go back to you, jeff. president obama talked about the potential impact of the supreme court ruling that set back section 5 in an interview with joe madison. listen to this. >> generally speaking, you'd see less protection before an election with respect to voting rights. and people could keep coming up with new schemes each election, even if ultimately they were ruled to violate the voting rights act, it would be hard for us to catch those things up front to make sure that elections are done in an equitable way. >> now, this was in february of this year.

an interview. he released a statement today. what can be done? clearly we're talking about rallying and marching and people going to congress. what can be done legally to deal with this supreme insult? >> well, the most important thing that can be done, as you've been discussing, and as the congresswoman said is for congress to pass new formula. and that requires that she also said mobilizing citizens. president obama was a community organizer organize originally and congress is not going to have a chance at passing these new districts unless citizens mobilize. this matters. they're not going to be able to cast ballots because of discriminatory voter id requirements and other attempts to change where polling places are located. attempts to not allow voting over the weekend, for example, which happened before the last presidential election. this is really about the right to cast a vote, and citizens have to care about it in a very visceral way. >> congresswoman -- >> right. i don't see how my republican colleagues can actively seek to

try to restrict voting rights in the face of evidence, overwhelming evidence that while progress has been made, we have not arrived to the destination as attorney general holder said. and so i just think that we have to hold everyone's feet to the fire and hold us all accountable to making sure that we protect the right to vote and not seek to disenfranchise the least of these among us. >> congresswoman er tterri sewe and jeffrey rosen. this is clearly something that people gave their lives for. we can certainly stand up and protect it. still ahead, heart-wrenching testimony in the george zimmerman trial. the cop who tried to save trayvon martin's life takes the stand. plus, mr. zimmerman's past calls to police about suspicious characters. what do they say about his frame of mind? and will the jury be allowed to

hear them? and remember, i want to hear from you. send me your e-mails. reply al is coming. stay with us. i want to make things more secure. [ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat more dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business?

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[ telephone ringing ] now a waiting room is just a room. [ static warbles ] powerful testimony in day 12 of george zimmerman's second-degree murder trial as the case went right to the crime scene on that terrible night. the jury heard from five witnesses, a neighborhood watch lay son, the homeowner association president for mr. zimmerman's neighborhood, a sanford police sergeant, a crime scene technician, and a resident

of the gated community. the most emotional testimony came when the police sergeant recounted about how he administered cpr to trayvon martin after he was shot in the chest. the prosecution showed graphic photos of trayvon martin's body after he had been killed, most of which we have decided not to put on tv. >> mr. martin was lying face down with his head oriented generally towards the north and his hands underneath his body, sir circumstances that a fair and accurate depiction of the way trayvon martin's body was positioned when you approached it? >> yes, sir, it is. >> did you see any movement from trayvon martin's body as you approached him? >> no, sir, i did not. >> did you hear any sounds coming from trayvon martin when you approached him? >> no, sir, i did not. >> did you attempt to see if trayvon martin was still alive? >> yes, sir. >> how did you do that? >> i attempted to get his pulse,

sir. >> did you hear anything when you were performing cpr on trayvon martin? >> yes, sir. >> what was that? >> bubbling sounds, sir. >> and what did those bubbling sounds indicate to you? >> it meant that either air was getting into or escaping from the chest in a manner that it was not supposed to, sir. >> all right. and what did you do upon hearing those bubbling sounds from trayvon martin's chest? >> i called out to the crowd that was gathering nearby and i asked for saran wrap and vaseline, sir. >> and what would be the purpose of saran wrap and vaseline? >> i was going to try to seal the chest wound, sir. >> after trayvon martin was pronounced dead, did you or anyone else put anything over his body? >> yes, sir. >> and what was that? >> i put an emergency blanket over mr. martin's body, sir. >> and what was the purpose of that? >> well, one, it was respect for the deceased. two is to mitigate trauma that witnesses or family members may be exposed to if they arrived on scene. and then three was to preserve

any physical evidence on the body, sir. >> trayvon martin's parents were in the courtroom during his testimony. his father tracy martin walked out as the photos were displayed. trayvon's mother, sybrina fulton remained, but looked away as the photos of her son's body were shown to the court. jurors were also shown multiple photos taken on the night of the shooting. the jury's first look at some of the crime scene evidence in this murder trial. joining me now is former prosecutor faith jenkins, msnbc legal analyst lisa bloom, and florida defense attorney ken padowitz. thank you all for being here. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you for having me. >> lisa, how does this crime scene evidence, including these photos of trayvon martin's body, affect the jury at this point in the trial? >> you know, i think it's very powerful. i've analyzed many murder cases. and yet when i saw these photos on any monitor today, i'm watching the entire trial. >> i had to gasp.

i mean i know this is a case about a young man whose life was taken. i knew it was coming. but still, it's very disturbing to see the photos of a young man, 17 years old, with a bullet hole through him. it has to affect any human being. >> "i knew it was coming", you said. faith we all knew it was coming, but it got real today. this is about a real life lost, all of what goes with that. the scene of him dying, the scene of the bullet wound, and there is mothers on that jury, faith. >> and this is now not just a charge on an indictment on a piece of paper anymore. it's not a movie. this is real life. the jurors, they saw trayvon martin's father get up and leave the courtroom. they know he is not going to the bathroom. they know it's because he is in pain from seeing these photos. all of the emotion in this case is on one side. it's on the prosecution side. and they're going to use that. the defense, they're going to in return try to be aztec cal as they can, minimize that emotion. but it is absolutely undeniable here. >> now, ken, let's talk about some of the technical stuff.

because a crime scene technician identified several pieces of evidence she came and collected and processed through the crime scene. here is that technician with the prosecutor john guy. listen to this. >> could you hold up the firearm for the jury, please. tell the members of the jury what it is and how you progress it. >> this would be the arizona tea can shown in the photographs. >> package of skittles. >> yes, it is. >> and the headphones. >> now, she showed the skittles. she showed the actual gun. ken, she also took photos of mr.

zimmerman's injuries when he arrived at the police station. and you get the exchange between her and mr. guy about the possible blood injuries. how effective is this to the jury? >> this is extremely effective, reverend al. i mean what we've done, what's happened in this trial is it went from an academic exercise in justice to the jury getting the actual evidence in this case, hearing about a young man dying on the ground while a detective is trying to save his life. they're seeing this skittles. they're seeing it in person. they're seeing the gun, the murder weapon. this was a tremendously powerful exercise in front of this jury. it brought that jury there to the murder scene, there to the evidence, and it had a powerful impact on the jury. it's exactly what the prosecution was attempting to

seek when it presented all this evidence that went before the jury today. >> now, lisa, something interesting. you kept saying last night it's got to be about the evidence. it has to be about what we see with the forensic evidence and the other evidence. >> yes. >> not just emotion. >> yes. >> we heard today, though, that they had done all they could at the scene to preserve any of the evidence and all that happened. if that is so, then how will the defense explain there was no blood even under the nails of trayvon martin, or any bruises when the technician said they tried to protect the integrity of the scene? >> well, that's true. and she did say that. but the defense did make some good points on the cross-examination. it took several hours for some of the evidence to be photographed and bagged. we know from the defense opening statement that trayvon martin's hands were not bagged. and that's important because that's of course where the blood would be, blood on his hands, blood under the fingernails.

so i think that's going to be the defense argument. the defense also got the crime scene technician to say on cross-examination there was no chemical testing for blood, commonly known as luminal testing. so it's only what the eye could have observed. since it's raining, some of that blood could have been washed awe away. >> wouldn't they have needed a lot of rain, faith, to wash away any dna, any blood even under the nails if there was the fight that we were told at one point by the defense that they would need a lot of rain, wouldn't they? >> right. and there was even testimony today there was no blood on the concrete where george zimmerman his head had been bashed. the defense, all they need to do is plant a seed in the jurors' mind that somehow this crime scene was compromised. somehow, someone did not do their job, plant a seed of reasonable doubt in one of those jurors to try to get an acquittal or a hung jury. >> now, ken, reasonable doubt is clearly something that helps the defense. but the point is going to be

what is reasonable if you cannot answer some of the questions that are going to be raised. and i think that no one knows that in any case. the real point i think here today is what? that they want to show the actual murder, the actual life that was taken and what it really means not on paper, as i think faith says, but a real life, a real live human being, a 17-year-old kid, unarmed, doing nothing wrong. >> exactly. that's what they're trying to paint here. and the prosecution is doing a fantastic job of doing that. they're not only communicating to this jury through words, they're doing it through pictures. they're doing it through testimony. they're doing it through emotion. and that's going to have an impact on these six women as they sit there and they absorb all of this evidence. it's no longer an academic exercise. this is a real human being, a young man who was gunned down and died.

and this is the aftermath and some of the evidence that is significant to the prosecution. and i think that they hope it's significant to this jury. >> one of the things that i noticed today, lisa, is that the officer talked about giving cpr to trayvon. but no one said at the scene that zimmerman showed any kind of emotion, any kind of remorse, and he was not saying the guy tried to kill me, none of this was heard today. >> that's true. contrast this sergeant, who was trained to always use a mask when giving cpr to an unknown person. but he didn't. he said this was an extraordinary situation. i didn't have time for a mask. i had to administer cpr. he put his mouth directly on trayvon martin's mouth and breathed into him in an attempt to save his life. we haven't heard yet from these witnesses, but we know they're coming from the opening statement that zimmerman was calm to the point of detached at the time that some of the lay witnesses saw him at the scene. >> and that goes towards the

prosecutor's argument here of second-degree murder. that ill will, depraved mind. he had some kind of attitude towards trayvon, because this is a man who essentially watched a 17-year-old die right in front of him and did not try to render aid. >> well, faith, lisa, and kim, stay with me. we have a lot more to talk about. straight ahead, what she told george zimmerman about taking matters into his own hands. plus, mr. zimmerman's calls to police. the prosecution wants them heard in court, but will they be allowed? stay with us. [ male announcer ] erica had a rough day.

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this morning before witnesses began testifying, the judge in the george zimmerman murder trial held a hearing on whether the jury should hear calls mr. zimmerman made to police before the night trayvon martin was killed. the defense wants the calls kept out of the trial, arguing they are irrelevant to what happened that night. but the prosecution argued they're crucial to the case.

>> i think the states should be allowed to establish through relevant evidence like prior calls whether or not the defendant's allegation that he is suspicious simply because he is walking around in the rain is one thing, for he considers a lot of other things to be suspicious in and of themselves. we're going back again. some calls within about anywhere between two weeks and six months prior to show the building level of frustration this defendant had with calling about suspicious people not following them and having them get away. >> the calls are recordings from five times mr. zimmerman contacted the police from the summer of 2011 through early 2012. most calls focused on people he said were suspicious, or matched descriptions of burglary suspects. the one call was prompted by an open garage door. >> i have the key.

my nay is george and i live at the retreat at twin lakes subdivision. >> okay. >> i'm part of the neighborhood watch. and i just wanted to let you guys know that somebody left -- we've been plagued with robberies and burglaries. and somebody did leave their garage door open. >> the judge says she'll review the tapes before deciding if the jury can hear them. back with me are faith jenkins, lisa bloom and ken padowitz. faith, why does the prosecution want to hear these past police calls? >> they're arguing this goes directly to george zimmerman's state of mind the night he shot and killed trayvon martin. here is why. trayvon martin was walking alone on that night. george zimmerman calls the police and refers to him as these a-holes, more than one person. an expletive punks, more than one person. he has this attitude towards trayvon as if he is walking with a group of people when it is just him by himself. so he has grouped trayvon and

has an attitude toward him based on his past experiences of seeing people who he thinks does not belong in his neighborhood and who he thinks are suspicious. that's why the prosecutor is saying this is directly relevant to show his state of mind that he had increased frustration. and it's part of the reason why he decided to follow trayvon, because he did not want yet another one to get away. >> now, he said, we've heard on tapes, "they always getaway", they being others i guess that faith is referring to. >> criminals. >> is that important, lisa, to what you need to prove in this case to the jury? >> first of all, i really like faith's point. i think it's a very good point, because it shows that zimmerman saw trayvon martin as a member of a group, of some group. a group of criminals, maybe something worse. maybe he racially profiled him, rather than just as an individual, a guy walking down the street that he didn't know. but i think the defense is wrong to fight. this i think the defense should want to get these priors in, because it does to some extent undercut the idea that zimmerman

was out to get trayvon martin. in fact, it shows context. if i'm on the defense, i would argue he was a neighbor who was concern canned about crime for some legitimate reasons because there had been break-ins. his own wife was afraid. so he had been told by the neighborhood watch liaison to call when something suspicious happened. and he had done it a half a dozen times. and this was just another time that he was calling in. >> now, ken, what do you think? is it important is it not? does it show something that the prosecution should use or something the defense could use? >> well, it's very powerful, and it's very relevant. that's why defense is objecting to the prosecutor using this evidence. and i really call it strike two, because not only did defense make a mistake in their opening by telling a joke, but here they didn't do any motion before the trial to prevent this evidence from coming in. they allowed the prosecutor to talk about it in opening statement. and then they have no objections to it coming before the jury, only after the calls are starting to be played is there an objection by the defense.

so i really think that was an error strategically on the part of the defense. now they're waking up and deciding that wait a minute, this evidence really does hurt us. we're going to object and ask a judge to prevent this from being heard by the jury any further. i think that was in error. it's the second mistake in my mind. i think it's powerful evidence, and the prosecution wants to use this evidence. >> now, lisa, you say that the defense could use this to say that he was not after trayvon, but there had been burglaries. but there are witnesses that testified today about what police told volunteers in the neighborhood watch program that zimmerman was part of. listen to. this. >> what do you tell volunteers about following someone they believe might be involved in criminal behavior? >> we tell them don't do that. that's the job of law enforcement. >> since day one, the neighborhood watch, it was said at that meeting and said every meeting we had after that, do not get close to anybody.

stay at a safe distance and call 911. and let the police handle it. >> so under any circumstances were you to follow somebody? >> no. >> two people saying that they were told, and zimmerman was part of this group. >> definitely. >> not to follow someone. so does that hurt if these tapes are played that even if he wasn't after trayvon, he was have them. >> right. >> he still did, according to these witnesses, what he was not supposed to do when he is confronted by them, whoever them may be? >> well, that's right. and he was following trayvon because his own defense attorney said that in the opening statement, which is a little bit inconsistent with zimmerman's own statements that he made that he said he wasn't following trayvon martin. he said instead he was going to look at the street sign. but these witnesses also help the defense, because the neighborhood watch liaison said that george zimmerman was told to call if anything was suspicious. don't worry. don't feel like you're bothering us. any time, just call.

she said he was very professional, very polite at all times. and, in fact, she had nominated him for a citizens watch patrol to ride along with the police, and he declined. so that undercuts a little bit the prosecution's argument that he was a wanna-be cop. >> well, not getting an award doesn't mean you don't want to be a cop. >> not an award, the volunteer program. >> faith, lisa, ken, i'm going have to leave it there. thank you so much for your time tonight. still ahead, the prosecution says george zimmerman told a, quote, web of lies. we'll look at that attempt -- at their attempt to prove that, next. lindsey! i just discovered these new triscuit are baked with brown rice and sweet potato! triscuit has a new snack? no way. way. and the worst part is they're delicious. mmm, you're right. maybe we should give other new things a chance. no way. way. [ male announcer ] we've taken 100% whole grain brown rice and wheat,

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have the security you need to get you there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪ up next, to prove second-degree murder, the prosecution needs to show george zimmerman was depraved with ill will. how are they building that case, and what does the defense have to say? that's next.

today the prosecution in the trial of george zimmerman began trying to prove arguments they made in their opening statements. showing crime scene photos, attempting to cast doubt on george zimmerman's account of events that night. one of the key witnesses today was a police sergeant who was one of the first to arrive on the scene that night.

ish how was trayvon martin's body positioned when you arrived? >> mr. martin was lying facedown with his head oriented generally toward the north and his hands underneath his body, sir. >> prosecutors claimed that testimony contradicts what george zimmerman reportedly told police. part of what prosecutors in their opening statements called mr. zimmerman, quote, web of lies. >> he began to spin that tangled web of lies. he said that after he shot trayvon martin, he got on top of trayvon martin, on his back, and he took his arms, and he spread them out. that didn't happen. you want to see the pictures of trayvon martin by a civilian who went out there that night before the police got there and snapped off a photo on his phone.

trayvon martin's hands are underneath his chest. >> joining me now, zachary carter, former u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york and kendell coffey, former u.s. attorney, now an msnbc legal analyst. thank you both for being here tonight. >> thanks, reverend are. >> zachary, what do you think about the prosecution's strategy in targeting what they called george zimmerman's web of lies, and how the defense is responding? >> well, i think that the prosecution appears to -- they prepared very well a case in which they'll be able to juxtapose events that occurred on a very definite timeline that is tracked by cell phone conversation, by 911 calls, various 911 calls, all of which are going to be able to fix when certain events occurred in time. and if you think of that as kind

of creating the texture, the background around these events, the challenge for george zimmerman has been in making his statements to law enforcement, trying to force his version to fit within these independently verifiable events that are on a very strict timeline. so he says if he did something at a certain time and you listen to 911 recordings in which certain things actually occurred and you can verify it, on a different timeline that is inconsistent with what he says, then you can disparage his story. >> kendell, you know, in order to go into his web of lies, the prosecutor's call, listen to some of the other things they allege that he lied about. >> he told the police that the reason he got out of the car was because sean noffke told him we

need an address. that didn't happen. listen to his non-emergency call. sean noffke never said that. the defendant claims that while trayvon martin was on top of him, trayvon martin said to him "you're going to die tonight." well, ladies and gentlemen, you're going to hear from people who were out there. nobody, nobody heard that. >> how important is it to try and continue to go through the allegations that mr. zimmerman lied to police in many of the things that he gave them that night, kendell? >> it could be the key to the whole case for prosecution. as we know, they don't have a single witness that saw it all that can put it together. the only surviving eyewitnesses of course george zimmerman. but they're actually using, going to be using a lot of the statements that george zimmerman gave to police proving point by

point that there are provable falsities in those statements. we all know that innocent people don't have to lie if someone is caught and trapped in a number of untruthful comments, it strongly indicates guilt. and that, as well as of course the young woman who was on the cell phone with trayvon martin in the final minutes of his life, those could be the major parts of the prosecution's evidence. >> zachary, the charge is second-degree murder. florida state law says prosecution has to prove zimmerman committed the unlawful killing of a human being demonstrating a depraved mind regardless of human life. and what the killing was done from ill will, hatred, spite, or an evil intent. and indicates an indifference to human life. that's what they're going to have to establish. >> correct. >> is that why we're seeing all this about they want to put in the old tapes of him calling 911

and his behavior at the scene and making him a liar. they're trying to fit what the law require there's? >> exactly. and what they're trying to establish is, frankly, that he acted with a motive, that while we know that race is the subtext, the prosecution hasn't mentioned race. and that's been very disciplined and deliver. they use the word profiling, all right, and that signals a race that talk about that in combination with hatred. they talk about his apparent frustration at not having been successful at becoming a police officer. they talk about things that suggest that he may have a vigilante bent. and when you combine those things together, they seem to fit the elements of depraved murder under the florida law, that talks about ill will and

evil intent and hatred as motives for the killing. >> because, kendell, they have already kind of framed some of that language, even if their opening statements yesterday. the prosecution used language that sounds much like the florida law. listen to this. >> that defendant at that same time was upright, walking around, preparing. preparing to tell law enforcement why it was he had just profiled, followed, and murdered an unarmed teenager. ladies and gentlemen, the truth about the murder of trayvon martin is going to come directly from his mouth, from those hate-filled words that he used to describe a perfect stranger and from the lies that he told to the police to try to justify

his actions. >> kendell, you have been a prosecutor right there in florida, tried a lot of cases, hundreds of cases. that effective? >> i think it is effective. and remember, they don't have -- the prosecution doesn't have to prove a premeditated design to take a human life in the sense of first-degree murder. this is second-degree murder. it's more about an attitude than anything else. and in this case, what the prosecution is demonstrating, and what they hope to prove is that george zimmerman had an attitude. these guys always get away. he said it on the tape. he said it in those same words in his first statement to the police. he was not going to let these guys get away this time. and when you approach and hunt and look and go after these guys to make sure they're not going to get away, it shows a kind of indifference to human life that the prosecutors hope will add up to a conviction. >> zachary carter, kendall coffey, i'm going to have to leave there it. thanks for your time tonight.

we'll be right back with reply al. remember, friend or foe, i want to know. hey kevin...still eating chalk for heartburn?

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it's time for reply al. friend or foe, i want to know. sharon writes, hi, rev. a friend and i were talking about how the irs has been targeting groups of all kinds for years. i hope that you would speak more on that. i will speak more on that, sharon, because will is a major development that totally ruins the right wing's effort to make this a scandal. the associated press reports that documents show the irs also screened liberal groups. not just conservatives. the ap says the irs flagged groups using terms like progressive, occupy, and health care legislation. i have been involved with churches and civil rights groups that have been targeted in our opinion in the past. let me be clear, though.

i'm against targeting any group, right, left, far right, far left. the job of government is not to target people. it is to have equal protection under the law and the same standard for everyone. if it was all right or all left, i would be all opposed to it. we want to answer your questions. e-mail me, askrev@msnbc.com. remember, friend or foe, i want to know. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >> good-bye, voting rights. let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews up in new york. me start with this. a happy day for reince priebus.