far along as the supreme court thinks. that's "hardball" for now. thank you for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. thanks, michael. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, the grueling cross-examination of trayvon martin's friend. day 14 in george zimmerman's murder trial, the defense finally wrapped up its questioning of rachel jeantel, the 19-year-old who was on the phone with trayvon martin moments before he was killed. this cross-examination lasted five hours over two days. also today, testimony from the neighbor who made the 911 call, where loud screaming can be heard, and then a gunshot. jurors heard her account of that scream. and today another witness

testified she saw george zimmerman on top of trayvon martin after the altercation. she is the third witness to say so. but for most of the day, rachel jeantel faced questions from the zimmerman defense team. and they tried to undermine her story. the defense repeatedly raised questions about her version of events, but she did not waiver from her testimony that trayvon martin did not confront george zimmerman. >> he said why are you following me for, didn't he? >> no, sir, not that kind of way, sir. >> it was just a question, hey, mister, why are you following me for? >> he say hey, mister, why are you following me, for. he just asked the question, why are you following me for. >> and he could have just run home. >> he was already by his house.

he told me. >> of course, you don't know if he was telling you the truth or not? >> why you need to lie about that, sir? >> so you think he was walking as opposed to hiding, because you could hear wind on this headset? >> yes, sir. >> as if he couldn't be standing still, and there could also be wind? and you knew in your mind that it was going to be a fight? >> no, sir. maybe a argument. >> you thought trayvon martin would approach a man he had never seen in his life -- >> i say trayvon approached the man, sir. >> but the reason you didn't do anything about it, tell anybody what you had heard, come forward to the police is because in your mind, it was just a fight? correct? >> yes, sir. >> and, in fact, it was just a fight trayvon martin started?

that's why you weren't worried. that's why you didn't do anything. it was because trayvon martin started the fight and you knew that. >> objection. compound question, badgering the witness. >> overruled. >> you may answer. >> no, sir. >> in that confrontation between george zimmerman and trayvon martin, who was the aggressor? who initiated the altercation? rachel jeantel's testimony is that trayvon martin was being followed, that he was attacked. those are her answers to the key questions in this case. joining me now are former prosecutor faith jenkins, msnbc legal analyst lisa bloom, and defense attorney ken padowitz. another long day for this witness. faith, what is your reaction to her testimony? >> no matter how many times and how many different ways don west tried to cross examine her on the fundamental issues, she held to her testimony, and she was

strong about it, and she held to those points. and i think that was critical, because with her credibility being at issue, they do not want george zimmerman to have to take the witness stand. that's why they took their time and this cross went way too long, in my opinion, and was too disjointed, too repetitive. but he tried to focus in on those key issues. he kept going back to them. but she kept repeating the testimony that she believed that she found to be true which was that trayvon was followed. that was her belief, and that's what she stuck to. >> karen, what use your impression today? how did it go at least for now with this witness? >> this star witness for the prosecution, rachel, a fascinating witness. you cannot stop watching her testimony. you either love her or you hate her, but you listen to her. and she is very, very strong in credibility on the fact that trayvon was being followed, that he was being pursued by zimmerman.

and i don't think anyone in that jury doubts that testimony whatsoever. where it becomes a little more shaky, where it becomes a little not sure on her credibility is what actually happens and who is doing the confrontation. now i believe that based on all of her testimony combined, the jury is going to believe this girl, but they're not going to be as strong on what her testimony is at the end of this situation, the confrontation, which is really the most important part of it for the prosecution. but when they look at it all together, when they believe the beginning part of her testimony about the pursuit, i think that the jury is going to believe that in fact the confrontation was started by zimmerman, based on all the evidence and the other evidence in the case from the other witnesses begined. >> lisa, you have been watching all day. what is your view? >> all day. i think she is a fascinating character too. and i think like most of us, she has her strengths and her weaknesses. her strengths are that she did stick to her story for the most

part. her weaknesses are her story did change significantly. not just lying about being in the hospital during trayvon's funeral. she has admitted to that. but the story changing in some key ways. for example, she testified at trial that trayvon said "get off, get off" and those were the last words she heard from him. however, previously she said under oath why are you following me and then the phone went dead, not including the words "get off, get off." that's a pretty significant change. >> is that a change or is that not saying the whole thing? >> right. >> well, it is a change because she said the phone went dead after that. immediately after that. and she left those words out. she said she wasn't asked this specific question before. but you don't think law enforcement wanted to know that? >> but for rachel, an observation that you make about her is she is not the best communicator in the world. and sometimes i really believe if she is not asked a question directly, she may not volunteer the information. i don't think sometimes that she was purposefully omitting facts.

i think that she is just less than thorough sometimes when she gave prior accounts. >> but just for the record, i think when he questioned her, she said she was never asked. now, the jury will have to decide whether or not she -- you know, should have volunteered it or not. but what i'm saying is it's not like she said something and then changed the story. it's a question of whether she said more at trial than she said in a statement before. >> you know, one of the most important things to he got out of her on cross, and boy, you had to pay close attention because it was way too long and disjointed, but she is very sensitive to the martin family. and god bless her for that, because they went through a nightmare. but she changed things a little bit to make it more comfortable for them, because the family was present when she had her first interview with the prosecutors. now that's a mistake the prosecutors office made in my opinion. >> right. >> but is she evolving her story, maybe even subconsciously to tell a story that is more helpful to them? i think if i were on the defense, that's how i would

handle it. not she is a liar, she is a terrible person, because she is obviously a sympathetic person. but many of us misrecollect and make mistakes in the way we recall things. maybe she wants to make a more sympathetic story. >> ken, let me ask while you're giving your views on what we just discussed, was the defense badgering her? will they come off like they were really badgering and pressing her too hard as a young lady? >> well, they definitely were badgering her. it was disjointed. it was a have long cross, way too long. but they had a job to do, and they were trying to get this jury to believe that there are reasonable doubts in her testimony, in her credibility. but she stuck. she hanged in there. she was 18 years old, now 19 years old. she is a teenager on the stand, undergoing five hours, two grueling days of cross-examination. and i'll tell you. for someone who is 19 years of age, as a homicide prosecutor here in florida, you know, she did very well. she did well. there is lots of problems with

her testimony, no doubt, that the defense is going to use in their closing arguments. but the bottom line is that she stuck to her story and things that she had no control over, like other lawyers being present in the room when she was being interviewed or not saying certain things that she wasn't asked, these really are minor things that the defense is going to have to pick away at. but the prosecution can bring the jury back to focusing on the central theme. was he pursued? did zimmerman do the pursuing? did zimmerman do the confrontation. that. >> is where, faith, i think that is very interesting to me, because they came at her hard, and she seemed to stick to her story, whether the jury believes it or not, we'll see. but let me show you one of the hard exchanges. and i'm calling it a hard exchange where they really went hard at her, and she seemed to hold her guns. >> so the last thing you heard was some kind of noise like something hitting somebody? >> trayvon -- trayvon got hit.

>> you don't know that, do you? >> no, sir. >> you don't know that trayvon got hit. >> he had to -- >> you don't know that trayvon didn't at that moment take his fist and drive it into george zimmerman's face. >> please lower your voice. >> do you? >> no, sir. >> and for that matter, you don't even know what get off means, whether that was somebody on top saying that the person underneath was saying get off, or somebody was backing off and saying get off. or -- >> objection, argumentative. >> let me hear the rest of the question, or what may have been meant if in fact you heard it? >> i think don west got frustrated, because he was not getting the answers that he wanted from rachel. and i think he made a critical mistake that a lot of defense attorneys make on cross-examination. he kept asking that one question too many. and she kept being able to stand up to him and in front of this jury and say no, that's not the way it is. this is the way it was. no, you're incorrect.

what i said is in fact true. and this is what i believe. but he kept trying to go back, but he only allowed her to continue to shore up her testimony, and what she believed. and he got frustrated because he was not getting the answers that he wanted. >> lisa, does this make you even more and more likely that they're going to have to call george zimmerman? >> that's the big question in this case. and i think the defense is going to try to keep him off the stand, because they don't want him cross examined about all the many inconsistencies in his story. they want to bring in probably the police video where he tells the story in a reasonably credible way. i think the prosecution wants to force the defense to put him on. it's a self-defense case whom. else is going to say he was defending his life? if the prosecution puts on a strong enough case in chief, which they're trying to do now, i think zimmerman is going to have to testify. >> but ken, on what faith just said, the more they went after this witness and other witnesses, the more it would seem to me, you're the lawyers,

that the only one that could give the other side of that would be zimmerman. you can't ask the jury to imagine that it might have been zimmerman that was saying get off or something else. are they painting themselves in a corner here, ken? >> well, it's exactly what lisa said. she is correct. the defense wants to keep zimmerman off the stand if they can. and the prosecution obviously wants to force their hand and have zimmerman testify. and, you know, i think that she did a good enough job. she didn't do a perfect job. she is not a perfect witness, the star witness today. but she did a good enough job that i think there is a lot of questions that have to be answered by george zimmerman taking the stand. and that's going to be the real interesting question. will the defense put zimmerman on? will they put him up there to give his explanation and be cross examined? and i think the cross-examination is going to be very thorough by the prosecution in this case. >> would you put him on if you were the defense attorney?

>> i think at this point the state has presented enough of a case that the defense needs to seriously consider putting mr. zimmerman on the stand to give his explanation, to give his self-defense testimony in this case. >> would you put him on, faith? >> i think i would. i think i would. because if -- the jurors are always told don't hold it against the defendant if he doesn't take the witness stand. but i think there is always the question there, well, if i really was defending myself, and i really had to shoot as a very last resort to save my life, i would want to get up there, and i would want you to tell me that. so i would. >> would you, lisa? >> not at this point, because the prosecution always has the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. they have not yet met that burden. now, we're only in day four of the trial. they're still going that remains to be seen. if i were the defense team, i would would not want to put him on. i would get in the videotaped police statement. if i can get that in, i would tell him you're not testifying. by the way, i think he wants to testify.

he is that kind of guy. he wanted to talk to the police hen they came. every time somebody has been asked to identify him, he stands up very proudly, something i've never seen before in a criminal trial as to say i'm right here, i'm george zimmerman there. is a real pride to this guy. >> and he testified at the bond hearing whom. does that? that was very rare for him to do something, for a witness. >> i want to play again this whole get off, get off, because i want you all to address what she is talking about she heard get off, get off. listen to. this. >> and what you said you could hear a little like "get off, get off". >> yes, sir. >> and when he said who was saying that, didn't you say i couldn't know it was trayvon, or i couldn't hear it was trayvon? >> it sounded like his voice. >> how do you respond to that? she is, again, this is the

defense trying to go at an inconsistency. >> the prosecutor is going to focus on that. putting aside all five and a half hours of her testimony, if you believe that statement right, there trayvon martin was not the aggressor. he was telling him get off of me, get off of me. he was the one screaming for help. >> and lisa, this is about self-defense, even though the burden of proof clearly stays on the prosecution. >> right. >> you clearly are dealing with a self-defense that if in fact the deceased in this case was saying get off, how do you say this is self-defense if the jury believes that was the victim? >> well, that's right. and it completely undercuts zimmerman's story. it is directly opposed to his story of what happened that night. he says he was sucker punched by trayvon martin. he went down. he is down. trayvon martin's on top of him, reaching for the gun. and that he had to pull the gun first and shoot. this is a completely different story. and i would say if you believe

any of these witnesses who contradict zimmerman's story, then his entirety of his story is in question. >> faith jenkins, lisa bloom, ken padowitz, stay with me. we have much more to talk about. coming up, testimony from the woman whose 911 call is at the heart of this trial. what did she say about the scream she heard? plus, one of the only witnesses to that struggle speaks out. what did see that night? and president obama's emotional visit to the door of no return, the place said to be the last stop for millions before they were shipped off into slavery. >> african-american, african-american president, to be able to visit this site i think gives me even greater motivation in terms of the defense of human rights around the world. >> the president in africa. i'll have more on that powerful

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the woman who heard desperate screaming the moments before trayvon martin was killed. we'll hear her testimony next. i love to golf. ♪ [ grunts ] yowza! that's why i eat belvita at breakfast. it's made with delicious ingredients and carefully baked to release steady energy that lasts... we are golfing now, buddy! [ grunts ] ...all morning long. i got it! for the win! uno mas!

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we're back with today's other dramatic testimony from the george zimmerman trial today. eyewitness jenna law took the stand to testify about what she heard behind her house the night trayvon martin was killed. >> at first it sounded like maybe people were standing up, because i could hear sneakers on pavement. and then after that it kind of just sounded like wrestling, because at one point i felt like they were about to come through the screen. i mean it sounded like it kept getting closer and closer. >> she called 911 moments after she heard those noises. it was the recording of her call that captured the screams that have sparked so much debate and legal arguments. and today the prosecution played it for the jury. >> it sounds like a male. >> and you don't know why? >> i think they're yelling help. but i don't know.

just send someone quick. >> does he look hurt to you? >> i can't see him. i don't want to go out there. i don't know what is going on. >> tell them to come. >> they're sending. >> so you think he is yelling help? >> yes. >> what is your -- [ gunshot ] >> there is gunshots. >> you just heard gunshots? >> yes. >> who is screaming on that 911 tape? is another key question in this case. back with me now is our panel of legal experts faith jenkins, lisa bloom and ken padowitz. lisa, for some of the jurors, this may have been the first time they heard this 911 call with all the screaming. how does that affect them? >> you know, it affects me, and i've heard it a number of times. but it's horrendous. it isn't just tv. this is a real person who if you believed the prosecution, this is trayvon martin screaming, and then he is shot. this is the very last sounds out of this young man.

whoever you believe, these are the final moments of trayvon martin's life. i think it gives you chills. it's horrible. legally speaking, will anybody be able to prove it was one of the other of them screaming? i think trayvon martin's mother to testify and say it's her son. she said that consistently. i think could be very powerful evidence. >> can defense attorney mark o'mara question her about the scream she heard this night. watch this. >> did you consider those screams to be life-threatening screams? >> yes. >> did it seem as if they were the screams of somebody who was getting beat up? >> they were being hurt somehow, yes. >> you ever seen this picture before? >> yes. >> could those screams have come from somebody who was having this done to them? >> objection. speculation.

>> he is trying to be dramatic, showing a picture of the injuries of mr. zimmerman. what do you think? >> well, clearly, the objection was correct by the prosecution. it's asking the witness to speculate. and we can't ask witnesses to do that. we don't want them to guess. we want them to tell the jury exactly what they know. and this witness was really neutral. she didn't know who the screams were coming from. but when we add all the other testimony from the other witnesses in the case, the prosecution obviously wants the jury to believe that those screams were coming from trayvon martin. and it is a horrible tape to listen to. i mean, it has major impact, and it's a tremendous weight that the jury is going to give this. the big question is who are they going to believe the screams were coming from. >> but this makes an impact in the courtroom. he know there's is going to be an objection. he doesn't care. he is getting an image in front of the jury that this could have been the reason for the screams.

>> but faith, the prosecutor came back, and he raised a question about the same screams. watch this. >> mr. o'mara asked you about the screaming you felt i guess based on what you observed were life-threatening, correct? >> yes. >> but you don't know who was being attacked or who was not? >> no. >> you can't say it was mr. zimmerman or trayvon martin who was screaming for help? >> we couldn't see anything. >> you couldn't say it was mr. martin yelling for help, because mr. zimmerman had a gun and he was yelling help, help, help. you can't say whether it was or not? >> can't say either way. >> so he is making the point these witnesses are simply coming in, telling about what they heard, what their observation were, if any. nothing more. they don't have a dog in this fight. no bias here. and i can tell you the most significant thing about this call, it is now in evidence. the jurors will be able to take this back into the deliberation room and listen to it again. john guy, the prosecutor, one of the prosecutors is going to get

up and ask them again listen carefully. what when do the screams stop? the moment that gunshot goes off, this person, who sounds like they're screaming for their life, that person is silenced that is the significant argument about this call. >> if the person screaming is silenced, and of course the prosecution would want to use that saying it had to have been trayvon martin, then, again, if mr. zimmerman does not get on the stand that hangs out there, lisa, but if he does get on the stand, he is going to have to explain why he went silent. >> and here is what the defense said in opening statement about that. the screaming 1207ed because the threat had been removed once the shot went off. that's the defense argument. but when you match it up with george zimmerman's statement, he said to the police that after he shot trayvon martin, he didn't think he hit him. he thought that trayvon was just surprised and shock and fell backwards. he thought the threat remained. and that's why he got off of him and spread out his hands and held him down.

it's not consistent with george zimmerman's story. >> it wasn't part of the problem that he said that and then they testified that his hands were not spread out? >> that's right. and the body was found with the hands underneath. but i would use that if i'm the prosecutor to say it wouldn't make any sense. if george zimmerman is the one screaming for help, after the shot it doesn't make sense for him to stop screaming. because he still thinks the threat exists, according to his own statement. >> ken, do you think that the screaming and the aftermath of the shot is going to be one of the main considerations of this jury? >> it absolutely will be. and going back to the point of whether or not george zimmerman has to testify to explain it, lisa bloom initially had said that there is a tape of george zimmerman explaining, and if they can get that in, the defense, that george zimmerman may not have to testify. well, i strongly disagree with that. i don't think there is a prayer's chance that the defense is going to get that tape in. it's a heresay statement.

it's not a confession. and therefore under the rules of florida evidence, that tape is not admissible. the prosecution is not going to put that tape, in and that's going to force the hand, the prosecution hopes, of having george zimmerman having to testify. having to testify that it was him screaming and not trayvon martin. >> no, i agree. i agree that it's hearsay and the defense wants to get it in and probably will not be able to get it in. the prosecution may introduce it for some reason or another to show that george zimmerman told a story that was filled with lies, that's contradicted by all of the prosecution witnesses. i mean, that remains to be seen whether or not it's going to come in. >> let me go back to you, faith. another witness took the stand late today, and said that she saw george zimmerman on top in the fight. she is the third witness so far to say he was on top. watch this. >> did you ever hear the person on the bottom say anything? >> no. >> translator: no. >> at any point did you see the person on top or the person on

the bottom get up? >> si. >> translator: yes. >> who did you see get up? >> translator: the one who was on top. i took a few steps from where the body was, in the direction towards the receiptable. you walked back, and while he was doing this pacing, he would put his hands up on his head like this. >> now, faith, there has been other counts. but three people have said zimmerman was the one on top. how does this play to the jury in your opinion? >> it's corroboration. one witness after another, one piece of evidence after another, the state is going to argue corroborates the fact that george zimmerman was the initial aggressor. even if you take rachel's testimony, you don't have to take her testimony by itself. you then combine that testimony with these other witnesses who are saying things that

corroborate zimmerman was the initial aggressor. they're building the strength of their case on these witnesses one after the other. >> lisa? >> well, the problem is they see him on top after the shooting. nobody was a witness to the shooting itself. and zimmerman's own story is that, yes, after the shooting, he pushed trayvon martin off of him and then he was on top for a period of time. so i don't think them seeing him on top after the shooting in and of itself is all that significant. >> ken, how does the jury sort this out? >> well, i think the word for today is combination. i think that's correct. it's the combination of all of the evidence. it all fits together. and when you have the last witness testifying that george zimmerman was on top, that is going to be consistent with him pursuing, confronting, and being the aggressor. and i think that's the combination of all the evidence, not witness in a vacuum, but all of it together is what this jury sitting there, these six women from florida are looking using their common sense and life experience, and they're adding that all up. and at least that's what the

prosecution hopes. >> all right. faith jenkins, lisa bloom, and ken padowitz, thanks for your time tonight. there is more, and we're going to be covering it every day. we're going to stay on this story. ahead, inside the prosecution's case. will the jury view trayvon martin's friend as a sympathetic figure or an unreliable witness? plus, president obama's historic visit to door of no return. a monument to victims of the slave trade. hey linda!

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natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. need a little kick? (girl) w(guy) dive shop.y? (girl) diving lessons. (guy) we should totally do that. (girl ) yeah, right. (guy) i wannna catch a falcon! (girl) we should do that. (guy) i caught a falcon. (guy) you could eat a bug. let's do that. (guy) you know you're eating a bug. (girl) because of the legs. (guy vo) we got a subaru to take us new places. (girl) yeah, it's a hot spring. (guy) we should do that. (guy vo) it did. (man) how's that feel? (guy) fine. (girl) we shouldn't have done that. (guy) no. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. no witness so far in the george zimmerman murder trial has sparked as much conversation as rachel jeantel. the 19-year-old who was on the phone with trayvon martin just moments before his death. the defense questioned her for

five and a half hours over the last two days. at times she got laughs, like when she talked about a previous interaction with the prosecutor, who she called a bald-headed dude. >> tc, bald-headed dude. >> this guy? >> yeah. sorry, but, and and me. >> why you need to lie about that, sir? >> maybe if he decided to assault george zimmerman, he didn't want you to know about it? >> that's -- >> i'm sorry. >> that's where we taught it to do that, sir. >> but overall jeantel seemed

more comfortable today than yesterday, leading to this question from the defense. >> are you okay this morning? >> yeah. >> you seem so different than yesterday. i'm just checking. did someone talk with you? >> is that a question? >> yes. did someone talk with you last night about your demeanor in court yesterday? >> no, i went to sleep. >> jeantel is a key witness. but how will the jury view her testimony? all of the jurors are women. the prosecution says five out of the six are white, and five are mothers. will they see jeantel as a sympathetic witness, a teenager who is mourning her friend, or as someone who is unreliable? joining me now is criminal defense attorney billy martin, who has represented many high profile clients. he was also a long-time federal prosecutor. and former u.s. attorney kendall coffey, now an msnbc legal analyst. thank you both for being here tonight. >> thanks for having us. >> billy, how do you think these

jurors will react to rachel jeantel's testimony? >> reverend, i think any time you have a homicide prosecution, a criminal defendant starts with a real uphill battle. in here, the evidence is uncontroverted that george zimmerman followed, ignored police demands, and then some type of confrontation occurred. so the jury listening to her will know the following, that when she talks about he says i was being followed, the dude is still following me, i think i've gotten away from him. uh-oh, he's back. those are all facts, which nobody will controvert. on other issues it may not be important. but i think overall these five women who are listening on that jury will have some degree of sympathy because she looks like a 19-year-old teenager with some limited skills who is there talking about a horrific fact. she is going to win some votes and lose some. but on key facts, i think the

jury will believe that she heard he was being followed and i've lost him, but he is back on me again. that's what the jury is critical. that shows he was being -- trayvon martin was being pursued. >> kendall, they -- the defense was asking rachel to read a copy of a letter her friend wrote for her and gave it to trayvon martin's mother. listen to this. >> are you able to read that copy well enough that you can tell us if it's in fact the same letter? >> no. >> are you unable to read that at all? >> some i'm not. >> can you read any of the words on it? >> i don't understand.

cur cursive. >> she admits she can't read cursive handwriting. does that admission in your opinion make her sympathetic? >> i don't think it affects the sympathy calculus a whole lot because the real question was she believable. i think the attorney pushing the point as he did unnecessarily may have been unsympathetic. but do i think that she is somebody that this jury easily connects to? i don't think so. whether or not the jury can relate to her in a normal sense of seeing somebody who might be their own daughter, or who might be their own niece or their own friend, what i think the jury is seeing is somebody who is there, doesn't want to be there. was brought in by a horrific twist of destiny and tragedy have to talk about what happened in the final minutes of in the life of a friend of hers and by and large is being truthful. and truthful is a lot better than sympathetic when it comes as a key witness for the prosecution.

>> yesterday jeantel testified that trayvon martin used some slurs to refer to george zimmerman. take a listen. >> i asked how the man looked like. he looked like a creepy [ bleep ] cracker. >> then what happened? >> and then he said [ bleep ] still following me now. that [ bleep ] is still following me now. >> that he is still following him? >> yes. >> now the defense jumped on that as a racial slur. but she also said he used the n-word. so does one cancel or balance the other? i mean what are you -- what do you take from the defense making an issue out of this? >> i think the defense is really trying to attack this young lady, this teenager. and i think it will balance out. i go back and i agree with kendall, that i think the jury is going to look at facts that make her believable on key facts, on the issue here. the key word that i think she

said she was consistent was is this creepy guy is following me. and the key elements here are not some of the other slurs that may have been used. they will be offensive, and the jury may not want to hear them. but on the key elements, was he following him, and did trayvon martin have a choice? i think the jury is going to be convinced that zimmerman, based on her testimony, was in fact following her and trayvon martin had no choice but to try to run, and he could not. those are key facts. and all the other issues may come in. but on those facts, he appears to come across as believable. >> kendall, could they have possibly the mother of trayvon martin testify about the language these kids used, the n-word, the c-word. what happens? what is your view on this? is it that important? >> well, i think it could be important. the prosecution doesn't really know. but the one thing they don't want this jury to believe is that it was trayvon martin who is using ugly language and maybe

had some attitudes about somebody like george zimmerman. and the prosecution you saw on redirect tried to get this witness, rachel jeantel to talk about cultural differences, but she wasn't in a position to do that. i think it doesn't take a lot. but if the prosecution perhaps through trayvon's mother explains yeah, there might be language like that, but it had nothing to do with racial attitudes. it's teenagers with all the talk they use and some of the slang they use. and it's going to be important for the mother, i think, to say something, because the one thing the defense is trying to do throughout this process is put trayvon martin on trial. and the judge has kept them from doing that with a lot of evidentiary rulings. and the defense is now seeing if they can get through the side door with some of these issues to make out trayvon martin as being somebody who would have been somebody to throw the first punch. >> billy, what happens if they put his mother on and she

addresses this? and can that backfire since not only did the term the c-word be used, but the n-word used. it's hard to say he was being racial when he used the term that is negative toward his own race as well as toward another race. >> reverend, many years ago when i was a prosecutor here in d.c., i was a chief of the d.c. homicide unit, chief prosecutor in the homicide unit. and you get all these words. this is not unusual in a homicide case to have vulgar language and activity that people feel and find uncomfortable. i think a juror and jurors look right through that and look at what are we really trying to determine? they're not trying to see if one was a good person or a bad person there are facts here. and these facts will show who was the aggressor, who had the ability to flee, and who had the gun. i think they'll look right past these slurs and find the facts that really will help them

decide this case. i don't think the slurs are going to make a difference. >> well, kendall, at the end, there was also the back and forth about the ability of the witness to understand english because she had three languages she understood. don't you think the defense gets into looking a littcondescendin like do you understand english because you also speak spanish and creole? >> absolutely. picking on her because she didn't read cursive. there were a couple of points where the defense was start tock a little patronizing. i like the way she stood her ground on that. she speaks three languages. you saw throughout some of the questioning how she would correct the defense lawyers, not rudely, but simply standing up for herself. so whether the jury found her sympathetic or not, i think there had to be something of a grudging respect for this very young woman who is dealing with a situation that she couldn't

have imagined ever encountering, who by and large stuck true to her testimony and true to her beliefs. >> billy martin and kendall coffey, thank you both for your time tonight. >> you're always welcome, reverend. >> thanks. coming up, president obama's visit to the door of no return. often called the last stop for millions of slaves before leaving africa. 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? i need help selling art.

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it was a brief moment, but a long time coming. president obama spent part of his first full day in africa, visiting the door of no return on senegal's gory island. he stood in the same doorway where millions of african-americans were said to pass through before they were loaded on to ships as slaves, bound for america or to die on the voyage there. the visit with his wife and daughters was emotional, not

just because of his role as our first african-american leader, but also because the first lady herself descended from people held in slavery. the trip offered a reminder of how far we have come and how far we still need to go. >> obviously, it's a very powerful moment, and i think more than anything what it reminds us of is we have to remain vigilant when it comes to the defense of people's human rights, because i'm a firm believer that humanity is fundamentally good, but it's only good when good people stand up for what is right. obviously, for an african-american and african-american president, you know, to be able to visit this site i think gives me even greater motivation in terms of the defense of human rights around the world. >> the focus on human rights is at the heart of this trip, and it's an issue already on the

minds of millions. especially given the ailing health of nelson mandela. today president obama called mandela his inspiration. >> my first act of political activism was when i was at occidental college as a 19-year-old. i got involved in the anti-apartheid movement. i think at that time. i think a at that time i didn't necessarily imagine that nelson mandela might be released, but i had read his writings and his speeches. and i understood that this was somebody who believed in that basic principle i just talked about, treating people equally. and was willing to sacrifice his life for that belief. >> president mandela inspired people all over the world. and tonight he and his family are in our thoughts and prayers. [ kitt ] you know what's impressive?

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it's time for "reply al." keep sending all those questions in. friend or foe, i want to know. antoinette writes what can be done about those who still want to see our president fail? what can be done is we must be determined to keep fighting for what is right -- health care, a new economic arrangement in this country that would lead to jobs, infrastructure development. we must not get weary. we must not get distracted. we must got get tired. we must keep fighting. they're bent on failure. we must be bent on the success of the american people and the american promise. john writes how do people like me in a blue state influence the people that are in a red state and a red state of mind? you know, i just saw cecile

richards of planned parenthood here in the building. she is in texas, a red state. what do you do? you keep fighting. you stand up no matter where you are. and if you lay out truth, people will recognize it. it may take a moment. it may be a few and then a little more and a little more. but never stop and never lower your guard, if you know you're right. remember, friend or foe, i want to know. keep them coming in. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. witness for the prosecution. let's play "hardball." good evening. leading off tonight, back on the stand. for a second day, rachel jeant