possible charges. one option of course to do nothing at all. among those with us right now, savannah guthrie our chief legal correspondent. savannah, what are the options open to this prosecutor? what might we hear? >> the toughest charge we could hear today would be a second-degree murder charge. we know it is not going to be first-degree murder or premeditated killing because in florida if you want to charge that you have to go via grand jury. this prosecutor opted not to do that. there is the top charge here of murder 2. could also be a manslaughter charge. may even be an aggravated assault charge though that would be unexpected. >> here is the special prosecutor. >> good evening everyone. i am angela cory the special prosecutor for the trayvon martin case. just moments ago we spoke by phone with sabrina fulton and tracy martin. it was less than three weeks ago that we told those sweet parents that we would get answers to all of their questions no matter where our quest for the truth

led us. and it is the search for justice for trayvon that has brought us to this moment. the team here with me has worked tirelessly looking for answers in trayvon martin's death. i want to introduce to you bernie delarianda one of my top homicide prosecutors and john guy my other top homicide prosecutor who will lead this investigation. with us also is jim madden from the florida department of law enforcement, dominic pate also one of our special agents in charge, our sheriff john rutherford and our undersheriff dwayne centerfit. we appreciate so much all of their cooperation in this. i especially want to thank my two state attorney investigators who have spent countless hours doing what they do best, investigating homicides. allow me to take a moment to acknowledge our governor rick

scott and his office, attorney general pam bondi and her office along with our u.s. attorney bobby o'neil for their continuing support of our appointment to this case and their support of this investigation. we spoke with all of them briefly and informed them of the results of our investigation and our plan as we continue. i can tell you we did not come to this decision lightly. this case is like a lot of the difficult cases we have handled for years here in our circuit. we've made this decision in the same manner. let me emphasize that we do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. we prosecute based on the facts of any given case as well as the laws of the state of florida. when they appointed us to this case less than three weeks ago, i want you to know that these two fine prosecutors, despite all that is on their plate already, handling all of the homicides in the fourth judicial circuit, supervising the other

young lawyers who also handle homicides, they willingly took this case on and said, we will lead this effort to seek justice for trayvon. we launched an intensive investigation building on all of the work that sanford police department and the state attorney's office in seminole county had already done. unless you've ever been a law enforcement officer or a prosecutor handling a difficult homicide case you cannot know what it's like to launch this type of investigation and come to the right conclusion. the supreme court has defined our role on numerous occasions as prosecutors that we are not only ministers of justice. we are seekers of the truth. and we stay true to that mission. again, we prosecute on facts and the laws of the great and sovereign state of florida and that's the way it will be in this case. when we took our oath of office in 2009, we pledged not only to look out for our precious

victims of all of our cases but also to adhere to the rules of the criminal justice system and the rules of our constitution and statutes that protect a defendant's rights as well. when we charge a person with a crime, we are equally committed to justice on their behalf as we are on our victim's behalf. so we are here to do that on behalf of our victim trayvon martin and on behalf of the person responsible for his death, george zimmerman. we will continue to seek the truth throughout this case. every single day our prosecutors across this great country handle difficult cases and they adhere to that same standard, a never ending search for the truth and a quest to always do the right thing for the right reason. there is a reason cases are tried in a court of law, not in the court of the public and not by the media. because details have to come out

in excruciating and minute fashion -- detail by detail, bit of evidence by bit of evidence. and it's only then when the tryer of fact whether it's a judge or a jury gets all of those details that then the laws apply to that and a decision can be rendered. we will scrupulously adhere to our ethical obligations and the rules of evidence in presenting this case that way. today we filed an information charging george zimmerman with murder in the second degree, a capias has been issued for his arrest. with the filing of that information, and the issuance of the capias, he will have a right to appear in front of a magistrate in seminole county within 24 hours of his arrest and thus formal prosecution will begin. we thank all of those people across this country who have sent positive energy and prayers our way. we ask you to continue to pray for trayvon's family as well as for our prosecution team. i want to especially thank mr. crump and mr. parks who have

stayed in touch daily with us on behalf of our victim's family. remember, it is trayvon's family that are our constitutional victims and who have the right to know the critical stages of these proceedings. i will entertain some questions, but remember we have very strict rules of ethics, very strict rules of criminal procedure, and we will be adhering to those rules. >> is he in custody? >> one at a time. >> i will confirm mr. zimmerman is indeed in custody. >> could you tell us where? >> i will not tell you where. that's for his safety as well as everyone else's safety. >> i'm sorry. >> can you tell us what led to your decision today? was there one single piece of evidence that led you to charge him with murder in the second degree? >> we don't discuss the evidence in a case. it would be improper to do so. it was a full investigation, full facts and circumstances, that lead us to any decision in any case. >> ms. corey, did he turn

himself in or was he arrested? >> mr. zerm turnimmerman in and turning himself in was arrested on the capias already issued. >> why did it take so long to come to this decision? >> well, it didn't take long. we have many complicated homicides that are thoroughly investigated. remember, the prosecutor's burden under our constitution is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. >> it's been 45 days since trayvon martin was killed. can you talk about the process leading up to this? did somebody drop the ball in the investigation? >> i can tell you that this investigation was under way by both the sanford police department and norm wolfinger's office. the investigation was in full mode and the governor appointed us less than three weeks ago and we took what the -- the work they had done, which was significant, we carried on with that work, and we arrived at our decision approximately last week. then, of course, following proper florida law and procedure we had to make sure we had

everything in place to issue this capias and make this arrest. >> yes, sir? >> tell us what it was about what you uncovered that leads you to review this self-defense -- >> that's what will be in court. detail by detail, piece of evidence by piece of evidence, factual evidence, physical evidence, testimonial evidence, that's why we track cases in a courtroom. >> can you tell us whether mr. zimmerman is in the state of florida, is there already a bonding process under way? >> i can tell you in seminole county and i thank their chief judge. he was very kind in helping us set these procedures up last week. he informed us that they have a bond schedule there. when a capias is issued there is originally no bond but that mr. zimmerman's lawyers will be entitled to request a bond at which point a bond hearing will be held. bond hearings are a common occurrence. our lawyers handle them every day. and that's where that will be determined as to whether or not no bond, which is the bond set

currently on the capias will be changed by the court. yes, ma'am? >> have you determined whose voice is crying for help on the 911 recording? >> that would be commenting on the facts of the case and we're not going to do that at this time. yes, katherine? >> can you tell us why your investigation led you to a second-degree murder charge whereas the sanford police department -- we are going to come out of that room right now having learned the news of the news conference and that is in the trade it's called murder 2, second-degree murder, the highest possible charge for the facts, the known facts of this case. the highest of course would be premeditated. that would require a different process. savannah guthrie do i have that about right? >> sounds exactly right. this prosecutor has made the most difficult decision she could. she is pressing the highest charge which means her standard of proof is that much higher, murder in second degree essentially is an intentional killing with malice in the mind, premeditated killing of course the most serious charge he could have faced. so this will come down to a

question of facts. the facts that some reporters were asking that prosecutor. who was crying on that 911 call? who saw what? anyone who thinks this will be an easy case for the prosecutors to convict on, doesn't understand how difficult their standard of proof is and then you add to it the stand your ground law. in florida this defendant is actually entitled to a hearing before trial where he can argue to a judge, i was acting in self-defense. a judge could throw it out then before they even get to trial. >> all right. we're preparing our coverage tonight for nbc nightly news when we'll have a lot more on this. trayvon martin's parents, by the way, are going to be on the "today" show live tomorrow morning. so much more on all of this later. i'm brian williams, nbc news, new york. you heard it second-degree murder charges against george zimmerman and the killing of trayvon martin. there is much more to come on this. >> there is. we are working on and getting lots of local reaction and --

but first we're going to go back to the prosecutor in florida, angela corey, and hear more from that news conference. this is the special prosecutor. >> is it dirs ire as the prosecutor of this case to see him go to jail for life? >> we don't make that determination at this time. what we are committed to do is get this case through the court system and then, and if it goes to the tryer of fact as the judge or the tryer of fact as the jury, once there is a decision, then we would concern ourselves with the sentence. >> i'm sorry? >> have you been affected -- contacted? >> i have not personally been contacted. i understand he may have retained new counsel in the past couple hours. >> when he turned himself in what was his demeanor? did he have anything to say? >> if he did i wouldn't be able to comment on it. one the specific things we are not allowed to discuss are the statements of a defendant charged with a crime. again, it's a constitutional protection that you all should

be happy law enforcement affords every person charged with a crime. yes, sir? i'm sorry? >> is mr. zimmerman in -- >> i will not comment on where mr. zimmerman is. i can tell you he is in the custody of law enforcement officers in the state of florida and he will be taken when it's appropriate for the appropriate appearance in front of a judge. yes, sir? >> would they have arrived at the same conclusion? >> i speak for angela corey and my prosecution team. this is the conclusion we came to based on our review of the facts in evidence. i'm not sure they were through with the entire investigation at the point mr. wolfinger recused himself from this case. >> do you believe you have the evidence for a conviction? >> we have to have a reasonable certainty of conviction before we file charges. any time there is an affirmative

defense, and there are numerous affirmative defenses that can be asserted before the arrest, immediately after the arrest, during the trial. we've had them come up in the middle of trial. my fellow prosecutors that sit here, we've all faced this before. for example, alibi is an affirmative defense. sometimes that gets put on us in the middle of the trial. so an affirmative defense always makes a criminal prosecution more difficult. we do everything within our power to take the facts we have at hand and prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. yes, sir? >> there was a debate about race and justice. [ inaudible question ] >> i'll be quite honest with you. i have some people who would live through our justice system here and they are among the finest people in jacksonville, florida. they represent but a small sample of the people who know that those of us in law enforcement are committed to justice for every race, every gender, every person of any persuasion whatsoever. they are our victims.

we only know one category as prosecutors and that's a v. it's not a w or h but "v" for victim. that is who we work tirelessly for and that is all we know is justice for our victims. we still have to maintain the constitutional rights. remember our role, ministers of justice. >> how much went into reinterviewing and retracing the steps of everything that happened? >> any time we take over a case, even from each other, we sometimes reinterview. we thoroughly go through the reports. we try to gather more evidence. a lot of the witnesses had already made statements in public even before we took over this case so a thorough review of all of the statements that were made was done and i can tell you i've got the finest prosecution team ever. i know every boss feels that way. but these people have the best experience you can ask for. >> i'm sorry. i'll get to you in a second. yes, ma'am?

>> were there witnesses who you encountered during the process? >> florida is a full discovery state and when and if the defense requests participation in the discovery process the witness list will be released at that time. hold on one second. yes, sir. >> under florida law a person is presumed to have immunity from any prosecution under the stand your ground law. i'm curious. you still haven't articulated what can you say about the facts that made you think that that immunity was waived and was not going to be able to be used. >> i'm sorry. i thought i articulated very clearly we don't discuss the facts of the case and that's for a reason. we're law enforcement. this is the criminal justice system. people's rights have to be protected. and it's designed a certain way not only under the constitution of the united states and the state of florida, we have rules of criminal procedure, florida statutes, and rules of ethics. so much information got released on this case that never should have been released. we have to protect this investigation and this

prosecution for trayvon, for his family, and for george zimmerman and that's what we will continue to do. >> angela, did you talk to george personally at all? >> i did not, katherine. we don't talk to any defendant represented by counsel unless he waives his right to counsel. we never even had to address that situation. >> yesterday the attorneys who were representing mr. zimmerman or at least speaking for him said they had recused themselves because they hadn't been in contact with him. can you shed any light at all on how mr. zimmerman came to turn himself in? >> i cannot. >> was it a coordinated process? >> it is a coordinated process and law enforcement has had this under control since we've gotten this case. i know there was a lot of speculation about oh, my goodness does law enforcement know where he is? do we have this under control? this is what we do every single day on behalf of our community. it's what fdle does every single day on behalf of the citizens of this great state. the governor and pam bondi put as much or as many resources as

they could on this case, and i don't think there was ever a concern that if the decision was made to charge mr. zimmerman that it would be made in a timely fashion and that law enforcement would have it under control to take him into custody. >> would you expect the trial to be in seminole county? >> we don't know that yet. yes, sir? i'm sorry? okay. >> his former attorney said yesterday he actually contacted you. can you talk about what happened in that phone call? >> what happens with every phone call. a message was taken and i turned it over to bernie and bernie handled it from there, but we called his lawyers because, again, we don't talk to someone represented by counsel pursuant to our rules of ethics. so no contact was made specifically between mr. delariande. mr. guy is and was and is still prosecuting a first-degree murder case where our victim is a former marine who was brutally shot for a few dollars at a gas station here. we have, unfortunately, brutal homicides that we fight hard for

all the time. we will fight just as hard in this case. yes, sir? >> do your findings affect the department of justice investigation? >> thank you for asking that question. they conduct their own investigation. i've been in contact with bobby o'neil our u.s. attorney, tom battle one of the department of justice people who's helped us with a lot of the civil rights contacts and issues. he's helping us, a whole slew of doj lawyers are helping us but they're not working on our part of the investigation and we don't work on their part of investigation. we always share information with our federal counterparts on numerous cases when and if it's needed. >> you said you don't want to discuss the facts of the case, but by what actions that you are taking, you are basically making a statement that you do not believe stand your ground is a plausible defense. would you at least address the fact that you, by taking this action and by arresting mr. zimmerman, you are in fact saying stand your ground in your mind does not come into play in

this case? >> this case is just like many of the shooting deaths we've had in our circuit. if stand your ground becomes an issue we fight it. if we believe it's the right thing to do. so if it becomes an issue in this case we will fight that affirmative defense. >> how would you say stand your ground has affected your job? >> my prosecutors and a lot of them are here and i'm so proud of them, they have worked tirelessly running this office while we've been working on this case, they fight the stand your ground motions. mr. moody just finished a four-day full stand your ground motion on another case. we fight hard. some of them we won and we've had to appeal them or the defense has appealed and we've won it on appeal. some we fought hard and the judge ruled against us. that's happening to prosecutors all over the state. it is the law of the state of florida and it will be applied. >> do you think it's too much? >> justifiable use of deadly force as we all knew it before stand your ground was issued was

still a tough affirmative defense to overcome but we still fight these cases hardment i'm not going to comment on the specific law at this time. we're law enforcement. we enforce the laws of the state of florida. and if that law becomes an affirmative defense just like alibi, insanity, entrapment, or any of the other affirmative defenses we'll handle it accordingly. >> you weren't sure about seminole county being the venue currently? >> no. seminole county is absolutely the venue. when we're appointed as prosecutors we step into the prosecution role down in seminole county. right now it is the court of jurisdiction. it is the venue. the question was, did we think we'd be able to try the case there or i thought, was that your question bob? >> yes. >> okay. did we think we'd be able to try it there? that is a determination that will be made closer to if and when we pick a jury. >> two more questions. >> perhaps based upon pretrial publicity, tell us your concerns about what you've heard and seen out there if you have and what effect would it have on a jury

in seminole county or elsewhere? >> you asked about my concerns. i will tell you. there's been an overwhelming amount of publicity in this case that we hope does not keep us from being able to pick a fair and impartial jury. both the state and defense are entitled to a fair and impartial jury. we think a lot of facts got put out. see, that's the problem. when i told you it comes out in front of a jury they're not allowed to render a decision until everything is in front of them. in fact, they are specifically instructed by the judge that they can't form a decision until they've heard everything. and so it is regrettable that so many facts and details got released and misconstrued. but we hope that a lot of it, and the media has helped in toning it down a lot and making sure that people understand florida law and the process. and we hope that people will continue to do that. yes, sir? >> did you look closely at how the police conduct their investigation, looking back at the sanford police department would you say their investigation was thorough?

>> well, i'm not going to comment on that other than that they were a tremendous help to us and had already done a lot of witness interviews. they did what the police do. any time you have a shooting scene and there's a person whose death is caused, the police launch a thorough and intensive investigation. that was done here but before the investigation could be finished, there was a lot of outcry about this case and then it changed course and we got appointed to take over the investigation. >> based on the details you developed in the case and what happened, do you think it's reasonable to expect there should have been an arrest that evening? >> we have numerous homicides where immediate arrests are not made. and so to us it did not seem unusual. i think judgment has to be made when the final decision is reached. that's what we would have hoped the public would have waited for, but some people did not

wait. an arrest can only be based upon probable cause. and so we believe that that's what the sanford police department was trying to do, and if there is any sort of determination as to what they did or didn't do, that will be handled by someone other than our prosecution team. yes, sir? >> last question. >> could you shed any more light on the length and breadth of that conversation with trayvon martin's parents and did they express confidence that your process now would be able to bring them the justice they feel they need? >> i think that after meeting with trayvon's parents that first monday night after we got appointed in this case, bernie was there, john was there. our prosecution team was there. the first thing we did was pray with them. we opened our meeting in prayer. mr. crump and mr. parks were there. we did not promise them anything. in fact, we specifically talked about if criminal charges do not come out of this what can we

help you do to make sure your son's death is not in vain? and they were very kind and very receptive to that and as i stated, mr. delariande has been in touch with mr. crump and ms. fulton and mr. martin since we took over the case and we intend to stay in touch with them. we only had a few minutes to talk with them. i believe they are going to want to talk later and they now know that charges have been filed and they are now hearing as we speak that george zimmerman is in custody of law enforcement in our state. we're very proud of the job law enforcement has done. we're very proud to stand here and tell you that we represent the people of the state of florida. thank you so much. >> that was the special prosecutor in the trayvon martin case. her name is angela corey. earlier she announced that charges will be filed against george zimmerman.

in fact they are the highest charges available to the special prosecutor, murder in the second dedebris. >> she confirms george zimmerman is in custody right now, that he turned himself in. he is in florida but she won't say where. she also revealed he has retained new counsel. you'll remember that just yesterday his attorneys held a news conference saying they were no longer going to represent him, that they hadn't heard from him in days, and they were concerned about his behavior because he had contacted the special prosecutor himself. >> the mother and father of trayvon martin are here in washington at the convention center right now downtown. chris gordon is down there also. chris, you heard what the prosecutor said today. surprised at all? >> no, not at all. in fact, i believe that trayvon martin's parents came here with reverend al sharpton who is the president of the national action

network and an nbc talk show host knowing the desis wcision going to come down today. during the afternoon the first unconfirmed reports were circulated and al sharpton said we'll hold comments until later this evening. i believe that the parents were watching the news conference that just ended with the special prosecutor angela corey. i believe that they're planning to respond here at the washington convention center within minutes. i think that their lawyers as well as civil rights leaders and members of the clergy who are here will be here along with sabrina fulton and tracy martin the mother and father of trayvon martin. they pressed today very hard to get george zimmerman arrested if not charged at least arrested because they were so distraught and upset yesterday when his lawyers went on tv and announced they were withdrawing from the case because they had lost contact with george zimmerman. trayvon martin's folks were

afraid that he was a fugitive, that he would basically flee the area. so they wanted him arrested. they obviously have wanted him charged for 44 days. that's what it's been since the february 26th murder in sanford, florida. it is now, can be called a murder, second-degree murder, which is murder with malice of the mind, which is not premeditated murder but it is the highest level that a prosecutor can bring without going to a grand jury. in this case george zimmerman is being held with no bond. he will be able to appear in court and ultimately probably have a preliminary hearing, which time the prosecutor has to prove to a judge that there is probable cause to hold him and either have a preliminary hearing or she can still go to a grand jury and ask them to indict george zimmerman for

second-degree murder. that usually if there is conviction carries a maximum sentence of about 25 years in prison. and finally, i will add to that, eric holder appeared here today at the washington convention center. he was asked about the justice department and fbi investigation. he confirmed it is ongoing but would not discuss details because the matter is under investigation. that would be a parallel investigation in which if it is proven that this was a hate crime or that george zimmerman was racially motivated in committing this murder that charges could be brought in the federal level. back to you. >> chris, i should mention that i asked you whether you were surprised because you are a lawyer and you have some expertise in this kind of thing. the special prosecutor noted that zimmerman's being held now without bond but the fact of the matter is once he appears before a judge he can ask for it and it could be granted, correct? >> correct. it would be very high. but in this case, generally a

defense attorney will probably let him stay in custody for his own safety right now. in other words, how could a private lawyer guarantee his safety from any kind of vengeance of anybody if he is released? so those things would have to be worked out in time. the only factors would be does he pose a danger to the community? and is he a risk of flight? given the fact that he turned himself in today it doesn't appear he would pose a risk of flight. >> given the climate and the emotions surrounding this case, george zimmerman may be feeling safer tonight than he has felt in weeks. >> well, that's true, doreen. his lawyers said the other day that he had been feeling angry, afraid, and depressed. and that they kind of lost contact with him and that he was

talking directly to state prosecutor angela corey or her office and they were afraid they had lost control, that they would not have advised him to do that but once he started doing that it may well have led to a conversation and his surrendering to authorities. >> all right. chris gordon, thank you very much. chris is down there at the washington convention center. we understand that trayvon martin's mother and father are also there. the reverend al sharpton has been shepherding them around today. the reverend sharpton is now before the microphones. we assume that the family might have something to say very soon. let's tune in and see what's going on there. >> trayvon martin was murdered. no arrest was made. the chief of police in sanford announced after his review of the evidence there would be no

arrest. an outcry from all over this country came because his parents refused to leave it there. his parents acting out of love and acting out of the basic principles this country is built on decided that they would go to some able attorneys and they went to mr. crump and mr. parks and attorney jackson. they believed in the system and believed the arrests would be made and they waited until the police chief, let us not confuse the issue, he announced there will be no arrest.

that's when attorney crump called us. we were marching in selma to montgomery. some of us hit the streets. i remember the night we had the first big rally, 30,000 people. on that afternoon, governor scott asked to meet. he flew in and met and said that he was going to appoint a special prosecutor. i will say publicly that i did not trust governor scott. i did not trust the appointment. i want to congratulate him and the prosecutor for being what they should be. if we did not get this far, we would condemn them. we must say that despite the

fact that we are different political parties and different political persuasions that tonight maybe america can come together and say that only the facts should matter when you're dealing with a loss of life. and i think that the prosecutor and i think that the governor did not make a decision based on public pressure, but i think they decided to review it based on public pressure. i think that they would not be irresponsible enough to proceed with the prosecution based on pressure but had there not been pressure there would not have been a second look. and i think that that credit should go to the nameless, faceless people, black, white, latino, and asian all over this country that put hoods on and said, take another look at this

ahn that look has led to where we are tonight. they will attack the big names and they will give credit to the big names, but it's the unknown people that took their time and money and stood up and said that that could be my son. that could be my grandson. and because of a second look, even conservatives on the other side of the political spectrum said, no. we're going to take a second look and do what is right. they charged him with a serious crime. he deserves a fair trial. we do not want anybody high fiving tonight. there is no victory here. there are no winners here. they've lost their son. this is not about gloating. this is about pursuing justice. we have not won anything. all we have done is established

that we must have the right to redress and justice in this country. so we will not be gloating around here. we are still mourning with this family. we will monitor the trial every step of the way. we will stand by and make sure that the rights of all are not violated. but this is not a night for celebration. it is a night that never should have happened in the first place. and we are trying to make sure that something happens that this will not happen again. are we happy with the charge? are we happy with the results? i would say that we must say that if americans come together they can achieve things. i remember as i bring attorney crump, as we marched in selma, i remember reading 44 years ago, a man was asked after they got the voting rights act, how did he

feel? and he said, we an where we ought to be. we ain't where we're going to be. we ain't where we want to be. but, thank god, we ain't where we was. tonight we don't know where it will lead, but at least we have a shot at this family having the right redress and that is because of, first, the courage of attorney parks and the battling attorney ben crump. reverend sharpton, reverend bryant, all the clergy black and white who stood in their pulpits and said it is about justice and only justice, we thank you for

all those people who went on to sign a petition not just to think about it but to do something. thank you for your unselfish acts even though you did not know trayvon martin 44 days ago. you just knew a child had been killed, a child was spriabrina' baby, tracy's son and you thought if this were my child i would sign this petition. so thank you for signing that petition and to all those young people, all the young people, the people who marched, the people who stood up, who refused to look away, it is for those reasons, those young people who were trayvon's age, those high school students who walked down and said that we refuse to stand for this. you know, those young people, old people, we sometimes get complacent and we see so many things we get jaded.

but it's the young people who believe -- they believe completely in justice -- the concept, the idea, the dream of justice. i think those are the people who are sitting here today saying, we can make a difference and we just stand for right. if we just stand up, if we just stand our ground, we can make a difference. i have to say, thank you as a florida citizen to our governor rick scott who came and met with the family that night and said that it is important that we get this right. he said it's important we get it right and he appointed special prosecutor angela corey, who told you she prayed with the family and said, did not make any promises to us. i mean, no promises whatsoever. mr. martin, ms. fulton, mr.

parks, attorney jackson, didn't make one promise to us saying we will look at all of the evidence, every piece of the evidence, and based on the evidence that she would make a decision. not based on public pressure. not based on anything else. but the evidence. and we always believe d from da one that if you look at that evidence fairly and impartially that you would have to come to the conclusion that he had to be arrested and that this matter had to go before a judge and a jury. and that is all that tracy martin and sabrina fulton and their family have asked for. nothing more, nothing less. before i bring them up, i do go back, reverend sharpton, reverend bryant, to the call

that has been well documented now when tracy martin called after that tuesday after he was told that there was not going to be an arrest. and he was told that. so the reason why we had the protests and filed 911 lawsuits and mhad all young people, reverend brown, was to get to this point. we had to do that to get to this point. and it is because of that we can take a short breath, a short breath, because we are just now getting to first base. this is only first base. we're on first base in this game of justice and we have to remain vigilant. we have to stretch our muscles, exercise, every day to make it

to second base. and that'll be, you know, we got to deal with this stand your ground issue. and then once we pass that we got to get to third base, which is the trial. and then after we get to that trial, all the evidence must be delivered properly and fairly for both sides, for everybody. then only then we can come from third base and bring it all home to justice. that's what we are here -- this is only first base. we must remember that. and lastly, i say this. that trayvon's legacy cannot be tarnished based on people doing sick things and acting ignorant and resorting to violence or thinking ill will. we all got to believe in our hearts that we make the system better for what we do and we got to believe in our hearts that

when we choose to do good and if we know somebody who's thinking ill will, tell them, you know, in america we believe everybody gets equal justice. everybody gets a fair day in the courtroom. whether it be george zimmerman or anybody else they get a fair date. we believe in our heart of hearts that he was wrong to kill trayvon martin, but that's what makes america great, because even he gets his day in court. and we are going to let the rule of law -- we're going to abide by it. if tracy martin and sabrina fulton and reverend sharpton can do it everybody can do it because they lost the most out of all of us here. and so we got to follow their example. we got to follow their example and be peaceful and everybody no matter what you are as reverend sharpton so eloquently said, we got to all try to let the system play out and be patient. and have faith in god above all

else. i have to tell you, the stand your ground law, we will be addressing that. i do believe that you cannot be the aggressor and initiate a confrontation and then claim stand your ground. we have to change that aspect of that law. we have to. and to all the legislators and stuff, when you ponder these things, you think about trayvon martin, how this might never have happened had we not had those things in place. we never would have had to go 44 days to start simple justice. i'll bring sabrina fulton and tracy martin. martin luther king said it and we prayed about it, the journey is long and this has been a long

journey but advance toward justice. >> right. right. >> first of all, i want to say, thank god. we simply wanted an arrest, nothing more or less, just an arrest and we got it. i say, thank you lord. thank you, jesus. secondly i want to speak from my heart to your heart because a heart has no color. it's not black. it's not white. it's red. i want to say thank you from my heart to your heart. >> first of all, we'd just like to thank everyone once again for

being compassionate about this as we were, as we are, as we will be. as attorney crump said, this is just the beginning. we got a long way to go. and we have faith. the first time we marched i looked to the sky and i just told myself when i walk. i will walk by faith. and we will continue to walk by faith. we will continue to hold hands on this journey -- white, black, hispanic, latino. we will continue to walk. we will march and march and march until the right thing is done. thank you. >> thank you very much. you know, there is nothing more precious than a life and trayvon lost his life in this very

unfortunate situation. i got to tell you that when our clients learned from the special prosecutor of her intentions, one of the most awesome feelings, especially the lawyer, felt vindicated and felt the process was working for them, it was powerful. powerful to see and feel their expression, their -- what they were feeling. and so i -- to them, this is special. although it's public, it is as special as anything could be. to the father that tracy is, glowing example of power and strength and you just can't say enough about him. to joining what was said about governor scott. we heard earlier from the special prosecutor in florida angela corey announcing

second-degree murder charges against jornl zimmerman ageorge then from the washington convention center, trayvon martin's mother sabrina fulton and tracy martin his father thanking everyone for the fact that charges had been filed. nobody is happy about the charges. they just are grateful there are finally some charges in the case. we are going to take a quick

doug is here with a check on our weather forecast. i was listening to you earlier. those really were snowflakes that i saw outside in the middle of the day today. >> how about that? >> weird. i didn't think it was possible. >> especially when you talk about april. we didn't see anything like that in the month of march. so far the month of april is cooler than the month of march was. you don't see that too often though it has happened before in our history. out there right now a very cool afternoon. current temperatures sitting at 53 degrees across the area. what are we going to be seeing here? take a look at the numbers. you can see what's happening right now. just a few clouds out there. we've seen mostly cloudy skies today and, yeah, a few showers. some of those showers mixed with snow and grapple which is a mixture of snow and ice. it's a little pellet looks like hail. it is called grapple. 56 degrees the current temperature. that was the high temperature

actually. low of 40. today we'll go down seven degrees below average. we've only seen 18 days below average this year and this was the day with the most temperatures below average since february 12th. so we have not seen very many cool days. today was one of them. 52 in gaithersburg. only 49 for a high today in hagerstown. 50 in winchester. current temperature right now 51 degrees. winds though gusting to 26 miles an hour. so a very chilly afternoon. we're going to see an even chillier evening as we continue to see the numbers drop. 41 in winchester. 41 in hagerstown. 46 in leesburg. nobody right now into the mid 50s. the highest number, 53. that's right along the chesapeake, there. 54 over there toward the eastern shore in easton. satellite and radar showing the very cool air aloft. that's why we saw these clouds move in. that's why we saw the shower activity during the day today. a few showers left over across the area and you can see those through frederick county, down to the south in northern

fauquier county along # 6 and another one around the quantico area in prince william county over toward charles county. the very light showers for the most part. and you can see them come through. you actually see the rain off in the distance and then it makes its way our way. some could have a couple snow showers involved with them too. don't be surprised to see a snowflake or two as you make your way through the rest of the evening. tomorrow evening a few clouds. a very chilly start and rather breezy. 32 to 38 degrees. wind chills with the 5 to 10-mile-per-hour wind could be in the upper 20s tomorrow morning. tomorrow afternoon we should rebound nicely. a cool start but a nice afternoon. 58 to about 63 degrees for your high temperature. as we move through the next couple days if you thought it was too cold today and you just want the warm weather to come back there you go. 73 on saturday. 83 on sunday. let's just keep a couple more 80s in there. >> why not? as we start off next week. the nationals are playing tomorrow. the forecast for that looks really nice.

last i heard the nats were up.

>> nats were up. they stayed up. they are now 4-2 on this young season. >> wow. >> with their home opener coming up tomorrow. it was a former cy young award winner against a future winner. can i say that already? both coming off major arm surgeries. steven strasburg continued his early season dominance out duelling johan santana. both pitchers bringing the heat. santana of course a two-time cy young award winner. top of the second, this was not a -- what a cy young award winner is supposed to do. bases were loaded so in comes mark derosa. 1-0, nationals on top. that was more than enough for steven strasburg. bottom of the second, can i help you sir? no thank you. just looking at strike three. in the bottom of the sixth with two men on he gets jason bate looking at strike three. he thought it was outside. it was but strasburg will take it. he goes six strong, walks three, strikes out nine.

top seven now, here is derosa again with the bases juiced. it's all about getting on base and that's what he does. draws the walk, in comes a run. the nationals had more walks, ten, than hits, nine, but that's okay because they win, 4-0, and take the series from the mets. >> strass pitched a heck of a ball game. no doubt about it. earlier i was concerned because he was using a lot of back-to-back change-ups and curveballs but got straightened out in the third and started pitching like we know he can. >> tough early and good pitchers know how to get it done and get back ontrack. became a goal to get to six or seven and you don't really want to go out of the game at five and you want to go for the start. >> all right. home opener tomorrow. 1:05 against cincinnati. >> thanks, dan. >> that's it for now. more on the charges against george zimmerman coming up now on "nightly news." >> we'll see you tonight for

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