mr. zimmerman. so the mainstream media, including fox news and my friend bill o'reilly didn't jump on that story. >> bill: have to get on the time line i don't have it on the top of of my head when we first heard about trayvon martin we got on it i don't know what the time line was here we have the bias crime no it's not. they have a 911 tape they could have given us today. you have got to give it up guys, come on. not accusing the police department of anything here. i'm not. i don't know what happened,

mr. zimmerman. in the middle of april they decided to go forward and charge mr. zimmerman.hey had more evidence, but i don't think the evidence they gathered in that month fundamentally changed any of the important aspects of the case. so i think the most likely explanation rather than they got more evidence was that they needed to placate the public which was demanding some sort of action. i don't necessarily think it was bad to indict mr. zimmerman, i'm simply saying that the evidence that existed that supported the decision to indict him existed in early march. >> some people might say they completely messed up then. even though it took them longer than it should have. but you think the case won't even go to trial. why's that? >> i wouldn't disagree with that, by the way. i don't necessarily think it's a bad thing for prosecutors to pay attention to what the public thinks but i think it's unlikely it will go to trial. florida has a stand your ground law. and mr. zimmerman will have to persuade the judge beyond -- by simply a preponderance of the evidence. and if he can p

mr. zimmerman in the middle of april. they decide to go forward and charge mr. zimmerman.ore evidence but i don't think the evidence they gathered fundamentally changed the aspects of the case. so rather than they got more evidence, they needed to placate the public which was demanding some sort of evidence. i'm saying that the evidence that existed that supported the decision to indict him existed in early march. >> right. well some people might say they completely messed up and thanks to public pressure they did the right thing, but you think the case won't go to trial. why is that? >> i wouldn't disagree with that, by the way, erin. i don't think it's a bad thing for prosecutors to pay attention to what the public thinks but i think it's unlikely that the case will ever go to trial. florida has a very expansive stand your ground law and the way that it works is that mr. zimmerman will appear in front of a judge and he will have to persuade the judge beyond -- by simply a preponderance of the evidence, which means that it's more likely than not that he was entitled to ex

mr. zimmerman said no, i don't want to. but all of that has to adjudicated in a court of law and it should be. here is my point and i think you may agree with this. you basically have new evidence now. this is new. that shows there was a confrontation and the florida station, who is also reporting aggressively on the case says that the autopsy of trayvon martin shows that his knuckles, trayvon's knuckles were scraped. all right? so that there does seem to be evidence, strong evidence of a confrontation between zimmerman and trayvon. so, when you have that, it makes a murder 2 case very, very tough unless there is an eyewitness. now there may be. somebody may come forward and say, look, i saw what happened, and this, that and the other thing. if there is a physical confrontation, it makes it very very tough to prove yard that trayvon even though unarmed, was stocked and gunned down. and you say? >> my response to that and we are going to talk about the report hopefully in a second. you have to put everything in the full cont

mr. zimmerman's story. i suspect this is going to be difficult for the prosecution to show that this was a deliberate firing, because it was not at long range. >> reporter: today's documents show that the lead investigator called the shooting, quote, avoidable, had zimmerman remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement. and finally, the shooting that shattered two families and ripped open a gaping wound in the racial fabric of the country, according to a witness, may have just been seconds from being prevented. >> i saw the police arrive and they were literally, like, five seconds too late. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm matt gutman in sanford, florida. >> our thanks to matt gutman for his continued reporting on the case. "gma" will have much more in the morning. >>> and up next, going, going, gone. how people are making big bucks bidding on your left behind luggage. let's see what you got. rv -- covered. why would you pay for a hotel? i never do. motorcycles -- check. atv. i ride t

mr. zimmerman said no, i don't want to. but all of that has to adjudicated in a court of law and it should be. here is my point and i think you may agree with this. you basically have new evidence now. this is new. that shows there was a confrontation and the florida station, who is also reporting aggressively on the case says that the autopsy of trayvon martin shows that his knuckles, trayvon's knuckles were scraped. all right? so that there does seem to be evidence, strong evidence of a confrontation between zimmerman and trayvon. so, when you have that, it makes a murder 2 case very, very tough unless there is an eyewitness. now there may be. somebody may come forward and say, look, i saw what happened, and this, that and the other thing. if there is a physical confrontation, it makes it very very tough to prove yard that trayvon even though unarmed, was stocked and gunned down. and you say? >> my response to that and we are going to talk about the report hopefully in a second. you have to put everything in the full cont

mr. zimmerman's attorney is going to try to do that.nk the healthy review, to help people understand this statute and how it applies and how it keeps people safe. there will always be some close calls and of course our heart goes out when tragedy occurs. i have been a funeral director for over 40 years. i have stood with family and friends through very tragic circumstances. and it's the most painful thing in the world for a child to die and i extend my condolences to the family. i'm grateful that we do have things in motion in florida and i think the task force will help clarify what we need to do with our statute, but i'm not operating on the presumption that it's flawed. >> natalie, how does that make you feel? that mr. baxley is saying he does not believe that it's flawed. >> well, i agree with the representative on a point and that's the point that we don't think this statute applies to the trayvon martin case either. we don't believe that -- like he said, it allows for someone to pursue and confront someone. the problem may be with

mr. zimmerman has reported to have made in a public forum before chief was hired, it was not likely thato members of the police department. >>> well, it's been 294 days since america lost its top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? well, you know what, rates are still cheap. that isn't reason to be complacent, but rates for a 30-year mortgage hit another record low. 3.78%. housing is important to the economic recovery, crucial, the number one reason we can get out of this mess and a declining rate helps. >>> our fourth story outfront, mitt romney ready to take on china. now, according to his new campaign ad, he's going to do it. he's got this new one from day one, from day one, here's what he's going to do on day one. >> what would a romney presidency be like? day one, president obama stands up to china on trade and demands they play by the rules. that's what a romney presidency will be like. >> all right. china obviously is an economic challenge to the u.s., but there are serious diplomatic issues. blind chinese dissident chen guangcheng causing a huge rift between the two

mr. zimmerman. and that of course would be racial profiling. an area that we all believe we need to get rid of as far as the legitimacy of using racial profiling in law enforcement. in october of last year, i filed the end racial profiling act, and as you pointed out, carrying on from senator feingold's efforts in this legislation. i thank you very much for your leadership as a co-sponsor. we have 12 members of the senate have co-sponsored this legislation including the majority leader, senator harry reid is a co-sponsor. racial profiling is un-american. it's against the values of our nation. contrary to the 14th amendment to the constitution, equal protection of the laws. it's counterproductive in keeping us safe. it avenues wasting valuable resources that we have and has no place in modern law enforcement. we need a national law, and that's why i encourage the committee to report 1672 to the floor. it prohibits the use of racial profiling. that is using race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion in selecting which individual is to be subje

mr. zimmerman complied with florida law. that will come out, i'm sure, in terms of what it took to have a concealed weapon. but it certainly raises a question that wasn't before us as much ten years ago. we are not just talking about professionalizing law enforcement and holding them accountable. we are talking about a new group of americans who are being empowered to carry deadly weapons and to make decisions on the spot about the protection of their homes and communities. which i think makes this a far more complex challenge than it was ten years ago. i'd like your response. >> yes, sir. i agree, the issue for california, we have the issue of open carry, carrying of loaded firearms with very limited requirement. i think the idea that people should be held accountable including our community is very real. the issue of racial profiling is so important and why we need the data is in many cases, and maybe the trayvon martin case will bring this out later. the role law enforcement plays with its community. and so when people ca

mr. zimmerman. >> second degree murder does it raise enough reasonable doubt to diminish that?cked specific incident. the bottom line is the jurors are going to say you have a kid with iced tea and skittles. you have a guy with a gun. if a kid with iced tea punches someone in the nose is that enough to blow him away in the chest. that's for the jury to decide. >> appreciate it. thank you for coordinating. >>> it is 47 after the top of the hour. ladies want to get ahead at work? try zipping your mouth. this story will have a lot of you talking this morning. first let's step in with brian kilmeade to see what is coming up on fox and friends. >> good morning. let me tell you what we have planned for you. allen west will join us live. he is outraged about the heads bowl law terrorists. dick morris is around 50 percent. plus get ready for the dirtiest edition of fox and friends ever. this is what's on the ver ranvi randa. you have mud, a wall and ice water. it says -- what is this? it says me and steve are going through that? is this true? >> yes, it is. >> call my agent. there's no

mr. zimmerman's injuries.hearing the fbi is investigating possible hate crime charges against mr. zimmerman in connection with the death of the teenager. >> reporter: george zimmerman's medical record as well as trayvon martin's autopsy report shows that trayvon martin's hands were bloody, his knuckles were injured and his skin was broken. also george zimmerman's injuries were more severe than initially reported. he suffered a broken nose, black eyes, a squallen lip, two scalp lacerations, a minor back injury and complained of stress and nausea when he thinks about the violence. this does not answer the question of hot initial aggressor was. that's up to a jury. but it bolsters zimmerman's story that he was attacked by trayvon. and the only eyewitness we know of has trayvon on top of zimmerman before the shooting. >> as soon as the government released its charge and complaint mr. were comments from analysts from all over the country that this was very, very thin. you could never get a conviction simply based o

mr. zimmerman. so the mainstream media, including fox news and my friend bill o'reilly didn't jump on that story. >> bill: have to get on the time line i don't have it on the top of of my head when we first heard about trayvon martin we got on it i don't know what the time line was here we have the bias crime no it's not. they have a 911 tape they could have given us today. you have got to give it up guys, come on. not accusing the police department of anything here. i'm not. i don't know what happened, okay? you got to give up the 911 tape. we have a newspaper that is saying oh we don't cover assaults. come on, you got two people. >> i'm saying acknowledge to me on national television number one that the mainstream media did take a while. >> bill: i don't know the time line. >> this is the no spin zone. >> bill: when i heard about it i got on it. >> bill: that's right. as soon as i got on it i -- >> i'm talking about the national media it took a while. children lie trayvon martin where our babies a

mr. zimmerman. here's a live look outside from the commercial and that's what is happening along the james lick freeway. light traffic. and >>james: here is a quick look outside. we are a handful of days away from zazzle bay to breakers. that is coming up on sunday. you will be able to watch it from the comfort of your own home. foss human remains in what could be long forgotten cemetery have been found. >>rob: construction workers were excavating the site behind a chain-link fence with a notice would appear to be the hands of some very old pine box is buried in the soil. this is a photograph of line of what is assumed to be 15 coffins that were exposed haag and of haag and >> construction here has been halted for now. member just doing the math with the the space between the boxes, we believe there could be up to 14 of its 50 boxes. >> the county is asking a judge to permit construction to resume while archaeologist inspect the site in an effort to contact relatives of those buried here. >>erica: c

mr. zimmerman. zimmerman that was overherd on a 911 call bay passer-by calling about the incident. so that combined with the fact we now know mr. zimmerman had a fractured nose, abrasions on his forehead, one inch laceration on the bask his head, two black eyes, and other bruises, it paints a different picture in terms of self-defense, perhaps who was the aggressor, who was winning the fight at the time the fatal shot was made by george zimmerman. >> gretchen: except i'm not a lawyer, but it would seem -- >> you could be one. >> gretchen: thank you. it would seem in the case, what would be the most crucial aspect of it will be the fact that they have those 911 calls where george zimmerman is told not to follow trayvon martin and he still does. and number two, who actually started the assault? >> that's an interesting point. the state's theory was this he was told to stay away. he reported it and he should back off. mr. zimmerman's factual defense is that he says yeah, he did get out of the car, but h

mr. zimmerman, you have a child who's dead. parents going through the loss of a child.you can't imagine that grief. and i think this plays badly for america one way or the other. i have a bad feeling about this. >> there can't be a happy result for anybody. >> correct. >> nothing's going to bring trayvon martin back. i think it shows dark specters in america. also this stand your ground law. on that specific point, stand your ground, new york doesn't have that. george zimmerman couldn't use that as a defense in new york. but he can where he is now. do you think it should be scrapped after this? >> i think it's a terrible law. i think it encourages vigilantism. i think it creates these tragedies. even if george zimmerman is found not guilty, it doesn't mean what he did was good. at the end of the day what i'm frightened by as a citizen is the reaction of the public in the event he is acquitted. and based on the evidence i've seen to date and strong possibility that he might be found not guilty. certainly not guilty of murder. i think that was a terrible mistake by the pr

mr. zimmerman, but now there are medical reports sustaining and proving the existence. most important one being i think, erin, the existence of the broken nose which the defense would say suggest as frontal assault by trayvon martin on george zimmerman. and would support the self-defense claim. >> and mark, do you agree with that? because obviously george zimmerman did not actually seek hospitalization. is that something that would work against him in this case or no? >> no, i agree with that opinion. i think very simply we heard this all come out during the bond hearing actually. but now we have corroboration of the fact that there seem to be genuine and signature injuries to zimmerman. what does it mean? it means that there's a greater chance than not that there was some measure of mutual combat going on and we also know the shooting was at close range. gunshot powder. so it does seem like there was mutual combat going on from the limited amount we have right now. >> paul, i'm curious, though, all of this being said, doesn't it still really matter who started it, that

mr. zimmerman. so the mainstream media, including fox news and my friend bill o'reilly didn't jump on that story. >> bill: have to get on the time line i don't have it on the top of of my head when we first heard about trayvon martin we got on it i don't know what the time line was here we have the bias crime no it's not. they have a 911 tape they could have given us today. you have got to give it up guys, come on. not accusing the police department of anything here. i'm not. i don't know what happened, okay? you got to give up the 911 tape. we have a newspaper that is saying oh we don't cover assaults. come on, you got two people. >> i'm saying acknowledge to me on national television number one that the mainstream media did take a while. >> bill: i don't know the time line. >> this is the no spin zone. >> bill: when i heard about it i got on it. >> bill: that's right. as soon as i got on it i -- >> i'm talking about the national media it took a while. children lie trayvon martin where our babies a

mr. zimmerman's injuries, i think the prosecutor's affidavit addresses that. d that george zimmerman got out of his car and he pursued, confronted, had a struggle with, shot and killed trayvon martin. >> dr. wecht -- >> i think -- >> let me just bring dr. wecht in and i have another photo that could be important i want to show. dr. wecht, first this issue of the gun. we're being told that it was shot from intermediate range. what does intermediate range mean? >> intermediate range means probably between 6 to 12 inches. there's a two-inch stippling pattern in diameter around the wound as well as some soot and a hemorrhagic abrasion. i would say that the shot was fired from about 6 to 12 inches. it went in one inch to the left of the midline, a half an inch below the level of the nipple and proceeded inward. it struck the right side of the heart after penetrating the pericardial sac and caught the lower lobe of the right lung. it produced a significant amount of hemorrhage, mostly in the right chest cavity but a substantial amount in the left chest cavity also. t