Prosecutors inadvertently released a photo of dead Miami Gardens teen Trayvon Martin lying on the ground Thursday, then sought to retract the image.
In an email to the news media Thursday morning, a spokeswoman for special prosecutor Angela Corey released 76 pages of supplemental discovery in the state’s case against George Zimmerman, 28, who is charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 shooting death of Martin, 17, in Sanford.
The evidence included three grainy, black and white photos taken at the scene by a witness, according to court documents: one of Martin on the ground, one of the back of Zimmerman’s head, and one of a flashlight on the ground. The initial attachment also included Zimmerman’s records from Seminole State College.
George Zimmerman's Parents Launch Website
In subsequent emails, the spokeswoman said the information had not been officially reviewed and was inadvertently sent out. She sought to redact the Martin image, citing a state statute that says a photo that depicts the "killing of a person" is "confidential and exempt."
We have decided not to publish or air the Martin photo.
Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty in the case, claiming self-defense. He is living in hiding with his family after being released on bond for a second time.
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The spokeswoman also redacted Zimmerman's transcripts, citing student record confidentiality and a June 12 court order.
Among the supplemental discovery initially released by prosecutors was a Florida Department of Law Enforcement laboratory report that said that Martin’s blood was found on a bag of Skittles, and Zimmerman’s application to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Academy in 2008.
But the bulk of the document concerned the academic records of Zimmerman, who graduated from Osbourn High School in Manassas, Virginia in 2001.
Seminole State College’s records said that Zimmerman had a cumulative GPA of 2.22 between spring 2009 and spring 2012, and that his intended major was pre-law.
After the fall 2011 term, when his GPA was 1.75, Zimmerman was given an academic warning, said a report containing his “credit career record.” For the spring 2012 semester, Zimmerman signed up for three courses, according to the report: “Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions,” “Introduction to Astronomy,” and “College Math.”
According to a Jan. 4, 2012 email from a woman who works in student affairs, Zimmerman “applied for graduation on fall 2011 but failed one class. Therefore he wasn’t able to complete his AA,” or associate in arts degree, she wrote.
The credit record report listed Zimmerman as failing “Introduction to Astronomy” in the spring of 2011.
