SANFORD, Fla., April 28 (UPI) -- Lawyers in the Trayvon Martin case can agree on one thing: The uprising on social media from across the United States has dramatically influenced the case.
Mark O'Mara, who is representing George Zimmerman, the Sanford, Fla., neighborhood watch captain who admits to killing Martin, said social media pressure is what led to his client's indictment.
"I think if I could do away with all media, including all social media, I would not have an involvement in a criminal case," O'Mara said. "But that's a fantasy that was 40 years ago."
The Orlando Sentinel said Martin, the unarmed black 17-year-old who was killed after Zimmerman thought he was casing houses to rob, has become a social media rallying cause that could have impacts on all criminal trials in the future.
Zimmerman maintains he killed Martin out of self-defense.
Attorney Benjamin Crump, representing the Martin family, said his clients never rallied on Twitter or Facebook -- but users rallied behind them nonetheless.
"We didn't engage social media," he said. "It's almost as if social media engaged us."
Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial is scheduled to begin June 10.
