Geraldo: If jury were in Zimmerman’s shoes, they’d kill Trayvon Martin

theGRIO REPORT - Geraldo Rivera, host of Geraldo at Large, said on Fox News earlier today that he believes the six female jurors, 'would have shot and killed Trayvon Martin a lot sooner than George Zimmerman did'...

Geraldo Rivera, host of Geraldo at Large, said on Fox News earlier today that he believes if the six female jurors, five of whom are white, were in the same situation as George Zimmerman on the same night, they would have shot and killed Trayvon Martin too.

George Zimmerman was charged with 2nd degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin.  Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty and says he shot Martin in self-defense.

“This was a case brought because of political pressure, race politics in this country,” Rivera said on Fox & Friends.

He continued, blaming Rev. Al Sharpton for being the only reason charges were brought against Zimmerman and saying this is case is “classic self-defense.”

When he was asked if he felt the jurors would find reasonable doubt, Rivera responded:

I see those six ladies putting themselves on that rainy night, in that housing complex that has just been burglarized by three or four different groups of black youngsters from the adjacent community. So it’s a dark night, a 6-foot-2-inch hoodie-wearing stranger is in the immediate housing complex. How would the ladies of that jury have reacted? I submit that if they were armed, they would have shot and killed Trayvon Martin a lot sooner than George Zimmerman did. This is self-defense.

“I believe that George Zimmerman will be acquitted,” Rivera said.

The Fox News host sparked controversy last year when he suggested that the hoodie worn by 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was as much responsible for his death as George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch member who shot him.  Rivera later apologized for his comment.

Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals

SHARE THIS ARTICLE