The man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin said he “accepts full responsibility” for statements he and his wife made regarding their finances, statements that resulted in misleading statements to the judge during a bond hearing.
George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, is preparing for another bond hearing later this week. His lawyers are requesting that a “reasonable bond” be set for his release from jail.
A judge in Sanford, Florida, ordered Zimmerman back to jail earlier this month, and revoked his bail arrangement citing the misrepresentation of about $150,000 in donations to an account controlled by Zimmerman and his wife that had not been disclosed at the April 20 bond hearing.
“Mr. Zimmerman's failure to advise the court of the existence of the donated funds at the initial bail hearing was wrong and Mr. Zimmerman accepts responsibility for his part in allowing the court to be misled as to his true financial circumstances,” said Mark O'Mara, Zimmerman’s attorney, in a written motion.
“Counsel, however, points to Mr. Zimmerman's voluntary disclosure of the fund and immediate surrender of any interest in the donated money through transfer of the fund to counsel for deposit in trust.”
The attorney said that the money is now "under the control of an independent trustee and is not accessible to Mr. Zimmerman or his family," adding that "any expenditure on behalf of Mr. Zimmerman must be approved by the fund administrator."
Zimmerman does have $20,000 "for ongoing living expenses," the motion said.  
Hasan Kwame Jeffries, a professor of African-American History at Ohio State University, said that the Zimmerman statement appears designed to curry favor with the judge in advance of the bond hearing.
“It’s certainly not the most sincere move on his part,” Jeffries said. “It seems like a strategic move to address his real credibility problem. It’s clear that he gave false and misleading information. It’s interesting that he’ll take full responsibility for this and not for murdering the teenager.”

BET National News - Keep up to date with breaking news stories from around the nation, including headlines from the hip hop and entertainment world. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

(Photo: Gary Green/The Orlando Sentinel-Pool/Getty Images)