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George Zimmerman trial: All-female jury seated in Trayvon Martin shooting caseBy Rene Stutzman and Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel8:16 p.m. EDT, June 20, 2013SANFORD - Six women, all but one of them white, will decide whether Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman murdered 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in a case that sparked widespread outrage and prompted civil rights marches.They will begin their work — listening to testimony and evaluating evidence — Monday morning.On Thursday, attorneys who had individually questioned nearly 100 prospective jurors, went one-by-one, picking the six plus four alternates.It was dramatic, contentious and race was very much at play.The process was moving along smoothly when defense attorney Mark O'Mara piped up."I would now ask the state to give a race-neutral reason why they have struck four white women in a row," he said.In response, Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson asked Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda to give his race- and gender-neutral explanations for each strike.He did, but the judge rejected the prosecutor's argument in the case of two of the women — both of whom ended up on the jury.One is a stay-at-home mother who on Wednesday challenged de la Rionda when he described circumstantial evidence as being as solid as direct evidence. The other is an unemployed woman who said her daughter — talking about Trayvon — wanted to know "Why was this kid out at night getting candy?"Moments later while picking alternates, O'Mara struck two black women from the jury pool. De la Rionda challenged him, but O'Mara convinced the prosecutor that one was a friend of a witness in the case and had failed to disclose that.As for the other, the judge agreed that the woman should be excused after O'Mara argued that she worked at a church that had actively and aggressively advocated for Zimmerman's arrest — but that she had made no mention of that.At the end of the day O'Mara said he had played by the rules."That's how the process works," he said. "Tell me that we did something wrong with this process and I'll look at it."De la Rionda left the courtroom without comment.In a statement, lawyers for Trayvon's family said: "With the makeup of this jury, the question of whether every American can get equal justice regardless of who serves on their jury panel will be answered."The four alternates are a middle-aged white man, a young man who is possibly Hispanic, a white college-aged woman and an older white woman who works as a nurse.On Friday the judge is expected to announce whether she will allow jurors to hear the testimony of two state audio experts who say the screams in the background of a 911 call the night of the shooting did not come from Zimmerman.Defense attorney Don West on Thursday called it "the most important piece of evidence in this case."He mocked the findings of one of those experts, Alan Reich, who reported that he could hear Trayvon say, "I'm begging you," and Zimmerman talking like an evangelist.Reich's report, West said, "should begin with, 'It was a dark and stormy night.'"Prosecutors say Zimmerman profiled, pursued and killed the unarmed teen Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford. Zimmerman says he fired in self-defense after he was attacked by Trayvon, a high school junior from Miami Gardens.The juryOf the six female jurors, five are white. The alternates are two men and two women. The descriptions below, including the age and race or ethnicity of jurors, are based on the observations of a reporter in the courtroom or how attorneys in the case have described them.Here are some details about the jurors selected, which were revealed while they were questioned during the jury selection process:B-29: A nurse on an Alzheimer's ward who is black or Hispanic, has several children, is married and lived in Chicago at the time of shooting. She said she doesn't watch the news, preferring reality television: "Right when we got here, I got cable... I love my reality shows." During jury selection, she said she was arrested once in Chicago.B-76: A white, middle-aged woman who said Zimmerman had an "altercation with the young man. There was a struggle and the gun went off." Has been married 30 years, and is unemployed. She formerly worked with her husband in his construction company. Her 28-year-old son is an attorney in Seminole County. She also has a daughter, 26, has been a victim of non-violent crime and rescues "a lot of pets."B-37: A middle-aged white woman who has worked for a chiropractor for 16 years and has many pets. She described protests in Sanford as "rioting." Her husband is an attorney. She has two daughters: A 24-year-old dog groomer and a 27-year-old who attends the University of Central Florida. She used to have concealed weapons permit, but let it lapse. Her husband also has one.B-51: A retired white woman from Oviedo who has a dog and 20-year-old cat. She knew a good deal about the case, but said "I'm not rigid in my thinking." She has been in Seminole County for nine years, is unmarried and has no kids. She previously lived in Atlanta, and used to work in real estate. She also ran a call center in Brevard County which she said had 1,200 employees.E-6: A young white woman and mother who used to work in financial services. She used this case as an example to her two adolescent children, warning them to not go out at night. She has lived in Seminole County for eight years, and is married to an engineer. She was arrested in Brevard County, but said she "was treated completely fairly." Her husband has guns.E-40: A white woman in her 60s who lived in Iowa at the time of the shooting. She heard national news reports and recalls the shooting was in a gated community and a teenager was killed. She described herself as safety officer, is married to a chemical engineer and loves football. She has a 28-year-old son who's out of work. She said she's very well versed in cell phone technology, and has been a victim of crime.These are the alternates:E-54: A middle-aged white man with a teenage stepson who wears hoodies. He recalled seeing photos of Zimmerman's head and face that show injuries. E-54 loves golf and genealogy, and said he's been married for five years to a technical engineer. He grew up in Seminole County and has a teenage stepson.B-72: A young man who is possibly Hispanic, does maintenance at a school and competes in arm wrestling tournaments. He said he avoids the news because he does not want to be "brainwashed." He grew up in Chicago, is single and an alumni of Phi Beta Kappa. He is very physically active, and was a high school athlete. He said that he doesn't believe you can determine a person's strength based solely on their size or how they look.E-13: A young white woman who goes to college and works two jobs, one of them as a surgical assistant. She heard the shooting was a "racial thing." She said she could be a fair juror "just because I don't really know that much." She is single, has lived in Seminole County for 17 years and attends church. She also owns and rides horses.E-28: A middle-aged white woman who has worked as a nurse for 26 years. She knew little about the case and has no opinion about Zimmerman's guilt. She has lived in Seminole County since 1985, and has been married for 28 years. Her husband is a teacher and they have two adult children, 27 and 23 years old.rstutzman@ or 407-650-6394. jeweiner@ or 407-420-5171. ................
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