Posted on 06/27/2013 7:09:04 AM PDT by iowamark
A teenage friend of Trayvon Martin was forced to admit today in the George Zimmerman murder trial that she did not write a letter that was sent to Martin's mother describing what she allegedly heard on a phone call with Martin moments before he was shot.
In a painfully embarassing moment, Rachel Jeantel was asked to read the letter out loud in court.
"Are you able to read that at all?" defense attorney Don West asked.
Jeantel, head bowed, eyes averted whispered into the court microphone, "Some but not all. I don't read cursive."
It sent a hush through the packed courtroom.
Jeantel, 19, was unable to read any of the letter save for her name...
During nearly two hours of cross examination Wednesday in which he tried to raise questions about her version of events and accused her of telling several lies under oath, including about her whereabouts during Martin's wake.
"Under oath, you created a lie and said you went to the hospital?" asked West.
"Yes," responded Jeantel. She said she lied because she didn't want to see the body.
Jeantel became increasingly agitated and scoffed when West told her that she would have to continue testifying.
She is seen as a critical witness to the prosecution because she is the only person able to say that Martin claimed that he noticed a strange man following him and that he was scared. Jeantel said Martin described the stranger as a "creepy ass cracker."
Jeantel said Martin, 17, was walking home during halftime of the NBA All-Star Game when he became unnerved because he was being followed.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Now that would make some sense. If the prosecution knew the defense was going to call her they may have decided they were better off calling her themselves to frame the situation and limit the damage as much as possible. But if that was the thinking they would dealt with the letter during their direct examination and tried to explain it away before the defense got its turn. I'm not sure that happened here.
Sure, just don’t add any candy or small puppies.
Maybe there is a truth that we just need to accept.... maybe reading and writing ain’t for everybody??? :)
Oh, I would never!
That is pathetic....girl likely has an IQ of 70 or so
Passed up the grades at school....can’t read....illiterate
Exploited by this amoral prosecutor
And the state
Zimmerman will be found not guilty, then Obozo will order him arrested for violating Martin's "Civil Rights".
I hope to God you are right!
“...Jeantel, 19, was unable to read any of the letter save for her name... “
Valedictorian material, for sure...
Back in my day, we called it long-hand.
Beam me up Scotty!
In my 20 year career at a major hospital I interacted with brain surgeons (among many other types of physicians) on hundreds of occasions.Not once did the surgeon in question strike me as being in any way similar...in terms of basic intelligence...to this young woman.
That means if you throw a curse word at her she won’t understand it!
Or maybe she doesn’t know the hand signal for a curve ball?
That face looks to me like she is highly PO’ed and perhaps thinking she’d like to do a number on the defense lawyer.
Dang, that's how I write but I didn't know it was called "cursive"........In fact, I've never used that word before in my life so I wonder how she knew it?
She looks like she swallowed a soccer ball... and it didn’t go all the way down....
When I was in elementary school, we called it "real writing". And it was long after that before I heard the term "cursive".
She was disrespectful yesterday on the stand. Very snotty and arrogant. The defense attorney, the judge, anyone could ask her a question and she would say “yea”, and roll her eyes.
Her lawyer got to her last night and it’s yes sir, no sir, yes sir, no sir. She’s still pissed though because she had to hide that razor blade knife before went went through the metal detector. Now she just glares at everybody.
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