In the search for truth and fairness, Sen. Gary Siplin (D-Orlando) has written to Angela Corey, the special prosecutor assigned to review the Trayvon Martin killing, urging her to do the right thing and select Grand Jury members from outside Sanford.
“Due to the volatile social climate currently pervading in Sanford at the present time, I am asking that members of the Grand Jury be selected from an area outside of the immediate city and county boundaries to allow for a more unbiased assessment of the facts,” Siplin wrote in the letter to Corey.
Siplin believes that a Grand Jury comprised of members other than from Sanford, will help ensure that truth and fairness are at the center of the investigation.
“I implore you…to do what is right in the eyes of the citizens of Sanford by impaneling an unprejudiced Grand Jury in the investigation of this tragic death, or as within your authority, make a decision as to whether there is legal basis to arrest and charge Mr. Zimmerman of a crime as regards to Trayvon Martin,” Siplin said.
Martin, an unarmed, 17-year-old black teen was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, 28, a white Hispanic, more than one month ago.
Martin was returning from a nearby convenience store when he encountered Zimmerman in a gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman has claimed self defense and suggested he was in a fight for his life, although a recently released police surveillance video of the night when Zimmerman was taken in for questioning by police, appears to point in a different direction.
The Grand Jury is scheduled to meet on April 10, but Cory could make a determination on the case before that date.
