Trayvon Martin: The Latest, Week 5

Friday, April 6, 3:50 p.m. EDT: Zimmerman's new lawyer references "shaken baby syndrome": "Shaken baby syndrome" was cited on Friday in the defense of George Zimmerman, the Sanford, Fla., man who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in a case that has sparked a widespread public outcry, Reuters reports. Hal Uhrig, a lawyer who recently joined Zimmerman's defense team, cited in a TV interview the brain damage that can seriously injure or kill an infant. "We're familiar with the shaken baby syndrome," Uhrig said on CBS This Morning. "You shake a baby, the brain shakes around inside the skull. You can die when someone's pounding your head into the ground."

Friday, April 6, 9:20 a.m. EDT: College students to begin 40-mile march: A coalition of Florida college students from Tallahassee, Gainesville, Miami and Orlando will spend the next three days marching about 40 miles between Daytona Beach and Sanford to protest the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The group, which calls itself the Dream Defenders, said the march is a "stand against racial profiling, institutional racism and the legacy of violence that continues to plague young people of color," the Orlando Sentinel reports. It's scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on Friday.

Thursday, April 5, 1:57 p.m. EDT: Audio expert says Zimmerman said "punks," not "coons": A forensic audio expert who analyzed 911 recordings disagrees with speculation that George Zimmerman uttered a racial slur moments before shooting Trayvon Martin to death, CNN reports. The word uttered was "punks," not "coons," according to the conclusion reached by Tom Owen, chairman emeritus of the American Board of Recorded Evidence.

Thursday, April 5, 9:23 a.m. EDT: Rallies continue; new defense lawyer hired: While protests and rallies continued in Miami and Tallahassee, Fla., demanding an arrest and murder charges, the teen's shooter, George Zimmerman, bolstered his legal defense by hiring another veteran attorney to represent him, the Miami Herald reports.

Wednesday, April 4, 12:05 p.m. EDT: CBC introduces resolution calling for justice: Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, led by Chairman Emanuel Cleaver and Reps. Alcee Hastings, Corrine Brown and Frederica Wilson, introduced a congressional resolution today on the death of Trayvon Martin and the controversial gun laws surrounding his death. In comments on H. Res. 612, Cleaver said, "As the Department of Justice continues its thorough investigation into Trayvon Martin's untimely death, it is time for us as legislators to look at the troubling 'Stand your ground' law, which has enabled George Zimmerman to remain free. To honor Trayvon's life and protect others, it is imperative that we shine a light on this controversial, dangerous and sometimes deadly law that has been adopted in over 20 states, to protect our communities and the integrity of  our nation's legal system."

Wednesday, April 4, 10:03 a.m. EDT: NBC apologizes for Zimmerman tape editing: NBC has apologized for an error in the production process that caused the Today show to misrepresent a segment of George Zimmerman's conversation with a 911 operator, the Washington Post reports. The program portrayed that conversation as follows:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.

The conversation that actually took place was:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.

Dispatcher: OK, and this guy -- is he black, white or Hispanic?

Zimmerman: He looks black.

Wednesday, April 4, 9 a.m. EDT: Too much coverage? More Republicans and whites say yes: A majority of Republicans say the media coverage of the Trayvon Martin slaying has been excessive, and 43 percent of whites say it's gone overboard, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, the Los Angeles Times reports. The survey found that 56 percent of Republicans are fed up with the amount of coverage. By contrast, 25 percent of Democrats (and 33 percent of Democrats who identify themselves as white) surveyed say there has been too much coverage. Meanwhile, 16 percent of African Americans polled say they've had enough.

Tuesday, April 3, 9:50 a.m. EDT: Enhanced Zimmerman video shows possible head wound: ABC News reports that a newly enhanced version of surveillance video from the night Trayvon Martin was shot in Sanford more clearly shows a possible gash or injury on the back of shooter George Zimmerman's head.

Monday, April 2, 12:30 p.m. EDT: Recordings reveal ambulance for Zimmerman was canceled: On a recording of a fire-rescue dispatch from the night Trayvon was killed, a rescue worker says, "You can cancel the second rescue," adding that the second patient, Zimmerman, didn't have a gunshot wound. A Martin family spokesperson says that the new information is just another reason Zimmerman should be arrested, WKMG Orlando reports.

Monday, April 2, 9:05 a.m. EDT: Clinton hopes case leads to reappraisal of "Stand your ground" laws: In an interview with ABC News, former President Bill Clinton called Trayvon Martin's death an "incredible personal tragedy" but also a reason to re-examine the Florida legislation at the center of the case. "So I hope this will lead to a reappraisal of the 'Stand your ground' laws," President Clinton said, "and I hope that the truth will come out and that the tragedy of this young man's loss will not be in vain. It's just terrible. Whatever the facts were -- all these people trying to jump on him and talking about some mistake he made in his life -- that's irrelevant because unarmed person who was killed on the street by a gun. And so I hope justice will be done in this case, but I hope that the larger justice that would somehow redeem a portion of this terrible loss."

Read more of The Root's coverage of the Trayvon Martin case here.

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