George Zimmerman's New Attorney Thinks Her Client Is A Racist And Stand Your Ground Is An “Awful Law”

Jayne Weintraub -- an attorney hired by George Zimmerman to defend him against domestic abuse charges -- criticized Florida's “terrible” Stand Your Ground self-defense law during a television appearance earlier this year defending Zimmerman over the accusation that he murdered Trayvon Martin.

In July, Zimmerman was acquitted on charges of second degree murder and manslaughter after fatally shooting 17-year-old Martin in Sanford, Florida in February 2012. Zimmerman's acquittal was in part made possible by Stand Your Ground, which was specifically cited by a juror as a reason for acquittal. Zimmerman has had a number of law enforcement interactions since his acquittal. On November 18 he was charged with felony aggravated assault and domestic violence battery after his girlfriend accused him of choking her and threatening her with a gun on separate occasions.

Weintraub, a Florida defense attorney who often appears on TV to provide the viewpoint of the defense in a criminal trial, said on the July 12 edition of CNN's Piers Morgan Live that Stand Your Ground “is a terrible, terrible law” and that “it's almost giving extra permission for those who carry guns.” She added that she doesn't believe the evidence supports a guilty verdict.

PIERS MORGAN, HOST: I look at what's happened with gun control in America, where absolutely zero happened after Sandy Hook and Aurora. Why should I have any confidence living in America that anything will change here?

WEINTRAUB: Personally, I think Stand Your Ground is a terrible, terrible law. I think it's almost giving extra permission for those who carry guns.

MORGAN: It's a license to kill people, isn't it?

WEINTRAUB: And I think it's an awful law.

During a July 2 appearance on Morgan's show, Weintraub said of Zimmerman's actions on the night of Martin's death, “Should he not have had a gun? Of course he shouldn't have had a gun. I don't think anyone should.” Weintraub also called Zimmerman, who at the time of the Martin shooting was a neighborhood watch volunteer, a “wannabe cop” but suggested he was nonetheless innocent of criminal liability.

While the trial was ongoing, Weintraub tweeted that she believed both Zimmerman and Martin were “rascists” [sic]: