Safety, location at issue if Zimmerman is released

May 20, 2013

Posted: Thu 5:26 PM, Apr 19, 2012

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Safety, location at issue if Zimmerman is released

FILE - This undated file police photo provided by the Orange County Jail via The Miami Herald shows George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26. Trayvon Martin�s supporters pack churches, swarm rallies and wear hooded sweat shirts in solidarity while friends and family of Zimmerman remain largely out of sight. The few that have defended Zimmerman did so reluctantly, most fearing public backlash. (AP Photo/Orange County Jail via The Miami Herald, File)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- After spending a week in a jail cell by himself, the neighborhood watch volunteer accused of murdering Trayvon Martin stands a good chance of being granted bail despite the charge's severity, according to legal experts.

Zimmerman is scheduled to appear at a bail hearing Friday in Sanford. If he is released, legal experts say key questions include whether Zimmerman can leave Seminole County and how he would remain safe.

Factors in whether Zimmerman will get bail include whether he poses a flight risk and is a danger to the community.

Zimmerman faces life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 slaying of 17-year-old Martin in Sanford, Fla.., where Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch volunteer. The two got into a confrontation and Zimmerman shot the unarmed Martin. Zimmerman claims it was self-defense

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