No wonder Dan Abrams left MSNBC . . . The former legal analyst at the "Lean Forward" network, now at ABC, expressed an opinion this morning that would surely be unwelcome at his former shop.
Guest-hosting on Good Morning America, Abrams opined that as a legal matter "I don't see how a jury convicts" George Zimmerman of murder or manslaughter. Abrams sees too much reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case to warrant a guilty verdict. View the video after the jump.
Hard to imagine that Abrams' opinion was welcomed with open arms at ABC, but at least he was given the chance to express it. Abrams did emphasize that he was expressing a view "as a legal matter," and that "you can't predict juries, so who knows?"
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: We're lucky to have you, Dan, here with us, because you've been following this from the beginning and you actually told me this morning that you think the prosecution's in trouble.
DAN ABRAMS: Yeah, the prosecution's case is now over. They've presented all their evidence. And I do not see how a jury, as a legal matter, convicts of either second-degree murder or manslaughter. Now, that does not mean that George Zimmerman was justified, it doesn't mean that George Zimmerman was right. It means that when the prosecution has the burden to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, meaning they have the responsibility to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, it is hard to imagine that of all the witnesses we've seen, that there is not reasonable doubt as to that, up to this point. This is just the prosecution's case, and even amongst those prosecution witnesses, we have seen testimony which it's hard to imagine would not be perceived as reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury. But you can't predict juries, so who knows?
