George Zimmerman made an apology from the witness stand to the family of Trayvon Martin on Friday. Zimmerman expressed his remorse, telling the court room that he had thought Trayvon was just slightly younger than himself and was not certain if he was armed. Judge Kenneth M Lester Jr. set Zimmerman′s bond at $150,000 during the hearing on Friday. There were a number of conditions for his release, including a trackable electronic tether and a ban on alcohol and firearms. Florida Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler, who originally had sat on the bench during the initial reading of charges from Special Prosecutor Angela Corey, stepped down from the case, recusing herself since her husband had worked with a CNN legal analyst who had been approached by Zimmerman to represent him. The Martin family lawyer, Benjamin Crump, said that neither Trayvon′s father, Tracy Martin, nor his mother, Sybrina Fulton, were impressed by Zimmerman′s apology. Meanwhile, during the hearing, an investigator, Dale Gilbreath, testified that it is unclear who threw the first punch in the struggle that a newly released photo shows did indeed cause a head injury to Zimmerman, Gilbreath also said that there is no evidence to disprove Zimmerman′s account that he was returning to his truck when confronted by Trayvon Martin.

Some legal analysts are already pointing to trouble ahead for the prosecution team in trying to convict George Zimmerman of second-degree murder. Even the well-known Professor of Law Alan Dershowitz claims that the affidavit filed by the prosecutors is ″so thin that it won′t make it past a judge…″ and questions the ethics of the prosecutors. Dershowitz even goes as far as that the affidavit ″willfully misstates undisputed evidence known to the prosecution″ and that such ″borders on perjury″.

It would seem unlikely that any judge would throw the case out, ruling that the incident was purely a matter of legally acceptable self-defense, particularly with all of the media and political attention on the case. But the bottom line is that the evidence which has been made public thus far would appear to demand just such a ruling. The over zealous nature of certain media and political entities have muddied the waters of the case. Even after ABC News released a photo taken just minutes after the shooting which clearly show injuries and blood on the back of George Zimmerman′s head, confirming that Trayvon Martin most likely was beating him up, pounding Zimmerman′s head onto the pavement, the provocateurs for the Martin family are making excuses. They are trying to cast doubts on the validity of the photo.

My contention from the beginning was that if the Martin family wants justice, they need to focus their attention on the Sanford Police Force. George Zimmerman acted in self-defense from the evidence we have seen an heard from early on as this case gained a national spotlight. Trayvon Martin was not some small, young child. He was essentially a grown man of 6-foot-two-inches in height and only 25-50 pounds lighter than Zimmerman. If Zimmerman was ′hunting′ Martin as some in the hysterical media would have you believe, chasing Martin with his gun drawn, Martin would never had gotten anywhere near Zimmerman before being shot to death.

But not only did Martin get near, he most likely confronted Zimmerman nose-to-nose and a struggle ensued. When Martin saw that Zimmerman had a pistol, they probably fought over it and the gun discharged, shooting Martin at close range. Powder burns said to be on Martin′s clothing estimate the distance was a mere six to nine inches. Oh, and the notion that Martin was ′unarmed′ is not true, either. Be it a can or a bottle, an ice tea drink which Martin had bought just prior to the incident could easily be used to inflict bodily harm. Being younger, more energetic and having a longer reach, Martin would have the advantage in a fistfight with Zimmerman.

So while the George Zimmerman apology may not wash the stain of his actions with Trayvon Martin′s family, it may have helped his case when given from the witness stand during Friday′s bond hearing. The Martin family, according to their lawyer, Benjamin Crump, is upset that Zimmerman will be released on $150,000 bond, even though the amount is considered normal for a homicide case in Florida. Judge Kenneth M Lester Jr., who is now presiding over the case since Florida Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler recused herself, set the bond and laid down other restrictions to George Zimmerman. We will soon learn if Judge Lester will agree with Alan Dershowitz that the prosecution′s affidavit is flawed and throws the whole second degree murder charge out. State Attorney investigator Dale Gilbreath told the court that there was no evidence to conclude who had thrown the first punch in the struggle, nor rule out Zimmerman telling the truth that he was trying to leave the scene before confronted by Martin. The new photo released by ABC News clearly shows that George Zimmerman was injured in the manner the has described since his encounter with Trayvon Martin.