Gov. Scott: Outcry didn’t lead to Zimmerman charge

WEST PALM BEACH – The prosecutor who charged a neighborhood watch volunteer with killing an unarmed teenager was driven by facts and not by public pressure, Gov. Rick Scott said Monday.

Scott said special prosecutor Angela Corey’s action against George Zimmerman was not the result of outcry over the Feb. 26 shooting of 17-year-old Martin.

“She’s somebody that cares about victims, she wants due process for everybody involved, she wants to get the facts out,” he said. “She makes decisions based on the facts and on what’s right.”

Zimmerman was charged last week with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting in a gated community in Sanford, near Orlando. Zimmerman, who is expected to plead not guilty, says he acted in self-defense.

The arrest came nearly six weeks after the shooting and subsequent protests nationwide that stirred a debate about race and self-defense.

Scott said he was confident Corey would “continue to do the right thing.”