(CBS/AP) SANFORD, Fla. - The family of a neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing Trayvon Martin is asking a Florida judge Friday to let him out of jail while he awaits trial, with his wife testifying that he is not a violent person.
George Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, and parents testified by phone in the hearing at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center.
Prosecutors asked Shellie Zimmerman about two incidents they said showed he has a violent nature. In one, Zimmerman took anger management courses after an undercover police officer said Zimmerman attacked him. A former girlfriend also once accused Zimmerman of assaulting her.
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Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder. He has admitted to fatally shooting the 17-year-old unarmed teen during a confrontation last February in a gated community in Sanford, about 15 miles northeast of Orlando. But Zimmerman says he shot out of self-defense.
Zimmerman was at the hearing wearing a suit but in shackles. Martin's parents are also present.
Legal experts say factors in Zimmerman's favor include that he has ties to the local community and that he doesn't appear to be a flight risk since he turned in voluntarily after second-degree murder charges were filed against him last week. He also has never been convicted of a crime, which would indicate he doesn't pose a threat to society.
"Although it's not routine for people charged with murder to get bond, they do get bond, and I think there is an excellent argument to be made in his specific case for him to be released on bond," said defense attorney Randy McClean, who practices in Seminole County, about 15 miles northeast of Orlando.
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Defense attorney Mark O'Mara indicated he would ask that Zimmerman be allowed to leave the area, if he is granted bond, because of concerns about his safety. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester was assigned the case Wednesday after a previous judge recused herself because of a potential conflict of interest.
"Normally, the conditions are that you stay local. I think that is going to be difficult," O'Mara said in an interview. "I think nobody would deny the fact that if George Zimmerman were walking down the street today, he would be at risk. That is a reality."
O'Mara has said he would prefer that Zimmerman be released so he can assist in building a defense case.
The judge would have discretion to allow Zimmerman to live elsewhere along with a number of restrictions such as a curfew, regular reporting requirement and possibly an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, said Florida International University law professor Joelle Moreno.
O'Mara said he would ask for assistance from law enforcement. Kim Cannaday, a spokeswoman for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, said she couldn't comment on what security procedures will be in place for Zimmerman if he is released. The sheriff's office does have the ability to monitor defendants outside the county if a judge requests a GPS monitor to be used as a condition of release.
The lack of an arrest in Martin's death for 44 days spurred protests nationwide, several in Seminole County, in which participants chanted and held signs that said, "Arrest Zimmerman Now!" Anger over a delay in Zimmerman's arrest led to the Sanford police chief stepping down temporarily and the recusal of the prosecutor who normally handles cases out of Sanford.
