“The attacks that I’ve heard on Rachel Jeantel have been nothing short of offensive to any American that wants to see young people … to do the right thing and come forward. No matter what happens in this trial, if people come forward, they ought not be ridiculed. They ought not be in any way given the kind of treatment that this young lady was given … To castigate her, to characterize her, to stereotype her, and use all kind of attacks, I think, is something that does an injustice to the criminal justice system,” offers Rev. Al Sharpton during a MSNBC interview with attorney Rod Vereen, who’s representing Rachel Jeantel, 19, earwitness to Trayvon Martin’s last minutes before his murder by George Zimmerman in February 2012.
He also noted that defense attorneys went out of their way in an attempt to discredit the teen.
Vereen informed viewers that Jeantel is not allowed to speak with media or her attorney about her testimony because she’s still under subpoena, but said that “her body language tells me that she’s happy that it’s over with.”
Vereen has instructed the teenage girl, who was “cast into the limelight by the media, state and defense [attorneys],” to avoid social media. Also coming to her defense in the court of public opinion, Vereen says witnesses always have “inconsistencies in statements,” but that does not always mean they’re lying. Jeantel was on the stand for more than five hours over the course of two days.
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