Kirk Zimmerman will not testify in murder trial

Posted on May 1, 2019

By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – The jury deciding murder defendant Kirk Zimmerman’s fate will not hear from Zimmerman at the trial.

Zimmerman told the judge Wednesday afternoon he will not testify in his own defense on charges he shot to death his former wife Pam at her east side Bloomington office in November 2014.

Closing arguments in the trial are now set to begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, according to our news partner WMBD-TV.

The judge will give the jury instructions before deliberations begin. Back when lawyers were picking the jury, defense attorney John Rogers noted that jurors can not hold it against Zimmerman for exercising his right to remain silent during the trial.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…