Teen's shooter may face hate crime charge

MIAMI -- The U.S. Justice Department could bring a hate crime charge against the shooter in the killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin if there is enough evidence the slaying was motivated by racial bias and not simply a fight that spiraled out of control, legal experts and former prosecutors say.

So far, only one such clue has surfaced publicly against George Zimmerman, 28, the neighborhood watch captain who fatally shot the 17-year-old Martin on Feb. 26 in the Florida town of Sanford.

On one of his 911 calls to police, that night, Zimmerman muttered something that some listeners say sounds like a racial slur. Zimmerman's father is white, and his mother is Hispanic.

"It sounds pretty obvious to me," said Donald Tibbs, a Drexel University law professor who has closely studied race, civil rights and criminal procedure.

Others, however, say the recording is not clear enough to determine what Zimmerman actually said.

Zimmerman has not been charged and is claiming self-defense under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. He claims Martin attacked him as he was walking back to his truck, police said.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), yesterday sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking for a federal investigation into whether killings are going unprosecuted because the laws put too much of a burden on local authorities. -- AP