[Pollster1]

a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if: (1) He or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony; or (2) Under those circumstances permitted pursuant to s. 776.013. If Zimmerman was facing "great bodily harm" (like brain damage) from the beating, then he was justified. Period.

Exactly. If Zimmerman is not guilty of 2nd Degree Murder because of self-defense, then he is also not guilty of manslaughter for the same reason.

[longtermmemmory]

conclusion: they dropped murd2 on some other element. They are not considering self defense