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that an angry and hostile Zimmerman set out armed with a deadly weapon to confront Martin despite advise given by the police,
that Zimmerman instead of waiting to assist police took off after Martin,
that at the time there was no evidence that a crime had been committed or that there existed an imminent threat of one being committed.
Zimmerman however is not committing any crime either. Nor is there any rule that prevents him from confronting Martin.
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that Martin did not sneak up after Zimmerman but rather at the very least was faced by Martin who verbal confronted him,
that the armed Zimmerman had an opportunity and responsibility to attempt deescalating the confrontation of his own making,
Unfortunately that does not appear anywhere in the statutes of which I am aware...good common sense perhaps. But not the law
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that it is far more reasonable to assume that Martin had a greater right to stand his ground and defend himself than Zimmerman having at first walked away and later running away from an unidentified male stalking him,
The crucial piece of evidence, if I were a member of the grand jury wouldn't be whether or not I would vote to indict Zimmerman for homicide but what would be the severity of the charge and that would hinge on the voice recognition analysis. If it was indeed the voice of Martin and not Zimmerman, I would vote for first degree murder.
The statute however does not have any equivalence or level to it. You can or cannot use fatal force. I think Martin had a reasonable fear of great bodily harm when confronted...more so if he saw the gun. So I think he could have legally made an attack. (not saying he did..but could have). However once he took Zimmerman down Zimmerman was in reasonable fear of harm so he had the right to use deadly force. At this point if they wrestled for the gun had the right to use it.
Hispanic is an ethnicity that can be of any race. Zimmerman obviously has enough European heritage in him that he could be called white.
Sorry but no. To be considered white you have to actually look white. Most hispanic people have anglo heritage of some degree but most do not look white (and Zimmerman definitely doesn't look white).
Honestly I think because Zimmerman has an anglo name, people initially made the mistake to think the shooter was white... and that mistake is most likely the only reason the story took off. If his name had been Jorge Ramirez no one would have paid attention... crimes by and against blacks/ hispanics rarely make the news (this has actually been studied).
To think this is all about race is to be CRIMINALLY retarded. A man is dead. Under questionable circumstances. There appeared to be no interest whatsoever in finding out the details of the dead mans demise. Would that sit well with any of you if it was a family member that was disrespected in this manner by society? Irregardless of the race of the killer. Just saying, in the early moments before this gets out of control and turns into another nauseating run of defensive white racism.
Sorry but no. To be considered white you have to actually look white. Most hispanic people have anglo heritage of some degree but most do not look white (and Zimmerman definitely doesn't look white).
Honestly I think because Zimmerman has an anglo name, people initially made the mistake to think the shooter was white... and that mistake is most likely the only reason the story took off. If his name had been Jorge Ramirez no one would have paid attention... crimes by and against blacks/ hispanics rarely make the news (this has actually been studied).
Sorry, but no. Hispanics can be of any race. Zimmerman does not look particularly "non-white" to me.
Within a half hour after receiving a brutal beating, which included blows to the face/nose, his head being slammed repeatedly on concrete and shooting Martin, Zimmerman emerges from the police car looking as if he just stepped out of a movie theater.
I'd feel silly to tell someone that I thought he just got cleaned up good while receiving medical attention.
Did they take photos before they gave him medical attention in the back of a police car?
"It's a very grainy video. ... However, if you watch, you'll see one of the officers, as he's walking in, looking at something on the back of his head," Sonner said. "Clearly the report shows he was cleaned up before he was taken in the squad car."
Ron Martinelli, founder of a California forensic consulting firm, said that Zimmerman was probably cleaned up when he was treated by paramedics at the scene and that in many cases there is no significant visual evidence of an injury.
"It really depends on how did the head strike the concrete? Did he get hit straight on in the face? Did he get hit with a fist or a backhand?" Martinelli said. "The video proves absolutely nothing."
Investigators have not released any paramedic or hospital records on the gunman. The police report said that Zimmerman was found bleeding from the nose and the back of his head, and his back was wet and covered in grass, as if he had been lying on the ground. He was given first aid at the scene. According to his lawyer, he also went to the hospital the next day.
Hispanic is an ethnicity that can be of any race. Zimmerman obviously has enough European heritage in him that he could be called white.
As far as the role that race plays in this issue, I don't think this is a case of "man who looks white gets away with killing a black kid" as much as it is "man unfairly harasses an innocent young man just because he's black". Either way, Trayvon is dead because Zimmerman had to play vigilante. Doing his job? No. All he had to do was politely get Martin's attention and ask if he was lost or what his business was at the complex.
I don't know the details behind what exactly happened. It seems only one man does know. But this I do know; Zimmerman was carrying a gun and thought of himself as the neighborhood watch dog. He called 911 and the police told him to quit following Trayvon Martin. He ignored the police and a short time later Martin is shot and killed. So no matter what the exact details are to the event, if Zimmerman would have minded his own business, listened to the police, and not felt like he needed to be some semi-cop, one person would still be alive today. Whether Zimmerman is guilty of a crime or not, I don't know, but he's guilty of something. If nothing else, he's guilty of not just terribly terribly bad judgement, but bad judgement while carrying a gun.
[/list]Zimmerman however is not committing any crime either. Nor is there any rule that prevents him from confronting
Martin.Unfortunately that does not appear anywhere in the statutes of which I am aware...good common sense perhaps. But not the law
Never said that he did, but Martin is dead as the result of Zimmerman's "legal confrontation," a confrontation that was initiated by him even under Florida law fortunately:
776.041 Use of force by aggressor.—The justification described in the preceding sections of this chapter is not available to a person who:
(1) Is attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after the commission of, a forcible felony; or (2) Initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself, unless:
(a) Such force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant; or
(b) In good faith, the person withdraws from physical contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the assailant that he or she desires to withdraw and terminate the use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of force.
I think Martin had a reasonable fear of great bodily harm when confronted...more so if he saw the gun. So I think he could have legally made an attack. (not saying he did..but could have).
By involving himself in a confrontation what he was advised not to enter, and by entering into that confrontation armed with a deadly weapon, Zimmerman put into play a series of events that he holds full responsibility for. In arguing that Martin had more than sufficient grounds to believe that;
that Martin being lawfully where he was had every reasonable belief that as the result of Zimmerman's stalking angry demeanor (see 911 tapes) that it was he who was threatened by death or serious bodily harm (see evidence that Martin ran away from Zimmerman even though he had committed no crime),
that once engaged in the defense of his person discovering his assailant armed with a firearm, Martin had every reason to remove that firearm from his assailant,
that by being in possession of a firearm while confronting Martin, Zimmerman had every responsibility to avoid a physical confrontation whereby his weapon might be lost to the victim.
YES!~ Dang them....they edited the tape to make it look like the shooter focused on "he looks black" when he didn't, and once they asked him, only then he said that. Your link above has the transcript of the way NBC edited it to sound, and then the way
I find it more than a bit fascinating that his black friend, singular, admits to not actually being a close friend of Zimmerman but a friend of one of Zimmerman's family and that he has quit his job so he can appear on camera to defend Zimmerman.
A former Orlando-area TV reporter who this week became the de-facto voice for George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, now seems to be backing away from that apparently self-assumed role.
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