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Fact: George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin. Period. People that say that GZ was justified. How? In what way? He harassed a person, which led to a scuffle, then killed him. TM did not pose an immediate threat, or any threat for that matter. I think its really sad and stupid people are trying to defend Zimmerman's action. He killed a teen. With that said, I think that we should be objectionable and he, obviously, should have his day in court. The sentencing should not be influenced by rampant media coverage of this issue.
I believe he is innocent of murder and guilty of stupidity. However, the two don't go hand in hand.
Its going to boil down to what he felt in his mind at the time of the incident. Whether or not he started the fight is irrelevant. You don't lose the right to self defense, just because you started the fight. Everyone keeps focusing on the fact he got out of his car and followed Martin. Ok. He did. And? Yes it would not have occurred, maybe, if he had not done that. No disagreements here.
Except, what he did is not illegal and not wrong. It happens with people all across the country, every single day. The issue is this: Did he feel he was in immediate (some imminent) fear of death and/or great bodily harm, at the TIME he pulled the trigger. NO ONE can get into his mind and say otherwise, other then him.
There is a HUGE amount of case law on this already. And, just by going on the photographs and his statement, he will walk out of that court room.
The one thing I have been harping on in this forum, since I joined, is the fact criminal law and emotions do not mix. Emotionally, Zimmerman is a cold blooded killer. The FACTS and purely looking at it from a criminal justice standpoint: His act was self defense.
ALL killings are murder, until proved otherwise. So yes, Zimmerman is a murderer. So am I. I've killed several people under the color of authority and it is no different. I committed murder, until the investigation proved it was justifiable.
The prosecution of Zimmerman is purely a political one. Corey was given marching orders. Either specific or vague, to charge Zimmerman, by the Governor of Florida. The original district attorney did not find sufficient evidence to charge Zimmerman. NO NEW evidence, statements and/or physical, have come forward which the original district attorney did not know.
Yet Corey charged him. Why? No reason except for plain and simple politics. She charged Zimmerman, knowing he would walk out of that courtroom. Yet, she can and will claim, "I did what I thought was right."
Zimmerman was stupid for getting out of the car and following Martin. However, he is not guilty of murder or even manslaughter. If stupidity was a crime, most of the United States would be behind bars.
You are wrong about this statement:
"NO NEW evidence, statements and/or physical, have come forward which the original district attorney did not know."
The State Attorney's Office interviewed many more witnesses than the SPD interviewed. Unless you have read and analyzed all the evidence which has been released via discovery, you don't know what new physical evidence may have been found, as well as other evidence. However, clearly the special prosecutor's investigation was more far-reaching than the SPD, and she had to find more evidence than they did in order to file charges.
IMO, seems your analysis of the State Attorney's actions are too simplistic and over generalized.
Additionally, one issue will be Zimmerman's credibility when he claims that he felt in fear for his life. You indicate you've worked in criminal justice; have you never come upon a defendant who lies to avoid prosecution or conviction? And you must know how his credibility will be tested.
"NO NEW evidence, statements and/or physical, have come forward which the original district attorney did not know."
The State Attorney's Office interviewed many more witnesses than the SPD interviewed. Unless you have read and analyzed all the evidence which has been released via discovery, you don't know what new physical evidence may have been found, as well as other evidence. However, clearly the special prosecutor's investigation was more far-reaching than the SPD, and she had to find more evidence than they did in order to file charges.
IMO, seems your analysis of the State Attorney's actions are too simplistic and over generalized.
Additionally, one issue will be Zimmerman's credibility when he claims that he felt in fear for his life. You indicate you've worked in criminal justice; have you never come upon a defendant who lies to avoid prosecution or conviction? And you must know how his credibility will be tested.
What new evidence? Where is it? Where are these witnesses? Where is the physical evidence?
Does it matter if Zimmerman lied or not? No. It doesn't. What PROOF do you have, he did not? So far the evidence suggests what he has said is true. Sure, you can "twist" things to fit what you want. However, overall and in general, the physical evidence agrees with what Zimmerman says.
Working in the criminal justice field? Yes. 24 years as a police officer. Including over 8 years as a murder investigator. I don't take this one way or the other. Just the facts as they are presented. And, as they are presented, Zimmerman's account gets him out of jail.
It doesn't matter what your personal motivation and/or emotional thoughts are. NOTHING has changed what has been presented.
By the way, EVERYONE lies. Victims, suspects, AND witnesses. NO ONE tells the truth.
You need to go back a few posts to understand instead of taking one statement out of context.
When you look at homicide rates you find the highest rates of homicide offenders is among those in the 17 to 24 age bracket. You are more likely to be killed by a 17 year old "child" than a 40 year old adult. You are at greater risk of being killed by a 17 year old "child" if you are also a "child" or black.
What does this have to do with Trayvon Martin? I can quote a lot of statistics. Do you know that, according to the CDC, eight teens ages 16 to 19 die every day from motor vehicle injuries? "Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash." The CDC also reports that young people ages 15-24, who represent only 14% of the U.S. population, account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females.
So, does this mean we should raise the legal driving age to 25?
Again, I still don't know what this has to do with Trayvon Martin, since George Zimmerman never met him. Are you trying to convince me he was an adult because you think I'd feel differently if he was 25? If so, you're wrong.
Has anybody ever stopped to think that maybe this is just a case of two messed up idiots that couldn't help but collide with each other? Normal people would have avoided tragedy but these two couldn't.
Why are you including Trayvon Martin? Although I've always said that this is a sad story about 2 people who should have never met (and it happens a lot) I don't see why Trayvon Martin isn't "normal." The surveillance tape from the convenient store clearly proves what has been reported all along. He went to a local 7-Eleven during the NBA All-Star game to get his little brother some candy and also bought a can of iced tea. Are you saying it's abnormal to take a walk at 7:15 in the evening? We don't know what happened after George Zimmerman lost sight of him, but he told the 911 dispatcher "he ran" which sounds very normal to me, considering he was being followed. Evidence proves he was talking to a 16 year old female friend seconds before he was shot. That also sounds normal to me.
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