Has anyone been keeping up with the Zimmerman trial?

[Wheeltax]

What I will share is this: Right or wrong, this was our judicial system at work and so I got no issue with the verdict. I think that people should get a better understanding of how things work in the legal system. Having a theory on how something happened, and proving is two different things and the jury felt the prosecution didn't. Simple as that to me.

Couldn't have said it better. It's unbelievable how many people have made up their minds on this case based on no facts. The fact is that no one knows the truth except for Zimmerman himself; he may have been telling the 100% truth, or he may be a complete liar. The fact of the matter is that the prosecution could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman was guilty.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

martin could have walked away and did not

Zimmerman was told to walk away.. and he did not.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Zimmerman and Martin are people and why the media and some people have to make everything about race I don't understand.

There was clearly some profiling going on by Zimmerman, whether it was racial or not, i don't know. But Zimmerman clearly profiled this kid as a criminal from the get go based on what he said to the dispatcher.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

apparently the Jury didn't think so.......



Well said....but way too much focus on it..........over 20 dead in Chicago just over the 4th weekend...........no attention at all to the problems there.

People die every day.. we can't get up in arms every single time someone is murdered. No one would have time for anything else. There are certain cases that we look at because they are clear to most of us what is right and wrong.. and we want justice. A 28 year old with a gun, ignoring a police dispatcher and instigating a conflict with a 17 year old kid because he "looked suspicious" because he was walking casually in the rain on the lawn instead of the sidewalk, and even though he has 30 pounds on the kid, says all he could do was shoot the kid.

Zimmerman will get his.. of course, he'll also be a millionaire now in this land of America where it pays greatly to be a garbage human being. How's Casey Anthony coming along with her next big book deal?

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Had Travon never left his house, there wouldn't be an incident either. I mean, you can kinda take this to many extremes .

Except that a police dispatcher didn't tell Trayvon to stay in his house. One did, however, tell GZ to stay in his truck. Its not an extreme to expect GZ to listen to a police dispatcher when they tell you to do something (or to stop doing something).

 

[Nightman]

I think this was a case that got the media's attention for the wrong reasons and got turned into a circus because of political pressure. The initial investigation, which was thorough, led them to pass on arresting Zimmerman. It was clearly self defense and not one piece of real evidence pointed to anything else. The original Police Chief was fired, a Special Prosecutor was brought in and she immediately bypassed the Grand Jury and had Zimmerman arrested and over charged with 2nd Degree Murder. Almost every legal scholar thought that the case was a joke and thankfully the jury agreed. The burden of proof is on the State for a reason. They have to prove what happened with evidence, not emotion or supposition.

 

[Nightman]

Except that a police dispatcher didn't tell Trayvon to stay in his house. One did, however, tell GZ to stay in his truck. Its not an extreme to expect GZ to listen to a police dispatcher when they tell you to do something (or to stop doing something).

A police dispatcher has ZERO authority. And Zimmerman wasn't chasing Martin. You should've watched the trial.

 

[Hoofbite]

Doesn't matter who started it legally although I say it does morally. Legally if you perceive your life is at risk or you're going to suffer great bodily harm then you can use deadly force.

I'm not a legal expert but I'd be hard pressed to believe the law doesn't provide similar protection for the aggressors. If it doesn't that's an absolute debacle. You could essentially get away with premeditated murder provided you took the beating to prove your use of deadly force.

 

[Hoofbite]

A police dispatcher has ZERO authority. And Zimmerman wasn't chasing Martin. You should've watched the trial.

He was chasing him. He told the dispatcher he was as it was happening. He later claimed to be looking for a street sign because he couldn't remember the name of the street that has the only two entrances to the community and is one of only three streets in the entire community. Supposedly he couldn't find a street sign so he went to the next block to look for an address but he never provided any address at all, even when directly asked to provide the address of the house he was standing in front of. Problem was, he wasn't standing in front of a house. He was in between them and says so himself.

Whether or not the dispatcher actually has authority is irrelevant because any person of reasonable mind would listen to a dispatcher when they tell you not to potentially put yourself in harms way. You're either reckless or irrational to ignore the advice of the emergency services that you are currently calling for help.

 

[Hoofbite]

I'm not a legal expert but I'd be hard pressed to believe the law doesn't provide similar protection for the aggressors. If it doesn't that's an absolute debacle. You could essentially get away with premeditated murder provided you took the beating to prove your use of deadly force.

Mistake. 5 minute edit window is kinda rushed. I meant to say that I don't think that someone who chased down a person and initiated a fight would be afforded the same protection as a person who was simply attacked and on the defensive.

 

[Nightman]

He was chasing him. He told the dispatcher he was as it was happening. He later claimed to be looking for a street sign because he couldn't remember the name of the street that has the only two entrances to the community and is one of only three streets in the entire community. Supposedly he couldn't find a street sign so he went to the next block to look for an address but he never provided any address at all, even when directly asked to provide the address of the house he was standing in front of. Problem was, he wasn't standing in front of a house. He was in between them and says so himself.

Whether or not the dispatcher actually has authority is irrelevant because any person of reasonable mind would listen to a dispatcher when they tell you not to potentially put yourself in harms way. You're either reckless or irrational to ignore the advice of the emergency services that you are currently calling for help.

You keep using a rational mind or irrational mind like that is some sort of legal argument. Zimmerman was not chasing Martin. The dispatcher said "we don't need you to do that" when they thought Zimmerman was chasing Martin. Zimmerman responded "OK". Zimmerman said he no longer saw Martin and the dispatcher asked if he still wanted the police to come. He said yes and realized he didn't know the exact address where he was and didn't want to give his home address, so he said he would find a nearby address. Not crazy or irrational. It was sometime in the next 4 minutes that the fight started. All evidence points to Martin striking Zimmerman first and severely and the one sided beating continued for almost a minute. Zimmerman begged a neighbor help repeatedly. When the neighbor ran upstairs to call the police instead of physically helping, Zimmerman finally pulled his gun and shot one, deadly shot. He didn't empty his clip or run away. He asked another neighbor to call 911 and waited for the Police to arrive. He was treated on sight for his injuries and willingly surrendered. He was interrogated for 3 hours without requesting a lawyer and they found his story credible.

 

[tunahelper]

The people spoke and Zimmerman found not guilty. Justice served.

 

[jobberone]

I'm not a legal expert but I'd be hard pressed to believe the law doesn't provide similar protection for the aggressors. If it doesn't that's an absolute debacle. You could essentially get away with premeditated murder provided you took the beating to prove your use of deadly force.

The law provides equal protection to either no matter who was the aggressor. If someone provokes you that is mitigating but does not provide immunity from assault etc. You cannot strike people for calling you a name or following you etc. There is also reasonable force to defend. Once someone is in a position to not defend themselves then you must withdraw even if they are the aggressor.

It's difficult at times to withdraw your emotions and preconceptions as well as sense of morals from a situation particularly one ending in a tragic death of a human being. But emotional reasoning is not the answer. He was charged with a crime and the jurors stuck to the law and reached THEIR verdict based on the law. Our system is not perfect but it is the best or equal of any system on the earth.

 

[Dodger12]

People just can't get over the basic premise that GZ did nothing illegal to initiate a confrontation. If Travon had just kept walking home, then none of this would have happened but he chose to confront someone because he was (possibly) following him and escalate the situation. He had 4 minutes to walk home but instead chose to confront GZ. If I see someone suspicious in my neighborhood walking through yards and looking at houses, especially after a series of break-ins, then I have every right to follow and observe that person. There is absolutely nothing illegal about that. The dispatcher told GZ that she "didn't need him to do that," not because he was breaking the law but for his own safety.

The State pulled out all the stops in this case and stretched the truth to fit their narrow view. The State is supposed to be the finders and defenders of truth yet they withheld potential evidence from the defense and it took a whistleblower to release this evidence and he was immediately fired. I've never seen where a defendant's history was such an open book but the alleged victim's history was off limits, going so far as to call college professors in as witnesses because GZ took Criminal Justice classes in the past. That's insane.

I've lost a lot of faith and respect in the system, not because GZ was found not-guilty, but that he was brought to trial in the first place. If TM was white, this never would have gone to trial. If GZ was black, this never would have gone to trial. Period. We don't arrest people in this country to let the jury make the "hard" decision.....we arrest people based on the evidence and the facts. When the lead investigator is a better witness for the defense, rather than the prosecution, that should cause a hell of a lot of doubt about the veracity of the charges and arrest. When prosecution witnesses change their story to fit their agenda and the government's standard for Murder 2, that should raise some red flags and they should never be put on the stand. Had the defendant been black and the prosecution witnesses changed their story on the stand to help find him guilty, we'd be talking about how the defendant was railroaded (and rightly so). A man's freedom should not hang in the balance of politics

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Except that a police dispatcher didn't tell Trayvon to stay in his house. One did, however, tell GZ to stay in his truck. Its not an extreme to expect GZ to listen to a police dispatcher when they tell you to do something (or to stop doing something).

It's not against the law to get out of your truck. You can't convict somebody of something that is not a crime and getting out of the truck was not illegal or a crime.

 

[TheCount]

The courts have spoken and that's that. I don't suspect that the verdict will change anyone's mind about what happened. Now let's see if this epic "Race War" that has been predicted by so many actually manifests.

 

[Eric_Boyer]

Zimmerman was told to walk away.. and he did not.

either you are lying, or don't know the facts to the case.

he was never told to walk away. He was told they don't need him to follow. huge difference.

 

[jobberone]

After a period of time you will see some civil suits from this.

 

[Eric_Boyer]

He was chasing him. He told the dispatcher he was as it was happening. He later claimed to be looking for a street sign because he couldn't remember the name of the street that has the only two entrances to the community and is one of only three streets in the entire community. Supposedly he couldn't find a street sign so he went to the next block to look for an address but he never provided any address at all, even when directly asked to provide the address of the house he was standing in front of. Problem was, he wasn't standing in front of a house. He was in between them and says so himself.

Whether or not the dispatcher actually has authority is irrelevant because any person of reasonable mind would listen to a dispatcher when they tell you not to potentially put yourself in harms way. You're either reckless or irrational to ignore the advice of the emergency services that you are currently calling for help.

you are cherry picking what the operator said.

he also said to let him know if Martin does anything else. How do you suppose you do that without following?

 

[jnday]

Wasn't he walking away the entire time?

From my understanding, he came back and confronted Zimmerman.