April 11, 2012 - 3:17 pm
Florida state’s attorney Angela Corey announced this afternoon that George Zimmerman has been charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman turned himself in and is currently in custody. Corey declined to disclose where Zimmerman is being held, out of his safety as well as the safety of others.
As to the charge Zimmerman faces:
Under Florida law, second degree murder is the unlawful killing of a person when perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual. The maximum sentence for the crime is life in prison.
And don’t miss:
Looking Under the Hoodie: Lessons from Trayvon Martin’s Death
So when does the new evidence which justifies this come out? Any thoughts on that?
Well, it should come out during discovery. Hopefully this prosecutor will go by the book. This will be a hugely controversial trial.
You are assuming this goes to trial. The prosecutor’s charge is always the opening bid.
– one must beware. He now has a new and veteran attorney. Let him handle it.
Helloooo. Zimmerman is a WHITE hispanic. The child was AFRICAN- AMERICAN.
Have you not been listening?
Hello…. “the child” was over six feet tall (considerably taller than Zimmerman, weighed nearly what Zimmerman weighed, and was beating his head against the concrete sidewalk. None of this said “child” to any onlooker, or Zimmerman. Color has *nothing* to do with it. Unless *you* think it does?
Are you the guy that “/sarcasm” was invented for?
He may not be but I am. I like it when people use words instead of making me read their minds. Especially when they write something in which the context is not clear or in dispute by many.
Rodney King / O.J. Part III….
More like Oscar Grant.
Sherman McCoy.
Sherman Hemsley!
Now he’s up in the big leagues…
What’s the jury going to look like?
What will the jury look like?
The professionally unemployed recipients of government largesse would be my guess.
Let’s just say it won’t be a rainbow coalition.
And why do I think this will not be enough for the race hustlers and the MSM? Would love to be wrong about what I think they’ll say next.
Here’s hoping cooler heads prevail and that we find out what happened.
Looks like the howling mob has had its demands met by the very special prosecutor. It gives me such confidence in our system. Why not forego the trial and just have an internet poll to decide…sorry, “decide” implies he’s not about to be railroaded in the interest of “social justice”… how about to ESTABLISH his guilt so he can be sentenced.
Isnt it enough that he was the aggressor? Trayvon wasn’t out looking for trouble and its not fair that this man took a kid from his mother. He had no right to take the law into his hands!!! Thank GOD this was the outcome. Forget race this was a 116 pound kid up against a 234 pound adult with a gun. Someone mentioned this was like the OJ trial I guess Zimmerman is OJ , only he won’t be getting away!
Justice needs to be done, but you do need to update your facts. Zimmerman was 170 at the time of the shooting, not 234. Martin wasn’t 116 pounds, more like 150, and four inches taller than Zimmerman. We don’t know what happened, and Zimmerman is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. And if he is found guilty in a fair trial, then he should be punished.
The New Black Panthers should also be investigated and possibly punished for putting a bounty on Zimmerman’s head. You agree with that, don’t you?
No justice is going to be done – the prosecutor didn’t dare send this to a grand jury because they might not go along with the railroad job. Now it will be a Kangaroo Kourt – no way Zimmerman can get a fair trial in Florida.
Hey folks.
Meet the jury pool!
Actually, the known facts haven’t established who was the aggressor. One version has the gun being presented during the beating. Here is some advice and information by way of Massad Ayoob:
http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2012/03/23/george-zimmerman-and-trayvon-martin-what-we-dont-know/
Those who’ve heard of him know he’s knowledgeable and connected in law-enforcement circles. His advice to all remains sound.
Neither the facts nor the law will be allowed to interfere with “justice” in this case. Zimmerman is a dead man walking.
Open and shut case, right? Never mind that Trayvon had a history of being up to no good or comported himself like a gangsta mofo with tats, grillz and a rather nasty Twitter handle. Never mind that, at the time of the alleged incident, the two were of similar weights and Martin was several inches taller than Zimmerman. Never mind that there are multiple story versions, each challenging the other as to just who attacked whom. Never mind that there is a largely black lynch mob out there screaming for “white” blood, conducting a nationwide conspiracy to kidnap and/or murder a specific individual.
The defense has cause to excuse this juror, your honor!
Someone mentioned this was like the OJ trial I guess Zimmerman is OJ , only he won’t be getting away!
Back then, when it was two white people who had been slaughtered, and the alleged killer was black the same people who are now screaming for Zimmerman’s head (literally, in some cases) were screaming about an unfair “rush to judgment” and how O.J. was “innocent until proven guilty.” And they also applauded when O.J. was acquitted through obvious jury nullification.
How ironic.
Where did you get that he weighed 116 pounds?
Trayvon was wandering around in the rain looking for a little old lady to help across the street, on his way to choir practice.
Zimmerman was the aggressor, he first slammed Trayvon visciously across the knuckles with his nose.
Then he push hard with his head against Trayvon’s hands, refusing to stop his his head slowly, so that when Zimmerman’s head his the pavement, Trayvon’s hands were cruelly jarred, and he risked being splattered with blood, which is not a good health practice.
Finally, when Trayvon was kind enough to try to take the gun away from Zimmerman, so Zimmerman wouldn’t pinch his finger, Zimmerman was so depraved that he, with no provocation at all, fired the weapon. It was only Trayvon’s quick thinking that let him grab the slide, to prevent the weapon from recoiling, that prevented the loading and chambering of another bullet. Trayvon was so fast that he only reached for the gun after the round was fired, but so quick that he reached it, and was able to stop the slide from recoiling.
The Associated Press has reported that Martin was 6 feet tall and 140 pounds, but the police report listed him as 6-foot, 160 pounds. The police report stated that Zimmerman is 5-foot-9, but didn’t list his weight. The New York Times reported that witnesses to the fight between Martin and Zimmerman described Martin as 6-foot-1 and 150 pounds and Zimmerman as 5-foot-9, 170 pounds.
Come on, Becky, a little critical thinking isn’t too much to ask from anyone. At best, present known facts are inadequate to tell who the aggressor was; there’s reasonable doubt on both sides here. But since you’re reciting “facts” that are already known to be incorrect or based on outdated information, you would at least do well to update yourself before passing judgment.
It could well be that Zimmerman killed Martin unlawfully. It could also well be that Martin did in fact attack him, and maybe it was self defense. You don’t know which is the case any more than I do, and certainly couldn’t with fewer of the actual established facts at your disposal. If Zimmerman’s act was murder then by all means he should be punished for it; if it was self defense or there is reasonable doubt as to murder, then he should be cleared.
And if in fact there is no more evidence of criminality than what we have publicly, he should never have been charged.
Olbermann, is that you again? Going by BECKY now, huh? I would too, considering.
You don’t know if the kid was looking for trouble or not; the fact that you assume he wasn’t says a lot about your lack of objectivity
Totally right Becky! After all it is perfectly legal – a civil right even – to slam the head of a white (Hispanic) into the ground! No defense is permitted if a black child wants to bash in a skull. It is perfect to profile the white (Hispanic) since those people are just racist!
You need to stop cutting and pasting comments. Your “facts” are out of date. Go back to the hive mind and get some fresh ones
Yup, the OJ trial all over again. The funny thing I that I had doubts that OJ was guilty the first trial. I’ve learned from Becky and others how wrong I was.
Martin weighed 160 and was 6’3. The actual stats of Zimmerman is 170 and he is 5’8. He did follow him but when the dispatcher told him not to he was walking back to his vehicle. The fight happened outside his car. This is per witness statements. I’m so sorry any of this happened, but just like we were told not to rush to judgment in the O J case, we shouldn’t be quick to judge in the case.
I cannot help but feel the brady bunch is involved and pushing in order to attack stand your ground law.
I have no proof, just a feeling.
Typically the DA will charge the highset offense that he/she can substantiate with the hope of at least getting a conviction for a lessor offense. However, should the facts as presented by an adequate defense team exonerate Mr. Zimmerman, look out! We all know what will happen then….btw, did anyone catch our glorious, fair and impartial AG Holder giving props to “Rev” Fat Al Sharpton at the party last night? The Black Panthers want a war; they should be careful what they wish for…they might just get it. I am only 45 years old but I cannot remember any time in my life where we have been this close to actual race riots and armed conflict, not even OJ or Rodney King was this bad.
We did have race riots with Rodney King, sadly. In Los Angeles they had to call out the National Guard.
“I am only 45 years old but I cannot remember any time in my life where we have been this close to actual race riots and armed conflict, not even OJ or Rodney King was this bad.”
Well, we could argue that the wake of the Rodney King affair was indeed worse since actual, widespread, and rather costly rioting did in fact occur in one of America’s largest cities. Certainly there is the air of a more seemingly widespread threat right now, and I would attribute this to the instant media media/internet/social media world in which we currently live, but it has yet to manifest itself in any actual violence. Not to say it might not eventually.
Another data point: Miami, 1980, aftermath of the acquittal of 4 officers who killed Arthur McDuffie…3 days of rioting and burning ensued. Constrained to within Miami only, but this was before CNN, before the interwebz, before facebook and twitter. I would be nervous as hell if I lived in or near Sanford, or anywhere in Florida for that matter.
Detroit in 1967 several blocks torched before order was restored by the National Guard. I would be less concerned if Holder was at least jawboning to calm things down.
How in the world will the courts be able to find an impartial jury? Any wagers on how many black people fill up the jury? Way to give in to the mob “special prosecutor”. I wonder if there’s any white people out burning their own houses down out of anger over this?
ANSWER THIS.. IF THIS WERE YOUR SON DEAD HOW WOULD U FEEL?? THE BLACK PANTHERS HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT I THINK ITS THE OTHER WAY AROUND. GOOGLE WHO THE MINORITIES ARE IN THE U.S THESE DAYS.
Honestly? Honestly I don’t think you’ll care.
But if it was my son, from what publicly available as evidence, I’d be sorry I raised my son so badly as the Martins raised Trayvon.
“But if it was my son, from what publicly available as evidence, I’d be sorry I raised my son so badly as the Martins raised Trayvon.”
No matter which side of this you come down on, that is a horrible thing to say.
And a worse thing to have be true.
“And a worse thing to have be true.”
The question was how would you feel if it had happened to your son. In this situation, where your unarmed teenage son was shot dead one night, his body dumped in a morgue, and the man who did it allowed to go free, your feelings would center on your son’s disciplinary record?
No, I didn’t think so.
The investigation will ideally focus not on either person’s history (and that is better for the rap-sheeted Trayvon Martin than it is for the past racial justic seeker George Zimmerman), but on what BOTH of them did that night, and WHEN.
It’s a horrible thing to be true. Honesty is always better than a lie.
If Martin wanted to have the public record to date show he was plausibly a reasonable, innocent person, he’d have been calling 911. He didn’t. His parents should have taught him better.
And if they did, it’s his bad not for listening.
“If Martin wanted to have the public record to date show he was plausibly a reasonable, innocent person, he’d have been calling 911. ”
You’re putting the burden entirely on the dead, unarmed teenage boy, instead of the lethally armed adult who chose to pursue and eventually kill him–a pursuit contrary to the direction of the 911 operator. That is an odd position to take.
If a member of your family was gunned down one night, I imagine you would hope the reaction would not be “well, if they were a reasonable, innocent person, they’d have been calling 911″. I would imagine if something like this were to happen to you, you would hope that people would not react by blaming you for not calling 911 before you were shot to death. As you are doing right here to Trayvon Martin.
I think we can put Will in for a seat at the hanging. Would you like a sideline view seat close to the family, Will, or would you like to be in the press section?
Interestingly enough, George Zimmerman obviously DID call 911 (and subsequntly beheld NBC manufacturing rascism from the recording). The question I have is whether George Zimmerman was still following Trayvon Martin and had him in sight and Martin decided to turn and attack him, or whether Zimmerman had broken off pursuit and lost visual contact, and then found himself waylaid by a Trayvon Martin waiting in hiding.
You make baseless assumptions and disregard the evidence we have. You are a willful liar.
And no, after having heard what of this I have heard, I would not think differently if the dead were my own. Hard truths don’t stop being true because they are hard.
“You make baseless assumptions and disregard the evidence we have. You are a willful liar.”
Review my comments regarding the shooting, and name one thing I have written here regarding the event that we don’t already know to be true. Just one.
“And no, after having heard what of this I have heard, I would not think differently if the dead were my own.”
Then you are a person with very strange priorities.
“You’re putting the burden entirely on the dead, unarmed teenage boy, instead of the lethally armed adult who chose to pursue and eventually kill him–a pursuit contrary to the direction of the 911 operator”
Zimmerman acted just exactly as the dispatcher suggested, and he had no choice in killing Martin–per what is now publicly known. And for that matter, trying to keep someone insight is not the same as pursuing them. But don’t worry, we know you aren’t careful with the truth.
“Zimmerman acted just exactly as the dispatcher suggested, and he had no choice in killing Martin–per what is now publicly known.”
No, that is not “publicly known”, and it is absurd to suggest so. That suggestion–that “Zimmerman acted just exactly as the dispatcher suggested, and he had no choice in killing Martin”–is based entirely on the assertion of one individual: George Zimmerman. His statements through his father do not prove anything whatsoever. You are simply taking his word at face value and calling it “public knowledge”.
“And for that matter, trying to keep someone insight is not the same as pursuing them.”
Once again, you have no idea that that is what actually happened. You are simply taking the shooter’s word for it. I’m not even saying that ISN’T what happened. That’s because I DON’T KNOW. Neither do you.
“No, that is not “publicly known”, and it is absurd to suggest so. ”
The background sound int he 911 call is not consistent with him continuing after Martin, but with him turning around and going back to his vehicle.
“You are simply taking his word at face value and calling it “public knowledge”.”
No. I am talking about the recorded and released 911 calls.
“You are simply taking the shooter’s word for it. ”
No. Again you lie (or show a deep ignorance). I am also taking the statement of the one known eyewitness into account, that witness backs up Zimmerman.
The odds of Zimmerman coming up with a lie that agrees with all physical evidence and the 3rd party eyewitness is to astronomically high to be believed.
Ah, I see now. When you wrote “public knowledge”, you meant “Tom Perkins’ extremely tendentious spin on the tiny amount of public information available.” Thanks for clarifying.
How I would feel has no bearing on the facts of the case. Our society is based on the rule of law precisely to ensure that people are not convicted on the basis of emotion. Otherwise you have convictions based on how likeable a defendant is or based on the whim of the judge. The rules that determine whether someone is found guilty or innocent should always be based on fact, not feeling.
That someone is left bereaved by a death is no proof that any crime has actually been committed. I’m sure that Mrs. Bundy loved her Ted very much. Yes, I am a mother, and of a son who hasn’t always made me proud.
I HOPE THEY KILL HIM IN JAIL AND CAUSE HIS PARENT THE PAIN HE CAUSED THE MARTINS
Could we get that in english please?
No offense, man, but if you’re going to be snarky, at make sense. The “non-English” comment you seem to have a problem with suffers from (1) being in all-caps, and (2) not having a period at the end. Other than that, there’s nothing wrong with it. You might think “parents” was intended rather than “parent” — but be that as it may, it’s still wholly grammatical as far as I can see.
The commenter might be an idiot, or might not. But if s/he is, it’s not because he isn’t writing in perfectly understandable English.
Um… English grammar is a pretty minor point. Shouldn’t there be a problem with “I hope they kill him in jail”?
Agreed.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Thanks for taking time off from your busy schedule at the rocket surgery clinic to weigh in on this.
Idiot. Zimmerman defended his life from a thug, and you want to kill him for it? Racist scum.
The mainstream media is still calling him a “white hispanic” I guess that is their way of forcing him to be more responsible for his actions. I hope he has the means to hire a good legal team and this trial should have nothing to do with the state’s SYG law.
Based on the evidence we have so far — and I concede we don’t have the full story — this charge may be excessive.
What I worry about is a Rodney King situation, where the prosecutor gave the jury no choice between attempted murder and outright acquittal. The jurors didn’t think the cops were trying to kill King. (If the cops really were, they would have succeeded.) Given the option, the jurors might have gone for assault and battery and the riots might have been avoided.
Well, maybe.
Why should there even be a worry of riots? It seems the threat of violence is what brought the charges in the first place.
Are we a nation of laws or do we live in an anarchy?
AFAIK there’s no dried, shrunken, blood-soaked glove in evidence. Whose gonna play the new Johnny – “If it doesn’t fit” – Cochran? The O.J. trial didn’t have the future of the Left’s plantation society/nationwide race-relations/voter-fraud et al hanging on the outcome.
The implications of this trial are monstrous. As a resident of Seminole county, I concerned about the consequences of a “just verdict” of innocence, which I hope for the Zman.
Gee, all caps has a tendency to make you appear to be yelling. You know, like a raving lunatic.
Yep, especially when it’s obviously the same demented troll posting under different names. The names change but the trolling all sounds the same.
Zimmerman forked up big time by dealing with the prosecutor directly. He’s probably already dead toast. If he ends up with a public defender, stick a fork in him.
The prosecutor isn’t you friend. Ever. The prosecution’s job is to hose whoever is in the crosshairs. They’re not there for justice. They’re there to win.
Sucks to be him, but he should have listened to his lawyers.
Snork,
Please… He was toast when the Gov assigned the Spec Presecutor at the demand of Black America Inc. He is basically a political prisoner at this point.
Although Zimmermen apparently attempted to speak directly with the special prosecutor, based on what I’ve read today, she refused to talk with Zimmerman unless he had legal representation present.
I sincerely hope there is evidence other than what is already commonly known, because right now I’m having a hard time buying this charge, and given the circumstances surrounding this case it is hard right now not to conclude that show trials will be granted on demand if political correctness calls for it. Since this would mean it is time to start asking some very hard questions about the future if this nation, I thus hope that evidence exists.
And since all too often the trial is the punishment–perhaps a consolation prize for some if Zimmerman somehow manages to avoid the fate the mob demands–then I think the grand jury system needs to be looked at, because I did not realize you can somehow be at risk of being put on trial with a potential penalty of being imprisoned for life and yet a jury of one’s peers never even determines if the evidence warrants what the governments desires. This defeats the entire purpose of having such a safeguard, allows for the trial to be the punishment (as I said), and is a sign that liberty is ever decreasing under the constant unwillingness of Leviathan to be accept being told “no”.
Going further, absent further evidence to be presented at trial, it is very hard not to conclude that making these charges one day after a grand jury could have heard them logically indicates the evidence was weak and that no charge of any kind might have been suppported. This then means a conscious decision was made for a show trial, due to poiltical reasons. We thus await that further evidence, to determine if this is in fact a reasonable supposition, as well as an explanation of why a jury of ordinary Americans could not be entrusted with reviewing it.
If this in fact was the case–a show trial–then I will not willingly remain under the system as things now are.
Yeah, I need some justification for this overcharge. Manslaughter I could see. Wouldn’t agree with, but I could see it as a possibility.
I can’t see community watch captain doing his job = evincing a depraved mind.
Hopefully, justice will be served once all the facts are known about this case. As has been said previously, I only wish people wouldn’t rush to judgment prior to knowing all the facts especially with the media editing failure we had in this case.
I also wish the race hustlers and the New Black Panther’s chief of staff cared as much about black on black killing as they do white on black killing. The rate of black on black crime or even black on white crime substantially exceeds that of white on black crime.
If the prosecutor Corey didn’t want this case, and doesn’t think he should be charged but finds it politically unpalatable to announce that no charges are warranted, wouldn’t a trial where she couldn’t meet the burden of proof for the charge be the best way of threading the needle. They jury finds Zimmerman not guilty, double jeopardy applies (I hope), the details are all hashed out, she presents herself as doing the utmost she could, she presents herself as not ducking the issue by sending it to a grand jury, and in the end, the “blame” falls on 12 anonymous citizens who sat in the jury.
If she doesn’t believe that a charge is warranted but charges Zimmerman with the lesser offense of Manslaughter, then there is the higher risk of the jury finding him guilty.
I get the epicyclic nature of this reasoning but I’m not sure what Corey would do is a circumstance where she concluded that a charge was not warranted and how to reconcile her actions with her own political and career ambitions.
Overcharging opens Corey up to the charge of incompetence but she can counter with her passionate plea that she actually believed in Zimmerman’s guilt. That, I would think, would go done better with the public looking for blood, than the counter position of believing Zimmerman shouldn’t be charged where her integrity is upheld at the cost of her popularity.
Of course, the known unknowns for us are in fact known knowns for Corey and that might explain the 2nd degree charge.
Don’t forget that when Corey is done Holder and his gang can surely come up with some Federal civil rights charges.
Methinks that Corey’s strategy here is to take the wind out of Holder’s sails. Murder one is out of the question; 2nd degree is plausible (albeit unlikely). It’s enough to shut up the proverbial peanut galleryfor the time being & that for which Obama et al are iat the helm. By the time the jury renders a verdict, both Holder & Obama will have moved on from their respective offices. Zimmerman will likely be acquitted, & the National Guard will need to be at the ready but thankfully the race-baiting Obama-Holder regime will not be in charge of things. Despite Corey’s cleverness here, this thing cannot wind up with anything but a bad outcome. It is what it is, as they say.
Then what she should have done is freed him and prepared to try looters and rioters. There is no crime by another which is her fault.
The correct answer to the plaint, “But they will riot!”, is, “Let them.”
I can see the possibility that this is the prosecutor doing Zimmerman a favor by taking the lesser charges out of play. If they were in play, jurors might be tempted to go for a manslaugher charge just to take the heat off of themselves. If manslaughter is off the table, then jurors don’t have a way to weasel out of their responsibility.
One person on the jury with an IQ over 30 and this guy walks (as he should).
How about Zimmerman’s past?? He’s had issues with the law and hasn’t been forced to pay for any of it. He assaults a police officer and doesn’t have to pay for that??? All because his father was a judge??? Does that mean he’s above the law??? I’m sure he thought that this would be just another lapse of justice, not today! Everyone that is excusing his behavior is a raging racist. He was a bully fighting women and kids. Im sure they are going to have a field day with this scum in PRISON where he belongs. Now maybe he will know what a real thug looks like.
“He’s had issues with the law and hasn’t been forced to pay for any of it. ”
Becky, there was nothing outstanding there, it was all resolved to the satisfaction of the courts.
‘Course we know that isn’t good enough for your sort. You want a lynching.
At this point the only issue in question is the exact details of the events that led to the shooting. Prior issues are not relevant to the case, and should not be admissible in court.
Nobody is “excusing” his behavior. What we ARE doing is noting that the difference between murder and self-defense can be very difficult to see, especially in a case like this. Generally speaking, self-defense requires that a “reasonable man” in a similar situation would agree that there is an imminent likelihood of grevious bodily harm given the knowledge that was available to the individual in that instant. The fact that someone was unarmed, for instance, doesn’t matter unless one can prove that the shooter knew it for certain. Race has absolutely nothing to do with it – there’s plenty of evidence to support the position that there was an altercation in which Zimmerman may have well felt his life threatened, and the details of that altercation are what is at the heart of the issue. I give him the benefit of the doubt, just as I hope others would give me the benefit of the doubt if forced into such a situation.
What is truly troublesome is that this has all the hallmarks of a political prosecution, bringing this to trial because it’s politically expedient rather than justified by the evidence.
Evidence for any of these statements?
“Everyone that is excusing his behavior is a raging racist.”
Ding, ding, ding….we have a winner!
And anyone who would make a statement like that, given the very questionable reporting on this case to date, is desperate…oh, and satisfies the textbook definition of a bigot. At least we know you for what you are, Becky.
No one’s excusing murder. The question is still open as to whether it was murder or self defense. Leaping to conclusions does not turn the wheels of justice. You’ve convicted the man without evidence, and without even the hope of being proved innocent, forgetting meanwhile that it’s supposed to work the other way around.
When will the Black Panthers be charged for inciting murder?
My money’s on never.
‘Taint right, but there it is.
This is a political indictment if there ever was one, and the media and the mob get the credit/blame. I see the former have replaced Zimmerman’s unshaven thug photo with a more appealing one but they’re still running the totally-misleading cute-little-boy pix of Martin. What a circus.
If one mistakenly uses excessive force that ends up killing someone- is that always second degree murder? So if in the circumstances I unreasonably believe I am in danger of losing my life or being subject to severe bodily injury, and I use force, is that always second degree murder? It seems like such an enormous leap. Let’s say that I was only in danger of less than severe bodily injury, e.g.
holmes, I think the answer to your question is no. Second degree murder requires an intent to kill.
the prosecutor didnt take his call! She thought he had council so she declined the call.
Yeah, how ABOUT Zimmerman’s past? The past where he leafletted all over town trying to get justice for a black homeless man who was attacked by whites? The past where he mentored black children? Man, the bar for ‘raging racists’ seems to be set too low for ants to limbo under.
Three questions:
Can he get a fair trial?
Can we find a jury that isn’t worried about threats to their life if Zimmerman is acquitted?
Can the judge and the lawyer’s be fair when they are worried about threats to their lives from the Black Panthers?
Sharpton is right, this is a no win situation for the judge, jury and the defendant.
three possible answers:
1) not likely (media will ensure that doesn’t happen)
2) no – especially in FL
3) no – not if they want to be re-elected (their real concern)
It’s possible the BP’s don’t care and do something really stupid – which would be bad for the victim, but seal their fate as group as nutty as white KKK counterparts.
Even Holder would have a hard time ignoring that.
If he wasnt a racist he was a bully like it was said before. He had two domestic disputes with different women. I bet all you women defending his actions would feel alot differnt if he was whooping your a** or the a** of your daughter.
…which is irrelevant to the case at hand. In criminal cases, only the facts of the particular incident are relevant to determining guilt, not “feelings” or “attitude.” When and if those come into play, it is sentencing.
Learn to Law.
CTwelve,
You’ve just explained the actions of commenters, ‘bobby’, ‘Becky’, ‘Will’ and other commenters who are COMPLETELY led by their emotions first and foremost THEN reasoning.
With a mindset or lack thereof as such, a discussion or ability to reach an accord is impossible.
Emotionally led, fundamentally untested and flawed (or tested and proven to fail for that matter) ideological ‘thought process’ is how the aforementioned folks process and come to their conclusions. Sadly.
I liken it to the-late Milton Friedman TRYING to explain free enterprise to Phil Donahue. Even when DESTROYING Donahue’s emotional nonsense, Donahue still hadn’t accepted reason.
Corey overcharges, sometimes egregiously, in the hope that something will stick.
His attorney sounds intelligent and rational; calling for calm and a lowering of the rehtoric and temperature by all involved. (welcome news to those of us who live here). This is far from over, but watching MSNBC cheer the fact that all the pressure brought upon this case by the media, protesters, et al, generated this charge, doesn’t give me much hope that this won’t be the same 3 ring circus the Anthony trial was last year.
Scott – i agree with your second comment, but don’t hold your breath that the next drive by shooting, or black on black murder (almost a weekly occurence in Sanford) will get any media attention. They expect that behavior and it doesn’t fit the Holder/Sharpton/Jackson narrative on race relations.
Becky – chill out. Your ranting isn’t helping and makes you sound foolish.
This is to launder Zimmerman’s rep. He goes through this process. All the evidence gets aired. He walks. We all have a new parable about racism. If they don’t do this, somebody will enact revenge on his family. Is he supposed to stay in hiding his whole life?
But domestic violence is not what he’s being charged with. You’d convict a man being battered on the ground for defending himself because in the past he had domestic violence issues? You don’t convict someone of charge A because of unrelated history B. That logical principle has not changed since Aristotle, 2500 years ago. Ad hominem remains a logical fallacy.
There are four possible outcomes from this:
1. Zimmerman is murdered in jail
2. The DA coerces a plea on a lesser charge (after which he is probably murdered in jail)
3. Zimmerman is convicted by a jury of the media-tainted dupes who know that their names will be on the next Black Panthers wanted poster if they are stupid enough to acquit
4. Zimmerman is acquitted and the country suffers through race riots unimaginable before we had hope and change
There is no good outcome here. The only outcome that prevents bloodshed is #2, and the government will push hard … on a person who all evidence shows has a history of selflessly helping and protecting other people. He’ll take the plea, the country will have “justice”, and any sane person will leave the U.S. after the final death knell of any claims to pursue objective justice.
The post-race riots.
Mike Nifong was unavailable for comment
Roast Sacrificial Lamb anyone ?
This one will be SLOW Roasted until exceedingly well done.
Zimmerman’s fate may ultimately turn on November Elections and whether the next DOJ gives the New Black Panthers a Blanket Pass.
Zimmerman’s main crime, Not being born with a recognizably Hispanic last name.
Meanwhile, last weekend, 8 blacks gunned down 8 blacks and 40 other blacks were wounded by blacks in Cook County Chicago, home base of the “Rev.” Jesse Jackson … and the media yawns and looks for a plane crash to report
“Zimmerman’s main crime, Not being born with a recognizably Hispanic last name.”
Well said.
I’m no lawyer, but I do think Zimmerman should serve time for something, just don’t know what.
I don’t think his mind was depraved, and I don’t think there was a racial aspect to this. That’s what sucks about this. He did shoot and kill someone who was just buying skittles, whatever happened in between, and Zimmerman’s decisions led to what happened, but it had nothing to do with either of their races.
Ah, the magic Skittles. Which no-one has ever found. Purchased by a guy who then went skulking about in the cold, rainy night casing people’s houses. Thank god we have a pool of honest, objective jurors like you so we don’t have to rely on just the people who want to fry the killer of an innocent, black child.
“He did shoot and kill someone who was just buying skittles”
No, he shot and killed someone who was pounding him into the pavement*. The skittles don’t matter.
*Unless there is some game changing evidence is in fact in Corey’s posession.
Ben, you are aware that “tea” and “skittles” are street slang for marijuana and coricidin cold medicine (respectively), right?
The nearest convenience store was .75 miles away in a direction that he was not headed. It was raining and, for Florida, an unpleasant temperature. He was wandering around in the yards of an area with had had several break ins. “Just buying skittles” – sorry fails the smell test.
It seems to me that, according to witness accounts, Trayvon Martin made some bad – and violent – decisions of his own. I fail to see why George Zimmerman should suffer for them.
because obama needs to get re-elected and social justice tyrants need a shot in the arm
My CCW instructors have uniformly told me to expect to be charged if ever involved in a self defense shooting (which, in reality, is what this appears to be). Then, there’s the issue of avoiding or beating a civil suit from the perp’s family; and in this area Z really screwed up by spilling his guts to the police, et al without legal counsel.
In any event, the trial will be a chance to establish the facts “for the record” and maybe undo some of the damage done by NBC and other media.
My CCW instructor said basically the same thing. After some discussion and further reading, I came to the conclusion that if you shoot someone, for whatever reason, your life as you know it is basically over. You will never get rid of the police, the legal system and its record of you, the news stories, the dead guy’s litigious family and their lawyers, or the memory. “Complicated” doesn’t begin to describe it. You will not be treated “fairly.” One way or another, society WILL have its pound of flesh whether you’re convicted of anything or not. Anyone who contemplates carrying a pistol in public should understand that.
I sympathize with Zimmerman’s plight right now. He’s basically a lone citizen facing a black lynch mob – a group of people who are determined to see him punished whether he’s guilty or not, with the implicit threat that they’ll riot and burn down the city if they don’t get their way. Zimmerman’s not a cop, he’s not a politician, he’s not a rich man’s son, he’s not a soldier on duty. The fix is not in, nobody has his back. He’s screwed any way you look at it.
However, I think he was foolish to get out of his car and carry a pistol into an unknown, possibly dangerous situation. As far as civilians are concerned, guns are for when trouble comes looking for you, not for when you go looking for trouble. Zimmerman went looking for trouble and he found it. The only smart thing he did that night was to call 911.
“Zimmerman went looking for trouble and he found it.”
No evidence of that at all. There’s another spectacularly blinkered and selfish poster by the handle “The Root ’83″, or some such. Says much the same thing.
The world would be a far better place if more people acted like Zimmerman, per what we now know.
Except the Democratic Party activist part.
That was stupid.
The prosecutor has no chance of a conviction. This trial was created in the media and it’s being tried in the media. NBC 6 in Miami, Dateline, and Today have ginned up a lynch mob mentality with their presentation of a deliberately misleading edit of the call to police. The jury will be limited by the facts as presented in the case. But what the trial will do is deplete whatever funds George Zimmerman has and leave him destitute and facing a trial for civil rights violations and unable to afford adequate counsel.
Ya’ know, the State of Florida just may put a helluva lot of sense, into what Derbyshire penned.
Especially, if anything happens to the “white Hispanic”, courtesy the Black Pussy cats.
I can see that Kirstie Alley will be on the super-short list to play Angela Corey.
She might have to bulk up a bit, though.
You know who really loses in this? The system itself. How many MORE white people, formerly law-abiding, police-supporting good citizens, will look at this process and lose their last faith in the justice system.
Between the fraud in the WH, the blatant racist as AG, the spendthrift sots in Congress and corrupt SCOTUS judges like the “wise latina” and “refuse-to-recuse” Kagan, how in the Hell can any white citizen in America have the slightest belief that our government is even worth supporting, much less defending?
The whole situation in America is saddening beyond belief.
Careful, friend. The system is perfect. You must be one of those white extremists the FBI and DHS are quite right to demonize, for even suggesting that a white American isn’t equal under the law.
It’s the equal under the practice of the law that seems to be developing some issues. But then whitey deserves it, right?
Obama needs the race baiting to go on for electoral proposes.
So expect this and much more to happen until the election.
How many innocents will be trounced by this shameful political act?
Prosecutors always OVERCHARGE so they can “graciously” drop the charge down to whatever the poor, scared Defendant will take. This is not about “justice” as all. She’s just giving in to the Black community gang led by the out-of-town carpetbaggers.
This charge was made for two purposes. One is to passify the lynch mob and calm them down. The other is to get Zimmermann off because he is not guilty under Florida law. Proving murder is much harder than proving manslaughter. If they really wanted to get him they would have charged him with manslaghter. I have recent experience on a jury. Some people will not vote guilty unless every thing is bolted down for sure. To them beyond a reasonable doubt means beyond all doubt.
He will be found not guilty or have a hung jury, depending on how many blacks or hispanics are on the jury.
Second Degree Murder?
I’d think Manslaughter or maybe Third degree… if that.
With so much bad info out there I’d still say there’s a good chance of self defense.
And with so much bad press I’m praying that George gets a fair trial but I think that’d be a miracle at this point.
The fact that he turned himself in is a sign that he’s willing to submit to the justice of the courts… I just hope that if he is convicted… it’s a jury that’s fairly looking at the evidence… as opposed to a mob.
Given all the publicity, voir dire should take about a year or so.
If I were Zimmerman’s defense team, I’d demand a speedy trial (and a change of venue). Put the pressure on the prosecution to put up or shut up, now. And if the request is denied, grounds for an appeal have been set up.
I don’t know if this is true or not, but I read that under Florida’s SYG law, that if there is no arrest, there are no grounds for a civil suit. He was not arrested on the evening of the killing, he went in voluntarily to give a statement. The family has repeatedly asked that Zimmerman at least be arrested.
What about forensics? Obviously the science will be able to tell what position the victim was in when the bullet entered. Also the position of the accused when the bullet was fired.
What happened in the interrogation. Zimmerman obviously did well with that since he was not charged immediately. Did Zimmerman take a polygraph test? Was the eye witness credible?
I think a good criminal defense attorney would love this case. I can’t make a judgement call yet as there is still too many unanswered questions but I do believe the media should be held accountable for their biased reporting.
From the press conference……
State Atty. Angela B. Corey outlined the charges in the case that has sparked national demonstrations calling for Zimmerman’s arrest.
“I can tell you we did not come to this decision lightly,” Corey told reporters. “We do not prosecute by public pressure.”
And she added: ““We will continue to seek the truth about this case,” she said.
She said her office had filed information with the charge.
She said the 28-year-old Sanford man is in custody in Florida but wouldn’t say where.
A second-degree murder charge in Florida carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. It is typically charged when there is a fight or other confrontation that results in death and where there is no premeditated plan to kill someone.
Corey began the press conference this evening by saying she had spoken to Trayvon Martin’s parents shortly after she took on the case and her investigation was driven by “the search for justice for Trayvon.”
“It was less than three weeks ago that we told those sweet parents that we would get answers,” she said.
SWEET PARENTS???? That does not sound terribly impartial to me….just sayin’.
Really unbelievable. This is all about the DA running for office in a black district someday.
And where were these “sweet parents” when Trayvon was reportedly stealing jewelry, selling weed, calling himself “no_limits_n***a” and bragging about how he “swung on” bus drivers?
Really unbelievable. This is all about the DA running for office in a black district someday.
And where were these “sweet parents” when Trayvon was reportedly stealing jewelry, selling weed, calling himself “no_limits_n***a” and bragging about how he “swung on” bus drivers?
“I can tell you we did not come to this decision lightly,” Corey told reporters. “We do not prosecute by public pressure”
Not buying it. Can’t say it enough. Won’t matter.
You cant argue with stupid
We’re arguing with you, aren’t we?
Translation: La la la I’m not listening. Or making use of the gift of reason.
The fact that some people aren’t simply jumping to take one side or the other really seems to bother you. It’s like you can’t even see the difference between calling for calm and objectivity, and proclaiming Zimmerman a perfect innocent and Martin a monster. Everyone who’s not shrieking for Zimmerman’s head must be a racist, right?
A black man in a car shot and killed an unarmed mentally disabled white man who was walking his dog in Laveen (Phoenix), Arizona at a Taco Bell. Some kind of confrontation in the drive-thru lane.
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/crime/taco-bell-shooting-victim-was-holding-leash-not-weapon-4-4-2012
Have not seen the Rev. Al in town.
Ehhh, let’s not go to far. There was a nasty case in Tulse a few days ago, races reversed. I do agree it would just anout near take an Act of Congress for someone to be charged with a hate crime for assauls an a white person. Not that I agree with the concept of hate crime, due to the enormous potential for abuse.
Apparently, it also takes an act of Comgress for me to spell correctly. Tulsa.
I, for one, welcome our new functional bill of attainder put upon the evil caucasian race in regards to benefits of the doubt anytime persons of two races are involved, because justice demands it.
It’s the New American Golden Rule–do unto other races as their ancestors did unto yours.
The fact that the media continues to use a 6 year old picture of TM tells you everything you need to know about the validity of this case and the narrative that needs to be upheld with little regard to actual fact.
Wonder why they don’t post his HS pics?
I can’t BELIEVE you bigots here ruining Tray’s memory! How would you like it if your WHITE KID got shot the same way if he got high, walked around an unfamiliar neighborhood at night in the rain, eyeballed the privileged houses and privileged people in their privilegemobiles like he wanted to get himself some privilege too, ran behind a fence, punched a disrespectin’ Person of Privilege in the back of the head, and proceeded to give him a lesson in privilege checking on the ground? Trayvon was MURDERED for Assaulting While Black, when will you bigots realize this, ANY ONE OF YOUR CHILDREN who does the same could get shot too, please execute him now!!!
(This is sadly not too far off from the logic of what actual black attitudes toward L’Affaire TRray tend toward.)
“Privileged” homes? Didn’t martins daddy live in these “privileged” homes?
Blacks are the bigots! They didn’t like the fact law enforcement said it was self-defense so they were violent enough that Eric Holder (your OWN) BOWED to you. This isn’t justice. It’s just violence till you get what you want…again.
This is NOT justice.
I KNOW this would NEVER be my child! My child KNOWS better than to confront someone and attack them!
I was reading an article about this and saw this remark:
Angela Corey, the special prosecutor investigating the case, said at a news conference in Jacksonville. “Three weeks ago our prosecution team promised those SWEET PARENTS we would get answers to all of their questions, no matter where our quest for the truth led us. And it is that search for JUSTICE FOR TRAYVON that has brought us to this night.” (emphasis mine)
This was followed up with:
“We did not come to this decision lightly,” she said, declining to discuss specifics of the investigation. “We do not prosecute by PRESSURE or petition … We’re law enforcement. We enforce the law.”(emphasis mine)
So the “sweet parents” remark has no connection to pressure.
Sounds clearly biased to me, and buckling to pressure for “justice”.
I must be mistaken, since they tell me I am…
People who whole-heartedly indulge in racial myths find it hard to hide such things – Corery: guilty.
it was very telling that corey cited “justice for trayvon”…not justice for zimmerman, not justice in general, not even for ‘martin’ but, familiarly, by the first name of the victim. this prosecution is political.
How do you get to be a special prosecutor? Do you have to get a special education?
I see nothing good coming from this no matter how it ends up.
Many blacks seem to have made their minds up about Zimmerman’s guilt. Any facts to the contrary are unlikely to persuade them. If Zimmerman is acquitted, many blacks will be outraged. If Zimmerman is found guilty but the facts suggest he did not commit a crime, many whites will feel he was railroaded. The likely outcome is that blacks will feel alienated and/or whites will feel that justice for the black community came at the expense of justice for the individual.
I disagree: for a half-century the black community, rather than stepping into the sunshine they say they so clamored for and joined the fabric of American life, has instead chosen to embrace a value system that is depraved to say the least in its racialist view of the world, as well as other inadvisable and sad values embraced.
The black community has become more strident and bold in their accusations against the entirety of white America, not less, since Obama was elected. Again, this is precisely the opposite of what one would’ve expected, just like their unfortunate response to the Civil Rights era.
But this time the black community has overreached itself, over-charged whites in America over this case far worse than Zimmerman himself has been over-charged. The black community has basically staked more of its credibility than it ever has before on Martin; the Duke lacrosse case was nothing compared to this – you even have the NBA hanging itself. It’s naked racial advocacy without the slightest concern for justice and the emergence of the degree to which the black community shows itself addicted to the silliest racial myths about whites will come back to haunt them. Whatever slight compassion black Americans had 50 years on from Jim Crow has been spent, and on nothing.
Well the “justice” department has once again shown who OWNS them. Charge someone ONLY because the black “community” TELLS them to.
Obviously the group that is the most VIOLENT wins. Started with black violence, ends with black violence.
Justice is blind? Only if you mean color blind.
I need to change my name from Proud Patriot. Nothing to be proud of any more.
The white Hispanic slew one of the nobility, protected by all sorts of “hate” laws: hate crime, hate speech, etc. Zimmerman should have know better than to mess with a noble, and he will be made an example of. The other members of the nobility demand it. Their persons are inviolate; they are innocent in word, thought, and deed; they cannot be convicted by a jury of their peers.
In addition to everything else, I think somebody needs to tell the proud Ms. Corey–she must be proud, she was smiling so much at the presser–that this time it better be that she actually really thinks its second degree murder, and that she did thrown the worst charge out there just so as to bully the defendant into giving into a lesser charge (that they might have beaten), but the DA stacked the deck, risk-wise, by overcharging. Because this woud not have been the case to do it on.
Becuase while evidence could come forward saying I’m wrong, right now this appears as a show trial and not much else. It’s what happens when you rely on a Republican to defend your liberty. They cave every time.
If the prosecutor wanted a conviction why not add manslaughter, reckless endangerment, disturbing the peace, and skulking (that’s a crime, right?).
That would be a “see what sticks” approach.
To go for the biggest charge alone seems (with no new evidence) like a set up for official exoneration.
Unless what dizzy 46 says about an arrest as prerequisite for civil suit is true; in that case the arrest is cynical, not seeking conviction, but to pacify the crowd by giving warrant for a civil suit on wrongful death.
Under Florida law, second degree murder is the
1) unlawful killing of a person when
2) perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life,
3) (although) without any premeditated design (thought) to effect the death of any particular individual.
By ignoring and disobeying the police who instructed him (warned him) to stay right where he was and not follow the suspect, by following the suspect with a loaded gun (an action, because of the high probability that a life would be endangered, evinced a depraved disregard for human life. no premeditation (prior intent) necessary. Zimmerman’s actions resulted in an unlawful killing of a person due to his disregard of warnings not to engage TM and his initiation an altercation with TM while carrying a loaded gun, evincing a depraved indifference to the possibility that a life would be lost from these actions.
anyone care to apply the elements in favor of Zimmerman?
Not a lawyer, but to make that stick you will have to show that one had a obligation to follow the *dispatcher’s* recommendation (not police officer’s instruction). And walking on the same sidewalks as another person is not a crime, else private eyes and the media (like, say, the recently deceased Mike Wallace) would be in permanent legal peril.
As far as “following with a gun”, carrying a gun concealed if one has a permit to do so is in fact proper and is not quite the same thing as chasing someone down the streets with it in a two-hand hold, ready for action.
We are opposed. We are probably going to stay that way, as I no longer consider you a fellow-countryman whose welfare I am overly concerned about.
Except that, based on the 911 tape, when told that they did not need him to follow Martin he said “ok” and was heard to stop running. Further Zimmerman comments that he has lost sight of Martin and later says that he does not know where Martin is.
So your argument is not based on what evidence is available and is nothing more than your own imagination.
A legal weapon is no more relevant than Zimmerman’s pants. It’s not like he went to an armory and armed himself and came back.
Guns don’t shoot themselves. Following someone is not against the law. George had every right, and even a duty to ask Trayvon if he could help him, certainly since Trayvon was wandering about lost at best, or casing the houses at worst.
George did not have a duty to let Trayvon beat him unconscious, nor a duty to let Trayvon take his firearm. When Trayvon’s hand was on the gun, George had little choice but to shoot, given the assault that Trayvon had previously committed.
The gun didn’t cycle after firing, indicating that the slide was being held as George fired.
How, pray tell, did George have a “duty” or “right” to question Trayvon Martin or ANYBODY? Martin was NOT on Zimmerman’s personal property. Only police officers have the right to stop someone on the street and question them. Ha, see if you’d pass any state bar exam with that bit of ridiculousness.
If you’re out on the street, and I see you, I can ask you any question I want. You of course are under no obligation to answer. However, if I find your answers unsatisfactory, and I think your behavior is suspicious, I have every right to call 911 and report you.
Look up the phrase ‘self-evident’ and tell me what you come up with. The law is based on truths, we are not based on the law.
FREE GEORGE ZIMMERMAN
Special prosecutor Angela Corey charging George Zimmerman with second degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin is one degree less ridiculous then seeking first degree murder charges-which Corey’s predecessor Norm Wolfinger did when after letting Zimmerman go free on evidence of self-defense reversed himself three weeks later and called on the grand jury to investigate him for murder in the first. Corey like Wolfinger went for murder charges not to serve justice (which it doesn’t) but to quell the insane leftwing racial uproar and violent Zimmerman hate rhetoric surrounding the case and threatening violence. Mob justice prevailed yesterday but only temporarily. Everyone knows that if Trayvon Martin, the little gangsta wannabe thug, was anything but black Zimmerman would still be a free man today. The false issue of racial justice put the innocent Zimmerman in jail; and justice will only be served when he is free again for defending himself from death or great bodily harm.
If it were a police officer on the bottom and having his head pounded into the ground, would he draw his weapon and fire?
If it were a woman on the bottom having her head pounded into the ground and she had a 9mm, should she have fired?
If it were a black man on the ground getting his head pounded into the pavement and he had a weapon, would he have been justified to have fired?
Do we know whether trayvon would have stopped pounding the persons head into the ground or would he have continued until the man on the bottom was dead?
What rights did the man on the bottom have as a victim? Do you think trayvon was worried about the well-being of the fellow on the ground?
If it was “little 12 year old trayvon” how did he get on top of a grown man to be pounding his head into the pavement? Could it be that “little trayvon” wasn’t little at all?
And, in the gang lingo, isn’t “skittles” synonymous with “pills” and isn’t “Iced Tea” synonymous with pot?
Looks to me like assault and battery and there are a lot of facts which the race-hustlers and black racists want to supress that will need to come out for this to be a fair trial, otherwise it will just be an exercise in the level of depravity that our culture has sunk to by trying to satisfy all minority voices without concern for justice.
Al
One last thing that has bothered the heck out of me since this who circus started. If as the MSM suggests, George Zimmerman is a “white” hispanic because one of his parents is a white person, is Mr. Obama a “white” negro? Can anyone answer that riddle?
Does that mean that everything that Obama does, since it apparently is totally acceptable to the MSM is attributable to his “white” half? How do you separate that truthfully? Since George Zimmerman obviously was unable to control his “white” half, then I should assume that Obama likewise is unable to restrain his “white” half also, ergo – everything he does is as a result of his white half, and since everything he does is perfect then it follows that his white half is the source of that as well.
Something for sharpton and jackson to think about. Maybe they need to identify “white” halves as well so they get deniability.
Big takeaway for all of us–next time don’t do anything. Don’t call the cops, don’t care, just let the guy go around stealing if that is what he is about.. Let everything go to pot. Just like in black communities. Because no one will praise you, and if you somehow go against a black man he has a grievance industry behind him you won’t beat.
Naturally, it will be a cold day in hell before I support another program for those “left behind”, because all it seems to be is an invitation to put my head in a noose as I get made into the equivalent of a white South African who has something to atone for personally. Nuts to that.
Let’s balkanize the nation.
Also naturally, it’s not my first choice of tactic. But, well, for those who ever watched it, there was an episode of the old Star Trek TV series where two planets made war on each other virtually–no bombs, no explosions, just people turning themselves in to be killed as “attack casualties”. The leaders of both sides had gotten used to sacrificing innocents in order to not have sacred notions of politics challenged. Until someone came along and made that impossible to do any longer, and the two planets had to decide whether to fight a real nuclear war or come to a more reasonable agreement.
So the next time someone thinks they are going to try and grab the moral high ground when they might not have earned it, and shout “no justice, no peace”, with the expectation that they are going to be the only ones determining which it is going to be, they might want to realize that all “good” things do eventually come to an end, and that it in fact might eventually be “no peace” instead of “justice”, because there are only so many times someone gets marched off to a disintegration chamber because a crowd says “that–or else”.
Any thoughts on how the Hispanic community will react to the railroading of Zman by Black America, Inc.?
Shouldn’t they be as outraged as any group?
The only way to get a fair jury is to have 12 Asians.
Let me explain myself better. The only way to get a verdict of innocent without the Black racists Sharpton, Jackson, and the Panthers inciting riots is to have a jury with no Whites and possibly no Hispanics.
Second degree murder looks like gross overcharging to me. I have never seen any evidence in this case to support anything more than manslaughter, and even that could be a stretch. I suspect the prosecutor overcharged hoping zimmerman would plea bargain for manslaughter or negligent homicide. Given what I have heard so far, I can undestand why zimmerman did not plea bargain, since he definitely beleives he is innocent, and will be found so.
Of course it is possible the prosecutor has better evidence in hand that has not been found by anybody else yet. We will see. I just hope the lynching atmosphere has not tainted the trial. The other problem is FL already had a controversial acquital in the Casey Anthony case and many people may view an acquittal ov zimmerman in the same light. It isn’t, Casey Anthony looked guilty, there just was not enough evidence to convict her beyond a reasonable doubt, where zimmerman actualy looks to have a strong self defense case, so in his case he can actually make a case for innocence, and not just lack of proof for guilt.
What a great deal of cow manure.
These are the facts: Martin was not armed. Zimmerman, who was not a police officer or of any authority, was. He had no right to accost Martin, but did so. Precisely what happened after that, neither I nor any of you have any real knowledge. We do, however, know the outcome: Martin died.
If ANYONE were to be in that situation, I would expect charges. All else is irrelevant dross.
What are we: robots? Zimmerman did call the police after all. We all have the right to watch people in our neighborhoods who are casing the place – there is no mandate to throw up our hands if the cops don’t come. Anyone has a right to go up to anyone and say ‘what’s happening,’ ‘what are you up to?’ If they don’t like it, tough. They can explain themselves or tell someone to eff off; it doesn’t need to escalate.
The escalation is the issue, not what happened before that. How often does ‘hey, what are you doing there?’ become death, or a violin playing example of that monster, ‘profiling,’ or a Constitutional issue? If Martin ‘profiled’ someone it’s evident he didn’t even know the guy was black at first. But the liberal media, who knew full well Zimmerman isn’t white, in turned profiled millions of white Americans as a racist hunter-killer team, out to kill black people. In trying to so drum up sympathy for Martin, they pushed me in the exact opposite direction. If you want to see real, actual, and public profiling, read any black web-site or listen to Melissa Harris-Perry, Al Sharpton or other nazis who get a pass because people can’t close their eyes and replace the words ‘black’ with ‘white’ or ‘Jew’ and see these miserable people for who they really are. Their racism is so intense it literally changed the race of Zimmerman for convenience since no actual white person was available. They are sick in their minds and in their hearts not to mention brutally stupid people.
No, we’re not robots. Zimmerman could go up to someone and ask what they’re doing, as could you, as could I. And if he did it to me, I probably would tell him to eff off – and I would expect it to end there. Because, he, you, or me, would have exactly zero authority to demand an answer.
Unfortunately, here the accosting person was armed, and the accosted wound up dead.
That’s all. But that’s enough. Rant all you like about the utterly irrelevant Al Sharpton, the in this case questionable aspect of race, or any of this other utter dreck that has nothing to do with the actualities of the case. Zimmerman has been charged, rightly. He should have been charged either the night of the events or the day after, and the fact that he wasn’t has thrown the entire thing wide open. One law, for everyone, or as close to it as we can get – that’s the ideal. Which the current situation is far from.
Your missing the point: black Americans are basically saying this case is solved and accusing white Americans of holding black life cheaper than white. But read this almost unbelievably racist press release from the NBA players association, who don’t know squat about the case other than the dead guy is black. Don’t hold your breath waiting for a release from these sick NBA moron’s about the autistic kid shot.
New York, March 23, 2012 — The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) offers its condolences to the family and loved ones of Trayvon Martin in their time of need. The NBPA is saddened and horrified by the tragic murder of Mr. Martin and joins in the chorus of calls from across the nation for the prompt arrest of George Zimmerman. The reported facts surrounding Mr. Zimmerman’s actions indicate a callous disregard for Mr. Martin’s young life and necessitate that he stand trial. The NBPA also calls for the permanent resignation of Sanford Chief of Police Bill Lee and a full review of the Sanford Police Department, for dereliction of duty and racial bias in this matter and others. Their silence in the face of this injustice is reprehensible and they cannot be trusted to safe guard the citizens of the Sanford community equally. The NBPA seeks to ensure that Trayvon Martin’s murder not go unpunished and the elimination of the injustices suffered by the innocent.
I’m saddened and horrified to see this type of naked racial advocacy get a heart in a mainstream sport in America. Usually you have to dream you’re in Nazi Germany to get this kind of flavor.
Actually, I get that. I just don’t consider it in any way relevant. Trial by media has been a way of life in America for well over a century, and isn’t going to change any time soon.
My problem with this, and it seems to be the prevailing position in this commentary stream, is that most of the comments here seem more to be outraged that it’s happening to a white guy than that it’s happening at all. The sheer quantity of attempts to make out Martin as the bad guy here (and in other media) is hitting my suspicion button very hard. Why? Because when it’s a black man who killed a white man, and the media goes into frenzy, these voices are silent.
So I say: Ignore the irrelevant claptrap. There IS an issue here, that the local police and prosecuter’s office did not seem to have acted with efficiency and alacrity, and that is alarming, but let us see where this goes now that the system is in action. For all the sound and fury, we do not yet truly know what happened that night. It is time for a Judge and Jury to make that determination.
Are there just a few wheels within wheels here? Corey is seeking re-election; probably will win anyway but charging Martin is more important than convicting him since her own election will be decided long before. If Martin walks the community itself takes it on the chin for pressing for a prosecution and takes it on the chin twice by burning their own community in the ensuing riots. If I were a betting man, I’d give 4 to 1 odds you’ll see riots at the end of this.