Zimmerman acquited.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/13/george-zimmerman-found-not-guilty/2514163/

[Easy Bakes 253]

they will nail him to the wall in the civil case.

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

If he isn't killed by angry mobs first.

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

Hmmm interesting, from what i heard of the case I thought he would be proven guilty instead of innocent......

[Bdub01 201]

Well the justice system in America still works from time to time. It's a great thing for justice that he was acquitted but now I'm sure a bunch of knuckleheads are going to start rioting and whatnot. He probably will have to lay low for some time now!!!

[Meg 368]

Well the justice system in America still works from time to time. It's a great thing for justice that he was acquitted

 

How so?

[Zelgadis 638]

Whenever I say to Canadians that I'm never going back to live in the US, I always get one of two reactions. Either:

 

1) Right on!

or

2) Why?

 

The second one is always stated with a tone of extreme incredulity. I am also tired of answering it. Now, whenever someone asks, I can just point to the Trayvon Martin case and say "Pretty much that."

[jlt122 46]

He was tried by 12 of his peers, 6 white & 6 black female jurors some with credible backgrounds working in the area of law. They really didn't have enough evidence to build a case against him. It was clear & cut self defense case. They have done nothing but try and make this into a racial issue here in Florida. The man isn't even white, he's Hispanic and they have tried to make him otherwise. There was a lot wrongfully done on both sides but with the white house interfering and making the state attorney bring up charges. Come on.. The Sheriff who was let go because of polictical pressure said it himself there was nothing he could do, it was a clear and cut self defense issue and they had nothing on which to detain him. So he was made to resign. Justice has been served by the jurors of the court of his hand picked peers and it is done.

[Bdub01 201]

Well the justice system in America still works from time to time. It's a great thing for justice that he was acquitted

How so?

What Jlt 122 said

[Meg 368]

He was tried by 12 of his peers, 6 white & 6 black female jurors some with credible backgrounds working in the area of law.

 

Actually it was 6 women:  5 white, 1 Hispanic.   Some states use juries with 6 people instead of 12.  Apparently Florida is one of them.

 

 

 it was a clear and cut self defense issue and they had nothing on which to detain him.

 

I do not understand why Person A gets to stalk Person B and then use deadly force when Person B objects.  Can someone explain that to me?   (Preferably without bringing race or ethnic background into the discussion.)

[Bdub01 201]

I do not understand why Person A gets to stalk Person B and then use deadly force when Person B objects. Can someone explain that to me? (Preferably without bringing race or ethnic background into the discussion.)

Person B didn't "object" to person A. Person B attacked person A and person A was fearful for his life and has the right in Florida to stand his ground and use deadly force to survive person B's attack.

[snick25 384]

He was tried by 12 of his peers, 6 white & 6 black female jurors some with credible backgrounds working in the area of law. They really didn't have enough evidence to build a case against him. It was clear & cut self defense case. They have done nothing but try and make this into a racial issue here in Florida. The man isn't even white, he's Hispanic and they have tried to make him otherwise. There was a lot wrongfully done on both sides but with the white house interfering and making the state attorney bring up charges. Come on.. The Sheriff who was let go because of polictical pressure said it himself there was nothing he could do, it was a clear and cut self defense issue and they had nothing on which to detain him. So he was made to resign. Justice has been served by the jurors of the court of his hand picked peers and it is done.

 

Yeah, of course, in your state's lawbooks Zimmerman could have been seen as 'defending himself'.

 

However, in most of the rest of the country, when a man with a gun tails a kid armed with skittles and iced tea and ends up shooting the kid, there's no basis for 'self-defense'.

 

If nothing else, this will only increase the opposition to senseless "stand your ground" laws. 

 

The system has failed tonight, but don't think for one second that the Justice Department won't end up trying Zimmerman themselves ala Rodney King. And even then, most of America is sensible enough to see a murderer for what he is. Zimmerman will never be truly free, and in that sense, justice will be had.

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

attack an armed man unprovoked, get shot. It's a fact of life. I suppose the fact that poor widdle Saint Trayvon's previous history of drugs and burglary had nothing to do with it, or that his famous Skittles and melon iced tea are 2 of 3 ingredients for the homemade drug 'purple drank' did either.

 

Poor widdle Saint Trayvon was no mere kid. The media used 5 year old pictures to hide his true size and physique.

 

I have never attacked people unprovoked. I am still alive. There is a lesson there.

[Larks2242 251]

This is good news, I still have hope for the justice system now, Of course Al Sharpton wanted to cause a firestorm without knowing the facts, the whole race thing is ridiculous, it is just a way to bait the public.

 

By looking at all the facts, it was clear there was violence from the victim, why do people not understand that people have a right to protect themselves?

 

As much as people demonize stand your ground, I'm proud to have the castle doctrine as law.

[Meg 368]

 

By looking at all the facts, it was clear there was violence from the victim, why do people not understand that people have a right to protect themselves?

 

 

and people who are being stalked by a stranger . . . what rights do they have to protect themselves?

[Larks2242 251]

 

 

By looking at all the facts, it was clear there was violence from the victim, why do people not understand that people have a right to protect themselves?

 

 

and people who are being stalked by a stranger . . . what rights do they have to protect themselves?

 

 

Zimmerman was on neighborhood watch, he was patrolling what he volunteered to do, don't get me wrong, If I had suspected the whole incident was race related, I'd be calling for his head, but I believe whoever was placed in the same situation likely would have had the same result, the police report claimed he was looking in peoples windows, that is suspicious activity no matter how a person looks.

 

Besides new evidence says drugs were in the system, if so, maybe he was a good guy but the effects of the drugs could have altered his personality at the time.

 

I look at the facts at hand, to just take a quick look and say that Zimmerman was racist is not wanting to solve the case and bend to the pressure of the media, sad when propaganda plays more of a role then the actual evidence.

 

And this is coming from someone who is overly political correctness of race.

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

You can argue about this one for years, but the only way to know for sure what the correct verdict should have been is to know exactly what happened in those few minutes.  Which is impossible at this point.

 

If you ask me, there's something a little bit wrong with the law if a man can either spend life in prison or walk free based on who throws the first punch.  Needless to say, I never intend on living in Florida.  In fact, I think I'll be moving well away from the South when I'm done with school.

[LexusInfernus 908]

Person B didn't "object" to person A. Person B attacked person A and person A was fearful for his life and has the right in Florida to stand his ground and use deadly force to survive person B's attack.

Technically person B had every right to use force against person A as person A appeared to pose a credible risk for persons B well being and safety (I mean obviously a guy stalking you gives you probable cause to suspect you are about to be a victim of a crime. Especially if the person in question does not identify himself as neighborhood watch or anything. Also do neighborhood watches have the legal right to stalk people?). Under stand your ground laws person B was in the right, which funnily enough meant that person A's stand your ground rights came into effect as a result. If Trayvon had a gun he had every right to blow Zimmerman's face off. Though he would have likely been thrown in jail because you know...equal in front of the law in America means that minorities are more equal than others. 

 

See here how utterly retarded stand your ground laws are. 

[AkemiAzula 280]

...If you ask me, there's something a little bit wrong with the law if a man can either spend life in prison or walk free based on who throws the first punch...

Agree 100 percent. I think all people have the right to defend themselves against attack. If we create laws banning self defense we create a haven for crims. The only way to prevent evil is to fight it, not stand down and be meak in the face of it.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Interesting general reaction.  I stand mute on this, since I don't have the facts.

[aparrot7 82]

I'm shocked by the verdict. Even if Zimmerman's acts were in self defense, they key difference is that one individual (Zimmerman) HAD a gun on him, while the other did not. Trayvon Martin was not some crook who posed a direct threat. He had no form of self defense on him, other than his fists. Zimmerman should have allowed the police to handle this, and such a tragedy would have never happened, but instead he decided to take the matters into his own hands. Zimmerman was not on his property, nor was he defending himself; he actively perused Trayvon, causing the situation to unravel. Whether or not he was racist, I don't know; but I find it shocking that someone can get away with killing someone without some form of punishment, even if it be something smaller than a full murder sentence. If Trayvon had broken into Zimmermans house, or attacked him from behind, this would be a different conversation. The difference is that Zimmerman made the decision to go after Trayvon. Trayvon had every right to defend himself in this case as well, and because he was dead, the defense had turned the victim into the criminal. I just finding it appalling that Zimmerman could obviously kill him, and his innocence is decided on who started the physical punching, even though it was Zimmerman who decided to go after the man, gun with him, in the first place.

[Jazzmaster 716]

To quote a peer on the Casey Anthony verdict only two years prior:

 

"It doesn't matter what I think, it doesn't matter who I think is guilty or innocent, because what really happened is between him (Zimmerman) and God"

[Bipin 3,402]

 

Person B didn't "object" to person A. Person B attacked person A and person A was fearful for his life and has the right in Florida to stand his ground and use deadly force to survive person B's attack.

Also do neighborhood watches have the legal right to stalk people?

 

Expanding upon what you were saying, I doubt they have the legal right to stalk someone. Even if they do, that'd be moot in this case, for it was explicitly communicated to Zimmerman via a dispatcher over the phone that he should not continue to pursue Martin. 

 

I side with those who believe Martin was unjustly killed based upon the facts that have been released thus far/what I know. However, only Zimmerman himself knows everything. It's anyone's guess if he is guilty.  despite Zimmerman being acquitted, if he is indeed guilty, I'm sure justice will ultimately prevail to some extent as a product of public opinion. Living post-acquittal is not synonymous to the freedoms experienced before-hand; he will never get those back.

[AkemiAzula 280]

I didn't read about the case of course. However I think everyone has the right to defend themselves against unreasonable behaviour from others, so whoever was acting illegally naturally should shoot the other guy or wtvr

[snick25 384]

 

 

I look at the facts at hand, to just take a quick look and say that Zimmerman was racist is not wanting to solve the case and bend to the pressure of the media, sad when propaganda plays more of a role then the actual evidence.

 

I believe the contrary. I'm not sure how many here ever took a look at that website he set up to gain funds for his legal defense, but there was a small photo gallery there and one of the pictures showed graffiti, sprayed onto the Hale Center (a black cultural center) at Ohio State University, reading "Long Live Zimmerman". Zimmerman himself set up the website and the images - he had to have known the context of this picture.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/graphics/2012/05/10/zimmerman.jpg

 

Another fact: Zimmerman called the police dozens of times, and every single time he did so, it was to report "suspicious behavior". And every single time, the person performing this "suspicious behavior" was, in fact, an African American. In the police tape, Zimmerman says to the 911 Operator:

 

"F****** punks. These a*******. They always get away."

 

I guess one of those 'punks' finally got what they deserved, eh? 

[AkemiAzula 280]

Hmm. Well maybe in this instance we are dealing with someone who wasn't acting in self defense after all. Certainly the sort of people who spray paint that kind of message on a cultural centre aren't generally the nicest sorts

[Jazzmaster 716]

I think it's worth noting this is not a "white vs. black" issue, especially because Zimmerman is Hispanic and therefore not "White".

 

And I'm gonna be honest, as somebody who is also of color, I don't think this is a race issue.  If Zimmerman was often reporting African Americans for crimes, perhaps it is because it just so happened to be African Americans committing crimes at the time.  That doesn't mean, "white people don't commit crimes", it just means he was likely in a neighborhood where black crime is more common.  There are several neighborhoods like this, it's not a new thing.

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

Interesting general reaction.  I stand mute on this, since I don't have the facts.

 

If you're interested, here's the abbreviated rundown, as neutral as I can make it:

 

One day in Florida, George Zimmerman, who is an adamant, armed member of the local neighborhood watch, sees Trayvon Martin (whom he does not recognize).  As there have been some burglary problems in the neighborhood recently, Zimmerman is very suspicious of this kid.  First he calls the non-emergency police line, asking them to come investigate.  The operator gives him the typical spiel of how someone will be there shortly, tells him to remain where he is, and not to become involved.  As Martin is walking away, Zimmerman is angry about the police's nonchalant response, and decides to go question Trayvon himself, hanging up on the police.

 

What happened next has been the subject of discussion throughout the country.  Zimmerman's general story is that he went to question Trayvon, who attacked him.  Prosecutors say that it was Zimmerman who was the aggressor.  There were very few witnesses, and none of them clearly saw nor heard the entire event.  Their stories tended to be vague.

 

In the end, Trayvon Martin was shot dead by George Zimmerman.  Now, in Florida, the "Stand Your Ground" doctrine dictates that anyone who is attacked, anywhere, may defend themselves with any force necessary (including deadly).  So the question is, was Zimmerman justified in defending himself, or should he never have engaged Martin?

 

There are more details of course, but they only make the story even more vague.

 

As you can see, it's a considerable legal and moral dilemma.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

The only thing that should result other than odium for Zimmerman is that his status as a "watcher" needs to be revoked if it has not already.

 

Racism in that part of the U.S. is not a black vs. white issue.  There are three visible races: whites, blacks, and browns (mostly Hispanics).

 

Since the whole thing is vague, I think Zimmerman lacked the necessary training to assess the amount of force actually required, and escalated the situation to deadly force because he didn't know anything else he could do.  A little martial arts training might have helped him to solve the problem without resorting to firearms.  Of course, he has now ruined his life, and probably won't be safe anywhere in the U.S. except, perhaps, Puerto Rico.

[metarvo 710]

Regardless of what one thinks or doesn't think about the verdict, this case suffered from media overexposure IMHO.  It's been repeatedly tried on TV for the last year or so, and Zimmerman is guilty in the minds of many.  As far as Zimmerman goes, he will practically be living in a theoretical "jail" of sorts even if he is not locked behind bars in an actual prison.  There's all the death threats and lawsuit threats.  Who's going to want to hire him?  I think it's safe to say no law enforcement agency of any kind will want him.