Zimmerman not guilty.

[dethtongue]

I never really thought George Zimmerman was guilty of murder, and despite stalking Trayvon Martin I don't think he actually planned on killing him. I think he is guilty of being an idiot with a gun in a state where its apparently legal to shoot people dead if you don't like the look of them. Only in America could a law as silly and open to abuse as "Stand your Ground" exist.

[Firebringer]

First, the situation is tragic. Someone's 17 year old son is dead. I feel for anyone in this situation and if it were my child, I would be heartbroken.

However, law requires us to be dispassionate so that we render fair verdicts based upon the evidence. In this case, the jury did exactly that. The prosecution had no case and they were pressured to bring charges to satisfy political need.

Justice was served, but let us not forget that someone lost his life in this. Be satisfied that our system worked, but do not rejoice in the death of Trayvon.

firebringer

[Wendigo]

Originally Posted by Firebringer

Justice was served, but let us not forget that someone lost his life in this. Be satisfied that our system worked, but do not rejoice in the death of Trayvon.
firebringer

We frankly do not know if justice was served, the facts are there are only two people who know what went on and one of them is dead.
The jury probably did not like youngsters as we've all felt that strange feeling of unease around groups of teens .. but a single unarmed person?
The fact that the prosecution had to be forced says more about that weird Florida law where it seems you can kill anyone if you feel they are a threat. The people accept that and I find that strange and if I was in Florida I'd be very careful what I did in case some passing armed idiot took offence to the nth degree and decided he had the right to shoot to kill.

[rodak]

A Hispanic man defends Himself by shooting Trayvon Martin A drug taking thug.
People bitch and whine because.. "The justice system is broke"
O.J. Simpson murders two white people and every one Cheers! "See the justice system Does work!"
OK people pick one does it work or not??

[keefriff]

IMO, this never would have happened if the Stand Your Ground law didn't exist. Come on all you gun toters, go ahead and tell me what a rube I am. I don't care. The reality with this law is that if you feel "threatened" by someone's behavior towards you, you can pull a gun on them. I would say that is more than a little broad. It leaves a lot of discretion in the hands of the "victim" as to what exactly "threatening behavior" is. I have no doubt that George Zimmerman was punched by Trayvon Martin and felt threatened. I also have no doubt that George Zimmerman was emboldened by his weapon and the Stand Your Ground law and despite being told not to by the 911 operator, pursued Trayvon in his role as "neighborhood watchman".

So here is Trayvon walking back to his Dad's house after buying some snacks at the store. Young, hoodie wearing black teenager. I'm sure he had never, ever, ever in his life felt like he was being singled out for his appearance. I'm sure he never felt singled out, marginalized, generalized by preconceived notions in American society. I'm sure he never felt threatened or singled out because of his race. That could never happen. Not here in the US of A. And I'm sure that George Zimmerman never held some of those preconceived notions about race and crime. He was completely color blind. If you believe all that, I have some swamp land to sell you in the great State of Florida.

So I guess I can't really blame Trayvon for feeling threatened or frankly for feeling angry as some "white" guy tails him as he tries to walk home. Probably not the first time he has had something like that happen to him. According to testimony, Zimmerman continued to follow and Trayvon essentially ambushed him, physically gets on top of him and says " Why you following me?" Bad move by Trayvon. He should have never put his hands on Zimmerman and ultimately that cost him his life. But can you blame Trayvon? I would feel threatened too if someone was following me. And I would imagine as a young, black, hoodie wearing teenager who probably had dealt with this kind of thing before.....he was pissed off about it. I guess I can't blame him for that either.

They struggle and from what testimony said, Trayvon was getting the best of him. On top of him, punching his nose and face and banging Zimmerman's head on the concrete. Not a vicious beating but Zimmerman was on the wrong end of it no matter how you look at it. So yes, he is threatened at that point and feels the need to defend himself. I understand that too. He also has a right to defend himself......and that is why he was acquitted. I honestly believe that the jury did the correct thing by the letter of the law. It doesn't make the facts any easier to take but IMO the jury had to acquit him. The prosecution did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

I also agree with posters who wrote that this was spun from the start as a White on Black crime and was stoked by the Left and parts of the black community. Everyone always wants to make it so easy. It's us against them. I don't know why anyone is really too shocked about that. Isn't that what always happens? OJ, Tawana Brawley, James Byrd, LA Cops. Sometimes the NAACP, parts of the black community, the left media, are right........and sometimes they are wrong. So be it. That's the way it has always been. Do I like it? No. Do I expect it? Yes. Do I ignore it? Most definitely.

I would say this whole event is a terrible tragedy. I don't think Zimmerman wanted to kill Martin. I think he feels tremendous remorse and regret over it. IMO, he is a wanna be cop with his own prejudices and motivations. He was emboldened by this law and his gun, he overstepped his "duties" by pursuing Trayvon, got himself on the wrong end of a fist fight and he felt the need to defend himself. He made many mistakes before he shot Trayvon and all of this could have easily been avoided with a cooler head on his part. Were his actions stupid? Yes. Were they criminal? Not according to the law.

[Wendigo]

Originally Posted by rodak

A Hispanic man defends Himself by shooting Trayvon Martin A drug taking thug.
People bitch and whine because.. "The justice system is broke"

Frankly we don't know if he defended himself or if he provoked a confrontation and let it spiral out of control as we were not there. The jury believed him so as much as we may think it's an odd law that allows people to shoot to kill on suspicion that they are in danger it was belatedly done by the book.

Originally Posted by rodak

O.J. Simpson murders two white people and every one Cheers! "See the justice system Does work!"
OK people pick one does it work or not??

No comparison, that was premeditated murder. That trial was a media feeding frenzy with even the lawyers and some witnesses becoming household names.
Did the system work? Who knows ... what didn't help was all the playing up to the cameras but my gut instinct was that OJ was guilty a view the jury in the civil trial also came to.

[richardoe]

In US law can the defence ask the judge to find the defendant not guilty after the prosecution case has finished?

[dethtongue]

Originally Posted by rodak

A Hispanic man defends Himself by shooting Trayvon Martin A drug taking thug.
People bitch and whine because.. "The justice system is broke"
O.J. Simpson murders two white people and every one Cheers! "See the justice system Does work!"
OK people pick one does it work or not??

"A drug talking thug....." who died because he wanted a box of skittles at the wrong time. Yeah....Trayvon was a hard-core gangsta thug. Congratulations. That sentence made me laugh out loud. Only in America could someone get shot dead for having a sugar craving, and then painted as some kind of hard core "criminal" type. Maybe so all the "good guys with guns" don't end up looking like such utter morons and pussies.

For the record. The justice system IS broken. It was broken when OJ got off, and its broken now. Not because George Zimmerman is guilty of murder. He isn't. He's just another hapless dumbass with a gun instead of common sense. Its broken because Florida has a law as jaw-droppingly stupid as "Stand your Ground."

For the record I would like to lodge a formal petition to have Florida change the name of their "Stand Your Ground" law to "Bust a Cap in a N***** if you provoke a fight and then can't win" law. I mean...call it what it is.

[Firebringer]

Originally Posted by Wendigo

We frankly do not know if justice was served, the facts are there are only two people who know what went on and one of them is dead.
The jury probably did not like youngsters as we've all felt that strange feeling of unease around groups of teens .. but a single unarmed person?
The fact that the prosecution had to be forced says more about that weird Florida law where it seems you can kill anyone if you feel they are a threat. The people accept that and I find that strange and if I was in Florida I'd be very careful what I did in case some passing armed idiot took offence to the nth degree and decided he had the right to shoot to kill.

Perhaps we have different definitions of "Justice" -- I meant only that Zimmerman was not convicted based on emotions when clearly the evidence was lacking.

Your jury comment is baseless. The Stand Your Ground law does not apply here. This is self-defense, plain and simple (based strictly on the available evidence).

Keep in mind that "not guilty" is not the same as "innocent". I agree that none of us knows what actually happened. But in a dispassionate review of the available evidence, the not guilty verdict was justice served.

firebringer

[Firebringer]

Originally Posted by rodak

A Hispanic man defends Himself by shooting Trayvon Martin A drug taking thug.
People bitch and whine because.. "The justice system is broke"
O.J. Simpson murders two white people and every one Cheers! "See the justice system Does work!"
OK people pick one does it work or not??

Rodak,

I think we typically come down on the same side of political issues, but I would disagree with this post. We should not rejoice in Trayvon's death nor needlessly characterize him as a "drug taking thug".

He was a teenager with problems who, when he (apparently) felt threatened, decided to attack what he (allegedly) felt was a threat. Bad move on his part and it cost him his life. No need to vilify him.

But, as I have said before, the "not guilty" verdict was justice served. There was simply not enough evidence to support this rushed and politically-motivated prosecution.

firebringer