Trayvon Martin

He's guilty. He wanted a confrontation so he can shoot Martin and claim self-defense. He disobeyed the police who told him to stop following him. He got out of his car (again, hoping for a confrontation). And he shot the kid. I'm not interested in what happened between Zimmerman getting out of the car and the gun shot. Any aggressiveness from Martin was because he felt he was defending himself against a guy that was stalking him.

Last-12-Exit wrote:

Ledbetterman10 wrote:

He's guilty. He wanted a confrontation so he can shoot Martin and claim self-defense. He disobeyed the police who told him to stop following him. He got out of his car (again, hoping for a confrontation). And he shot the kid. I'm not interested in what happened between Zimmerman getting out of the car and the gun shot. Any aggressiveness from Martin was because he felt he was defending himself against a guy that was stalking him.

What case have you been listening to?
-He wanted to shoot Martin? If this was the case, he would be charged with 1st degree murder.
-He disobeyed police? No, he didn't follow the direction of a dispatcher. Dispatchers aren not policeman.
-He got out of the car looking for a confrontation? I havnt heard any evidence to support this. He got out of the car to find an address. That's the only testimony regarding that. Anything else is speculation.
-Martin was defending himself? How do you defend yourself when you throw the first punch?
-Zimmerman was stalking Martin? Following someone isn't stalkin nor is it against the law.

Its one thing to express your opinion, its quite another to take the facts of the case and totally disregard them.

-I'm just saying I think he wanted to shoot him. Of course it can't be proven and so that's why it's not a 1st degree murder case.

-Dispatchers aren't policeman. True. But they work for the police and speak for the police and told Zimmerman that officers were on the way and to stay away.

-Yeah I know it's speculation dude. That's why he's gonna get off and it sucks. But if he felt Martin was a danger to him, then why did he get out the car? Who walks up to someone that is a danger to them? Nobody...unless they have a gun.

-Following somebody kinda is stalking somebody. Not against the law. But still. Some kid walking by himself isn't a threat to anybody and so there's no reason for Zimmerman to be following him...like a wannabe cop.

JimmyV wrote:

Yeah, I don't disagree that engagement is probably not the best idea. But would a 17 year old agree? In the spur of the moment like that I can understand why he may have approached Zimmerman.

Western Mass can be like a different world. When I was in college I worked as a Pharmacy Tech in Holyoke. Growing up in Framingham prepared me not at all for some of the things I saw there, which was shocking. You and your buddies made the right call for sure.

I didn't realize how rough Holyoke was until I drove through some of the bad parts. Haven't been there in ages, but I can tell you downtown Springfield has progressively gotten even worse from when I was in school there (late 90s/early 00s). I can only imagine what's going on in Holyoke.

I love how the prosecution charge him with 2nd degree murder and the they give the jury the option to convict him of manslaughter, but not 3rd degree ... :fp:

I believe he will be found not guilty.

I also believe there will be riots where innocent people are going to be hurt and killed. Be vigilant everyone.

Hi! I'll enter my $.02 here on page 107 for the first time!

The way I see this, there are two arguments -one for manslaughter, one for self-defense. I don't see a way the state can get to 2nd degree and they should've left it alone.

The prosecution:
Trayvon Martin would be alive and in this room, but for the actions of George Zimmerman. G.Z. started the chain of events which led directly to the death of Martin. Had he stopped and walked away at any point before the physical confrontation began, T.M. would still be alive. But G.Z. did not and T.M. is dead.

The defense:
GZ was doing what everyone should do and what we expect everyone in our community to do. Watch out for the neighborhood. It doesn't matter if he was on duty or not, he saw something suspicious and he looked into it. He didn't turn away just b/c "it wasn't his duty." He wanted to make sure everything was OK. Maybe TM was simply on his way to his father's house when GZ first saw him, but when GZ was confronted, TM was the aggressor and GZ found himself fighting for what he thought was his life and he defended himself the only way he could.

Prosecution has a better case on the law, Defense has a better case on the facts and with the story. What will the jury believe?

Welcome to my life as a Public Defender...

not guilty

I thought George Zimmerman would at least get a manslaughter charge, but ultimately not surprised he is not guilty.

Why am I not surprised?

1. Not enough evidence to convict him,
2. It's Florida, the state where Casey Anthony was not guilty for the same reason.

Guitar92player wrote:

I thought George Zimmerman would at least get a manslaughter charge, but ultimately not surprised he is not guilty.

Why am I not surprised?

1. Not enough evidence to convict him,
2. It's Florida, the state where Casey Anthony was not guilty for the same reason.

Agree. They didn't have enough to convict him and maybe under current laws he isn't guilty. He is however a profiling asshole that should have taken the assbeating he deserved instead of killing a kid.