Zimmerman, Anyone following this?

[Sammy]

Just wondering if anyone is following this case at all. I know it is in the united states but i have to admit i am not convinced he should have been charged.

[Prewitt]

Why?

[EasyRider]

Nobody knows the truth of what happened ... yet ... except Zimmerman, and his testimony doesn't really mean much without additional corroberating evidence. Given the public outcry, and the apparent lack of definitive evidence one way or the other, I think charging him is DEFINITELY the right answer, and let the court sort it out.

[Prewitt]

Right, nobody knows what happened that night except Zimmerman, anybody should know what would have happened if Zimmerman had just listened to that police dispatcher who told him to stay in his car and let the police take care of it.

In a city that size the cops would have been there in minutes, Martin would still be alive after being briefly questioned by the cops and then being allowed to walk back to his father's with the candy. Zimmerman wouldn't be charged with 2nd degree murder.

A neighborhood watch program here or there is supposed to be exactly that, watch and then maybe report to the local cops any suspicious activity. Absolutely nothing more. You do not confront. You do not get out of the car carrying a gun.

Nobody but Zimmerman knows what happened, but I think I know what might have happened. Zimmerman saw a black kid in the neighborhood and started to slowly follow/stalk him, Martin on his phone with his gf complained and she told him just to ignore it and hurry home, Martin said he wasn't going to run. 17yrs-old is prime macho-age, and then somehow both of them were outside and maybe Zimmerman panicked when he realized the kid had taken him down, grabbed his gun and and shot him, just a couple of seconds and that's all it takes.

And if Martin had been a 17yr-old white kid shot by a classic wannabe cop while walking home after buying his little brother candy, would Zimmerman have been
allowed to go home after approx 45 minutes of questioning and the police report taken at the scene sounds like it was an investigation of a minor crime, i.e., just another (Edited) killed?

[Sammy]

Well we will hear Zimmerman's side for sure.. Hopefully he gets a fair trial. His first lawyers that he consulted with almost made that impossible, calling a press conference to say they were dropping him as a client when he hadn't even agreed to them representing him in the first place. They sound like a all they wanted was to represent him in what has turned out to be a high profile case and could care less if he went to jail. They really had no choice in charging him. Yes he clearly made some mistakes but i really think he does believe it was self derense.

[EasyRider]

I don't think I'd be able to say that I believe Zimmerman really believes it was self defence. I don't think there is anywhere near enough evidence yet to form an informed opinion. Florida has that "Stand Your Ground" law too.

[Laker Girl]

he was directed by 911 NOT to follow the kid, not to get out of the car and not to approach, yet he did all 3 and the kid ended up dead.
CLEARLY he was at fault regardless if the kid was beating the shit out of him. The kid was defending himself from this creeper following him...doesn't he have any rights to stand his own ground?
The kid was not a threat to the idiot if he would have followed the instructions given to him by 911. How can he claim self defense when he was the aggressor?
If someone follows me, gets out of his vehicle and approaches me I am going to fight for my life....the kid did what anyone else would do in that situation!

[Sammy]

let's just see what this kid's background is before we make Zimmerman the guilty one.. something tells me we are not hearing the whole story here. I have a feeling this kid was on the wrong path and would not have lived a long life.

[Laker Girl]

what the hell does his background have to do with the fact that Zimmerman followed him, got out of his car and approached him against direct orders from 911 dispatchers?

If YOU were walking down the street, and someone follows YOU and gets out of their vehicle and approaches YOU, what is YOUR reaction going to be?

Standing your ground, or self-defense is NOT an argument when you have every opportunity to NOT become a victim in the first place, as Zimmerman did.....the kid did not have that same opportunity. I fully believe there was a confrontation after Zimmerman followed and approached the kid and Zimmerman was getting his ass kicked and shot the kid....but if he had not of approached him in the first place, like he was instructed, none of it would have taken place.

Your logic is so illogical. Its like criminals who sue a victim when they hurt themselves committing a criminal act!

[Sammy]

It isn't illogical at all actually. I hardly think he should be considered guilty without hearing all the evidence. It wasn't some random guy following him. The kid knew full well he was neighbour hood watch. All i am saying Laker girl is don't convict till all the facts are heard. Just because the media prints it doesn't mean it's true. His background has a lot to do with it and you can bet it will be brought up in court.. oh but that is not logical i guess....

[Justin]

While I agree on not lynching the individual. Allow the man his day in court. I do at present see him as a wana be hero playing wana be cop. Neighbourhood watch is not about taking front line action, it's about reporting suspicious behaviour and leaving it up to the professionals to deal with it.

[EasyRider]

The "sound bites" we are hearing on tv do make it sound like Zimmerman acted like a bit of a cowboy and could have avoided the confrontation. However, those are just the "sound bites" on tv, I think we all know you really can't trust that. I have no idea what the actual evidence will show, and I don't think anyone else on this forum knows either.

[Laker Girl]

i think the simple fact that he was told not to follow and not to engage and he did puts him as the aggressor and in the wrong...and yes he will have his day in court.

the logic by which sammy is defending the action of killing a teenager because he *may* have a 'background' is so small town mind.

there are a LOT of criminals walking the streets of EL. does that mean that any individual has the right to follow and approach them based on what they may have done in the past?

[Laker Girl]

Sammy: If the town slut gets raped is that ok? Looking at her background....you cant help but consider that she gave it away anyways so whats the big deal right?
Should her 'background' be put on trial too?

[Justin]

Fact remains, background does have it's important role in building the character, and is applied in courts. It can work both in favour or against. Your scenerio reguarding the town bike can be contested based on history

[Sammy]

I don't know where your Logic comes from Laker but i have to laugh at the suggestion that i am small town minded... LOL that's a good one...made my day.

[cultivator]

Alls I know its a lose lose situation for zimmerman if he doesn't go to prison then he will be killed by the blacks.

[Conan]

Just drop the "town" from that three word pearl and I think you've got it Sam.

Have to agree with Prewitt, Justin and LG here. This guy was a wanna be who was told to cease his "pursuit" of Martin and didn't listen. If not for that this never would have happened.

He is definitely guilty of manslaughter, possibly murder when you consider he had a gun and the kid had a bag of candy.

I see security guards on a daily basis and you would be surprised how many of them take their position a little too seriously. They are not cops, they are there to observe and report. Thank god they don't have guns.

[tamriel]

I cant understand why they charged him with 2nd degree murder and not manslaughter

[Justin]

Maybe it's because I'm hunter, but in my mind if you shoot at something, it's with the intent to kill. If you intend to kill, that's not manslaughter.

[tamriel]

Makes perfect sense, Justin. I only wondered because from what I understand it would be harder to prove a 2nd degree murder case. Although from what I've read and heard on the 911 tapes...it looks pretty dim for zimmerman. He should be charged, it is not up to the public to follow suspicious characters around, had zimmerman waited for police to arrive - this young man would still be alive. What a tragedy

[Justin]

I don't know the particulars of how a judge can lay sentence. If he's charged with second degree murder, the court findings can reduce it to manslaughter. I'm not sure about the other way around though.

[EasyRider]

It's probably correct that Zimmerman could have prevented this from happening, but I still can't help but think there must be more to this than what we are hearing in the news.

Just heard on the news at noon that Zimmerman is being released on bail, with conditions of course.

[Sammy]

O.k. Conan,, here is the thing.. I listened to the 911 tapes.. yes he was told to not follow him.. this was two minutes into the phone call. He was already following him on foot at that point. There were several break ins prior to this.. Who is not to say that Zimmerman was not on his way back to his vehicle when this turned fatal... not saying zimmerman was not guilty of bad judgement. but if this was a black guy shooting a black kid we would not even have heard about this case.

[tamriel]

Zimmerman has a history of calling 911.....over stupid things.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/tr...trash-black-men