Zimmerman Found Not Guilty

[Christopher]

I figure everyone knows about it now, but I just got back home.

Personally, I thought he should've -- at least -- got manslaughter.

 

[raiderfo]

I would've picked something more severe. He shot an unarmed person in an act of 'self-defense', even after stalking that unarmed person. I don't remember Skittles being considered a deadly weapon or an illegal product. I also don't believe the 'he attacked me so I shot him' excuse for a second. It's unbelievably easy to hit yourself once or twice and claim that a dead guy did it to you, who's gonna argue it? The bag of Skittles?

 

[Christopher]

Exactly. If the kid was truly a threat, he could have attacked the guy with a flashlight. His excuse was total BS as far as I'm concerned, like you said. And that's the other thing; no one could know exactly what happened because the kid is dead.

This justice system amazes me.

 

[taferrara]

There was absolutely no reason for this to happen. It was clearly a racial profiling; albeit it might have been common in that town, there's simply no excuse. A young man lies deceased because of a man's irresponsibility in following directions and handling a firearm. He was advised to not follow the young man, yet he continued to do so, which was fine. But to get so close only to get into a fist fight? It's not an excuse.

The riots going on were predicted by me the moment the verdict was announced. That particular police department was known for being racist anyway and they deserve every piece of bullshit that they get, though I've heard that not much has sprung over in that area.

Though I work in a completely separate workplace, I can't say I don't seldom feel ashamed at the carelessness and lack of professionalism in certain police departments across the US.

 

[Christopher]

I hear on all of that. Not much more to say unfortunately.

 

[Haseo25]

No i disagree with all of you. I have been following the facts of this case quite closely and from the get go the media among pthers have been manipulating the situation to fit the naritive this was racially motivated. The MEDIA altered the 911 tape so that it appeared that Zimmerman was offering an unsolicited discription of treyvon martin.

I was originally very suspicious of the audio i heard from the news outlets,because i have had opportunity to call 911 once or twice. One of the things they do is get a detailed accounting of the situation and if possible the suspect. All zimmerman was doing was watching treyvon mot because he was black but because theyre had been a string of robberies in the neighborhood and no one knew who was doing it. Treyvon had his hoodie on was acting suspiciously oh and before i forget he had been in the process of obtaining an illeagal firearm from some shady aquaitencrs of his so the arguent he was this unassuming hapless bystandard are false. And before i forget the image the media tried to impart of treyvon appearing as a young teenager is extremely disingeuous. He was 17 yrs old over 6' tall and athletic. Sorry if i seem overly terse about this. It is just i have dealt with a lot of jerks about this very subject.

The ultimate fact of the matter is had treyvon not decided to ground pound the shit out of zimmerman he would be alive today. And as an added last two points do no forget the ground is still one of the hardest surfases to slam someone into. Second if all i am doing is non violently observing someone so as to confirm they are not looking to harm someone in my community I AM Not breaking any laws. However if someone say lunges at you orakes a threatening stance towards you. You are not required to turn your back and run thus putting you or others in a more dangerous position. I am sorry you do not have to be armed to endanger anothers life. And if it is me against someone look to inflict harm upone and another i am NOT prioritizing the life of the person attacking me i will fire MY pistol till the threat is nuetralized. Which is the legal standard. Theyre are a lot of details convienently left out of the mainstream media reporting too many to go into right now.

 

[taferrara]

I've been in the police force for nearly 45 years. I agree -- the media seemed to push it, in the beginning, and made it look like this was a racial issue. But in the end, there was most-likely no reason to fire that weapon. I've been in many notable situations that would yield the use of a firearm but I've always used caution when operating a firearm and only fired if absolutely necessary. I get it -- Trayvon was taller than Zimmerman, thereby inflicting the possibility of fear. But if this Zimmerman was so "feared", why in the Hell would you proceed to follow him so close? Of course Trayvon is going to attack someone who attempts to follow him so close. It's the nature of any normal man.

Had Zimmerman followed standard protocol and pronounced himself, this wouldn't have happened. There's no evidence to be inclusive about this (obviously), but there is a level of common sense. If it were a responsible police officer there instead of Zimmerman, who properly introduced himself, most likely this wouldn't have happened. And if it were you who acted in such a manner, I'm sorry. But it's just not justified. Firearms are to be used with caution. They're not toys. And those who use them in such careless manners are usually not individuals responsible enough to handle them. Which is why incidents like this happen.

You might not feel Zimmerman is at fault. But it's not your child lying in the ground right now. I have two children of my own and I've said this before and I'll say it again. If my children were killed by someone, justice would be taken into my hands. I have no shame in admitting that. Sure -- I'd go to prison. But so what? The world moves on.

 

[Haseo25]

So being across the street was too close? Hmm kinda doubt that so getting your ass beaten in the street as was the case with zimmerman is not reason to defend your own? Hmm interesting. Excuse me angela corey overcharged the hell out of this case. The chief of police said himself murder in any regard could not be proven and you had politicians injecting themselves in every step of this case provoking racial animus until the bitter end of this case and beyond. I will grant you logically zimmerman should have thought a little more carefully. However martin HAD no right to attack zimmerman. At that point all bets were off. Martin may not have been seeking trouble that day but evidence strongly points to his intent to seek harm upon others inthe future. And i am sorry sir but citizens do have a right to protect themselves and there neighborhoods.

Btw i would just like to point out police can only respond after the fact. This is why we have self defense laws. Martin made a choice to rush across the street and beat the shit out of zimmerman. Don't believe me fine there are photos to prove it. However this was a kangaroo court to begin with and when you have jerks like obama shapton and other race hustlers stoking the flames of a tragic situation into something it is not. There can be no justice. I empathize with martins family. However i intentionally withheld judgement for either side until more facts came out and as more facts came out the prosecutions stance continued to get on shakier ground. The prosecutions case was built on a soggy house of cards from the get go evidenced by the fact they kept chages abnormally high attempting to plea out.

I am extremely uncomfortable with this situation on multiple levels.

Additionally contrary to what you may think i do not have a beef with zimmerman one way or another. I simply looked at the facts of this case and looked at the statute for the charges filed and the state came up short evodence wose end of story. I am not talking about this from an emotional stand point. Leagally speaking is zimmerman guilty or innocent. He is innocent. Not just because the jury said so. But because both the jury and evidence said so. Zimmerman wasn't acting with malice he didn't go there seeking to kill martin he was on the phone with the police operator. All martin had to do was walk away. Or instead of the first call martin made which was to his girlfriend if he trully believed zimmerman meant him harm he should have called the police.

You know like how zimmerman was still on the phone with the emergency operator.

So am i too understand in light of all i have recounted here that you believe treyvon did nothing to make the situation worse? If you truly feel that way so be it. However given all the information i found that is credible. This was for the most part a regretable tragedy. Not a criminal act on the part of zimmerman

I might also remind you we are a nation of laws not of men. If it becomes the pther way around we lose the civil society. If that happens we have anarchy. I acttuly find this situation as far as current stance on this case ironic. Ussually for most criminal trials i follow i do't side with the defense on legal grounds. Hmm go figure

 

[Haseo25]

I hate this iphone please forgive spelling errors.

 

[taferrara]

I am unaware of photos that suggest Martin ran across the street to attack Zimmerman. And in general, I'm simply an objective person; I don't believe stories without sufficient evidence.

That said, it is my personal belief that Zimmerman did not have criminal intentions that night. Additionally, I do not believe he intentionally killed Martin. So ultimately, it is a tragic event and I do not believe Zimmerman was intentionally racial profiling the young man.

But don't tell me that if Zimmerman were black and Martin were white, the results of the trial would have yielded the same results. In this society, it would have yielded different results and you should all know that in your heart that it is, sadly, the truth.

 

[Haseo25]

Except for one thing zimmerman was and is NOT white. This is not about race except for people like sharpton and jackson and all the exploiters around. The media in their infinite stupidity assumed because zimmerman had a german or in their words jewish sounding name that zimmerman was white. The judge imho was and is a gutless wonder. Btw as far as i know the events of the martin /zimmerman altercation occured during the day not night. In any event i feel badly for everyone involved. The exploitation of the martins. The outright attacks on zimmerman and his family before the trial even started(innocent till proven guilty my ass). The prosecutorial misconduct. The judicial abuses. The removal of the chief of police on bull shit grounds when he raised questions on the evidence for the filed charges. But even with all of that in mind imagine if they had secured a conviction. The appeals courts would have ruled in Zimmermans favor anyway for all the reasons i stated and more. Felony charges were a big stretch to begin with at the very least the ones chosen. Now where i do agree w/you is zimmerman should have been aware of how some prosecuters persecute self defence cases. Would i have acted as zimmerman no. Do i sort of understand where he was coming from. Yes. Do i think both he and martin acted like idiots and as an addition for martin criminally yes. (assault and battery)

And yes t. Ferrah the photos of zimmermans injuries are grotesque and i have no doubt if zimmerman hadn't gotten his gun back from treyvon zimmerman would have died. So thus ends the national soap opera or at least this part of it.

I hope we can at least agree on this much? Jackson , sharpton , obama , the black panthers , reid , palosi. Pretty much everyone who stoked rhe flames of division and judgement should rot in hell. Amen

 

[taferrara]

My personal feeling is that Zimmerman simply should have followed better procedural protocols. He was not trained to chase, follow, or apprehend a subject. His job is to serve as the "eyes and ears" for the neighborhood. He even admitted that he failed to introduce himself. Now, Martin probably should have contacted the police rather than the individuals at hos home. But think about when you were a teenager in your own neighborhood. For most individuals in that age group, in your own neighborhood, your first attempt at help would likely be your parent, guardian, or other individual at home. Police will not be able to respond as quickly as they are not right there, whereas your parent or guardian is.

There are many points in this scenario that could have gone differently. Where Martin was in the past week or days was irrelevant. In my eyes, one obvious mistake was made: Zimmerman did not properly introduce yourself. Yet security personnel are trained specifically to present themselves before following someone. Especially when security personnel is not in uniform or any other obvious form of clothing that makes it clear to others.

I know Zimmerman isn't white and further, I don't believe Zimmerman is racist. But his actions were not completely justified. There was no "street", and the events that occurred aren't known to us or anyone else except for Zimmerman himself. The end fact is usually when one is killed with a firearm, the one responsible is apprehended while investigations go underway. That particular police department didn't do that. They took his story and without any further questions, let him go. Several parties were wrong but if Zimmerman were afraid for his life, why follow him?

As I said, I don't believe Zimmerman should serve time for being racist, but he should have gotten something for killing a young man. Perhaps you don't have children or a loved one and thus don't completely understand. But there is a family out there now that must eat dinner at night with an empty seat. They go to bed at night knowing their son is gone forever and they didn't even get to say farewell.

Think about peacefully going to bed tonight and waking up the next morning to find out the a close family member of yours is now deceased.

 

[Haseo25]

You know losing a loved one(s) or ones to desease as i have is no easier than losing someone to tragic and sudden circumstaces. I was offering an ovjective accounting of events from my observations. Now i hope you were not intending to intentionally piss me off with your comment about having loved one i am or was close to and imagining if they were suddenly taken from as a slight. Or implication as a lack of empathy on my part. Because that would make you look very foolish and crass. If that was not your intent plese clarify your statement as it leaves much room for misunderstading.

 

[taferrara]

What I'm saying is that regardless of circumstance, Zimmerman was at fault. He failed to present himself or introduce himself which he should have done. All neighberhood watchmen and security personnel are trained specifically that when approaching someone, to present or introduce themselves. Zimmerman clearly failed to do this (he admitted to it). This in itself could have meant the difference of life and death for Martin. If Zimmerman were an officer at my department, he would have been put on probation at the least.

I'm an objective person myself as I've said time and time again and it should have been clear that my reference to losing a loved one or family member was for clarification purposes and sake of example. You are not the one who has to approach the parents and inform them of their deceased son. I've been in the police force for nearly 45 years and in the military for 15 years. If you honestly think anyone here has any experience over my head, you're crazy. If you were in my shoes, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about.

Anyhow, all I'm saying is that this could have been prevented. One shouldn't simply be let go after killing a young man.

 

[Christopher]

OK, let's calm down guys. Let's not start a war here.

The truth is, we don't know what exactly went down that night. I agree it is unfortunate and I do empthasize with the family. Ultimately, I think Zimmerman should have gotten punished a little for killing someone, but then again, I don't want to get into an argument over this. This is a world-wide controversy right now so it's best to just leave it at that. Even if Zimmerman were jailed, it wouldn't bring Trayvon back to life. It would provide some satisfaction to the family perhaps, but not much more.

 

[Zee]

Y'all need to stop getting your damn panties in an uproar. How about I come patrol a neighborhood, see a guy, chase him down, shoot him, and see how that goes? Do you really think Zimmerman had a need to chase after the guy? He wasn't even in uniform. No wonder the poor kid ran.

I don't know why people bend this out of shape. Zimmerman didn't introduce himself....first big mistake. Next time your kid goes out and gets shot, maybe I should say "your kid shouldn't have attacked the neighborhood watch guy". Those of you who say Zimmerman is totally innocent are such a fucking joke.

Zimmerman is a total fucking wannabe rent-a-cop. Don't think he's racist, but still a poor excuse. He failed his police exam...what a fucking dumbass.

 

[Christopher]

My goodness.

 

[taferrara]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57433184/fla-mom-gets-20-years-for-firing-warning-shots/

^ This woman fired a shot, not intending to hurt anyone, didn't kill anyone, gets apprehended, and gets 20-year prison sentence. Zimmerman fires a shot, kills the kid, and walks away scot-free. Now why don't all of you who believe Zimmerman truly did nothing wrong explain that.

This country is still largely racist. You wonder why black people hate whites. No white individual will ever understand the true magnitude of sincerity, no matter how much you claim you understand. I'm not suggesting that Zimmerman himself was racist, but enough of the individuals on the Zimmerman jury were clearly careless toward the subject in whole.