When "Neighborhood Watch" Gets Out of Hand

[bigrun]

That picture must be forged because Danzig told me that there was no struggle. She had strong evidence too. Her evidence was that the funeral director (who works for the Martins) said that Trayvon had no bruises. LOL.

I'm sorry Danzig. I couldn't resist.[/quote]


Is there a doctor in the house....more i look at that blood pattern the more it looks painted on...I watch a lot of CSI and never saw splatter like that...but i'd like one of our resident physicians to corroborate...danz, riot, anybody...

[Rupert Pupkin]

I think the Zimmermans made an excellent choice in picking Mark O"Mara to be George Zimmerman's defense attorney. Some defense attorneys are confrontational, argumentative, flamboyant, and "in your face". O'Mara is not like that at all. He is quiet, low-key, and very professional. In a case like this, I think that is a very good thing.

Emotions are really high on both sides. If you had one of these loud and confrontational defense attorneys, I think that would just inflame people. O'Mara could have easily gone out there and publicly attacked the special prosecutor. But he didn't do that. He knows the facts are on his side and he knows that the truth will come out.

He handled the hearing today very well. He didn't attack the prosecution investigator at the hearing today. He just asked him a simple question. He asked him whether he had any evidence of who started the fight. The prosecution investigator responded, "No".

That was all he needed to ask. The prosecution admitted that they had no evidence of who started the fight. That means they have no evidence that contradicts Zimmerman's claim that Martin attacked him first.

The judge will practically be forced to throw out the 2nd degree murder charge. There is a chance he may even throw out the manslaughter charge. If the prosecution has no evidence that contradicts Zimmerman's contention that Martin attacked him first, then they have no case. Zimmerman had obvious and visible injuries. If you get attacked and sustain those kinds of injuries, you have a right to defend yourself. The law is very clear on that, especially in Florida.


http://southflorida.sun-sentinel.com...,4802623.story

[Rupert Pupkin]

I actually hadn't read part #2 of this story. One of the prosecutors claims that Zimmerman gave 5 different statements and some of them were "inconsistent and contrary to physical evidence". I'm somewhat skeptical of this and most legal experts are too. You have to remember that even if you tell the same story 5 times, you're not going to tell the exact same story every time. You're probably going to remember new things each time. If there are major contradictions, then you are in trouble. But if you remember a few new details here and there, that is normal.

Maybe the prosecution has some damning evidence that they are holding back. Anything is possible but I wouldn't hold my breath.

There was another important disclosure made today. The judge asked the prosecution investigator how close the gun was to the victim when it was fired. So close, said the investigator, that there were burns on Trayvon's sweatshirt and skin.

That is obviously an extremely significant piece of evidence.


http://southflorida.sun-sentinel.com...3.story?page=2

[Antitrust32]

Rupert you seem to leave out in every post that the punk wanna be cop Zimmerman was following Martin in a car and by foot, and kept following him even when told not to.

if anyone would have had reason to protect their own self, it would be Martin.

and nobody can dispute Zimmermans claim of self defense?? well maybe that is because the 2nd party in this situation is DEAD at the hands of Zimmerman. Cant really tell your side when you are buried under the earth, can you?

but no.. poor Zimmerman, has to go through all this trouble. He should have thought about that before he tried to act like a cop and follow a kid with a loaded gun.

Zimmerman is a prick. If he doesnt go to jail for even a few years, it will be a grave injustice.


It disgusts me that people stick up for Zimmerman.

[Antitrust32]

maybe its just me.. but Zimmerman looks much more bald in the blood photo than any other picture i've seen of him.

[Danzig]

from daily kos on the pic:

WHAT HASN'T CHANGED
1) Zimmerman wasn't being assaulted within fear of his life; Zimmerman was treated at the scene but was never taken to the hospital.
2) Zimmerman was culpable for the confrontation
3) Zimmerman was well-recovered enough from any "wounds" that he was able to coherently talk with officers in the station, carry himself, and that no injury was noticeable on the station cameras.

Many of us thought that the Murder 2 charge was intended so that it could be plead down to Manslaughter, vs starting with Manslaughter risked an acquittal or even lesser charge. While manslaughter seems very much still in sight, the threat of being convicted of Murder 2 if Zimmerman decides not to take a plea deal just got lessened considerably.





...and line two is the continued sticking point-it was zimmerman who followed martin, even tho he was told not to. he caused everything that happened because he took it upon himself to follow someone, to leave his vehicle, to put himself in the position he was put into. trayvon didn't cause zimmerman to put himself in (potentially) harms' way. he escalated the scene from 'i saw someone' to i'm following him, approaching him, etc. he didn't stand his ground at all. he sought a confrontation, and in doing so, a kid is dead. had he done as told, none of what followed after would have happened.

[bigrun]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

maybe its just me.. but Zimmerman looks much more bald in the blood photo than any other picture i've seen of him.

Asked the same thing when the blooded head pic surfaced...it looked doctored up to me...that's the problem with this whole affair, old pictures, sketchy info, one-sided testimony etc...too much left to speculation...his court room appearence nothing like the early photos...

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

Rupert you seem to leave out in every post that the punk wanna be cop Zimmerman was following Martin in a car and by foot, and kept following him even when told not to.

if anyone would have had reason to protect their own self, it would be Martin.

and nobody can dispute Zimmermans claim of self defense?? well maybe that is because the 2nd party in this situation is DEAD at the hands of Zimmerman. Cant really tell your side when you are buried under the earth, can you?

but no.. poor Zimmerman, has to go through all this trouble. He should have thought about that before he tried to act like a cop and follow a kid with a loaded gun.

Zimmerman is a prick. If he doesnt go to jail for even a few years, it will be a grave injustice.


It disgusts me that people stick up for Zimmerman.

I'm well aware that Zimmerman followed Martin in his car and on foot. I discussed that in several of my previous posts.

On the one hand, you could argue that Martin had the right to defend himself from some stranger who was following him. On the other hand, why didn't Martin call the police? You seem to be against vigilantiism. If you see a person following you, should you call the police or should you physically attack the person instead?

No matter what, if Zimmerman was walking back to his car and was attacked from behind, then Martin had no justification for the assault.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

Rupert you seem to leave out in every post that the punk wanna be cop Zimmerman was following Martin in a car and by foot, and kept following him even when told not to.

if anyone would have had reason to protect their own self, it would be Martin.

and nobody can dispute Zimmermans claim of self defense?? well maybe that is because the 2nd party in this situation is DEAD at the hands of Zimmerman. Cant really tell your side when you are buried under the earth, can you?

but no.. poor Zimmerman, has to go through all this trouble. He should have thought about that before he tried to act like a cop and follow a kid with a loaded gun.

Zimmerman is a prick. If he doesnt go to jail for even a few years, it will be a grave injustice.


It disgusts me that people stick up for Zimmerman.

I will repost one of my previous posts about this subject:

Based on everything I have heard so far, Zimmerman had done a good job helping to watch the neighborhood and keep the neighborhood safe for several years. This was an unfortunate incident. Hindsight is 20/20. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Neighborhood watch programs (formal and informal) work. They reduce crime.

I highly doubt Zimmerman intended to get into any type of physical altercation. I think there is a good chance that he never intended to get within 50 yards of Martin. But he lost him on foot and at some point I think he turned a corner and found himself in close proximity to Martin. It was probably a fluke thing. We don't know for sure what happened after that. Zimmerman claims they had words but then the words ended and he was walking back to his car when he was attacked from behind.

Hindsight is 20/20 but as I said before, I highly doubt Zimmerman had any plans of getting into close proximity with Martin. If he was just some type of vigilante, why did he even bother calling the police? If he thought he was just some tough guy, he would have probably just pulled up to Martin in his car and rolled down his window and asked, "Who are you and what are you doing in this neighborhood?" But he didn't do this. He called the police. I think the whole thing was an unfortunate incident. I wouldn't recommend following someone on foot because if you lose them there is always the chance that you could end up face to face with them after turning a corner. I don't think Zimmerman ever dreamed that he would be jumped from behind (if that is in fact what happened).

I'm sure Zimmerman had followed people hundreds of times over the years (while doing his informal neigborhood watches) without incident. This incident was an aberration.

[Rupert Pupkin]

The Sanford Police Chief resigned today. But the Sanford city commisioners (by a 3-2 majority vote) have rejected his resignation. They don't want him to leave. They blame the uproar surrounding Martin's death on "outsiders".

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/...180637247.html

[Antitrust32]

again, I dont believe Zimmerman intentionally set out to murder Martin. Thats why I disagree with Murder 2. I think manslaughter is appropriate, though I'm no legal expert.

But Zimmerman was the instigator, he even kept following Martin after he was told not to, and a 17 year old teenager was shot dead by Zimmermans gun and Zimmerman pulled the trigger. You cant follow someone, kill someone and go unpunished.

We not debating the merits of neighborhood watch program. I'm sure they are effective when used properly. Zimmerman is a paranoid cop wanna be, I feel like he is certainly a danger to society.