When Rachel Jeantel says 'cracker,' it's a cultural thing...

[Dr. Love]

Ironic, no?

You can't fire a warning shot, but you can kill someone and walk....

20 fucking years??????



Who can we give Florida back to? Spain?

Well, like I said, I think if she had the gun with her at the time of the incident, a warning shot wouldn't have been illegal. Shooting the guy might not have been illegal either, if he was actually battering her (he had multiple arrests for battery).

But she LEFT the fight, went and got a gun, brought it BACK and then fired a warning shot. That's way different. That's why it's illegal.

She should have just left.

[LoungeMachine]

I concur with the "beyond a reasonable doubt" argument.....I, too would want it.

And just like the OJ trial, an outcome can hinge on how inept the prosecution is.

But this was all "cause and effect". And the fact remains GZ had many, many opportunities to change the outcome.

And also like OJ, I have a feeling Karma will catch up with him. After all isn't OJ currently doing 33 years?

[Nickdfresh]

Looks like Zimmerman is suing NBC, and he should be:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...29c5_blog.html

[It sounds like Zimmerman says under his breath, ‘F-ing coons’ at 2:22]

http://phoebe53.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/zimmerman-911-call-transcript-trayvon-martin/

Good luck with that...

[LoungeMachine]

She should have just left.

Which is what many of us have been saying about GZ....FWIW

[Dr. Love]

Which is what many of us have been saying about GZ....FWIW

He should have. Trayvon also should have went home. But if Zimmerman had the altercation with Trayvon, went home, got a gun, brought it back and shot at Trayvon or killed him, he'd be getting 1st degree murder.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

Ironic, no?

You can't fire a warning shot, but you can kill someone and walk....

20 fucking years??????



Who can we give Florida back to? Spain?

if zimmy went back to his truck and "gunned up" and went back out to travon, I could see a difference.

have they checked everywhere for the fountain of youth yet? if so, we could formally recognize it's annexation by cuba.

[jhale667]

Which is what many of us have been saying about GZ....FWIW

[LoungeMachine]

He should have. Trayvon also should have went home. But if Zimmerman had the altercation with Trayvon, went home, got a gun, brought it back and shot at Trayvon or killed him, he'd be getting 1st degree murder.

No argument here....

[jhale667]

And also like OJ, I have a feeling Karma will catch up with him. After all isn't OJ currently doing 33 years?

Yep, because he, like Zimmy, believed he was above the law...

[FORD]

And also like OJ, I have a feeling Karma will catch up with him. After all isn't OJ currently doing 33 years?

For stealing his own shit, no less.

If it were anybody else, I would think he got a raw deal. But considering he walked on double murder, it all worked out in the end.

[Nickdfresh]

I dunno, I've heard a lot of people saying that he should have listened to the 911 operator because he/she told him not to follow Trayvon. Well, apparently the 911 operator never said that - they said "We don't need you to do that." which is much different, and it turns out, even if they did say it, 911 operators don't have the legal authority to order anyone to do anything any. And following someone through a neighborhood isn't illegal, either.

And he said, "okay." I never said 9/11 operators did have authority. But Martin ran away, and this dick kept following him for essentially doing nothing more than walking home. I've also heard a lot of people say that Trayvon should just have runaway, well he did, also...

Zimmerman testified that he didn't follow Trayvon, and that he was ambushed.

Um, I think I have to call bullshit on that on the tapes alone. How could Martin have "ambushed" him at all if he never got out of his car to begin with?

I have no idea if that is true or not, but the sad thing is that most of the "evidence" that was presented wasn't very damaging, many of the state's witnesses corroborated Zimmerman's side of the story and their star witness was pretty terrible. The state has to prove that Zimmerman murdered Trayvon; Zimmerman only had to prove he acted in self defence (much easier when your face and back of your head is busted up in pictures). And originally, in reviewing the evidence, the police didn't even charge Zimmerman because they believed it was a clear-cut case of self-defense and that is what the jury wound up finding, as well. I think the primary reason it ever even went to trial is because of political reasons and that the Governor ordered them to do it. I mean, hell... remember Obama got on TV and talked about it and sympathized with Trayvon. For what possible reason did the President have to involve himself like that?

His story doesn't quite jibe with the actual 9/11 transcript which had Trayvon running away initially after walking towards Zimmerman in his car and just before GZ muttered "fucking coon." And while there was pressure here that was undo and ultimately resulted in the wrong prosecution team that included someone notorious for overreaching in their charges, there was also a killing that seemed to have been glossed over by a marginally competent small town police force. Some of the legal speculation I've seen stated that Zimmerman never should have been charged with Second Degree Murder and that they should have focused only on manslaughter related charges and that they might have convicted him...

I'm not happy about what happened, and Trayvon certainly didn't deserve to die. But he ain't the picture of the sweet 12 year old that was shown around for a long time. He was a 17 year old (nearly a legal adult) that was larger than Zimmerman. Everyone talks about him getting his ass kicked by a 'kid' but that kid was only barely, and was larger.

What is the old adage? When the law is against you, argue the facts. When the facts are against you, argue the law. When the law and the facts are against you, make an emotional appeal. The prosecution's closing arguments were all emotional.

I don't disagree, but there was in fact a concerted defense strategy to 'gangsterize' Trayvin and make him look like a menacing druggie or something, even though the facts didn't support that either as he didn't have a criminal history IIRC. Yes, the truth is somewhere in between, but at the end of the day the kid was shot dead while doing nothing illegal other than walking home and some cop-wannabe dickwad was roving around the neighborhood with a gun looking for these "fucking punks" under the guise of a neighborhood watch. In the least, this seems to be a civil liberties issue. And I don't speak for Pres. Obama, but I think he hardly said anything unreasonable and he isn't the first president to comment on these types of high profile issues.....

[MUSICMANN]

You are correct, and that maybe what was gonna happen until the kid went ballistic and started beating Zimmerman's ass. If your head is getting pounded into the concrete, and you have a way to defend yourself to make it stop, i don't care who you are you're gonna use it, be it a gun, knife, stick, brick, piece of blacktop, whatever.

[jhale667]

[jhale667]

Did Trayvon Martin have a right to stand his ground ? LLAP— Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) July 14, 2013

[FORD]

Ambassador Spock, logical as always.