George Zimmerman verdict thread
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janklow
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since the current discussion thread is QUITE long and the verdict has finally arrived... let's have a new thread. carry over whatever discussions you'd like.
George Zimmerman found not guilty of murder in Trayvon Martin's death
George Zimmerman found not guilty of murder in Trayvon Martin's death
George Zimmerman is not guilty of murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida jury decided late Saturday.
The fact that Zimmerman fired the bullet that killed Martin was never in question, but the verdict means the six-person jury had reasonable doubt that the shooting amounted to a criminal act.
The verdict caps a case that has inflamed passions for well over a year, much of it focused on race and gun rights.
The six-person jury -- all women -- had three choices: to find Zimmerman guilty of second-degree murder; to find him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter; or to find him not guilty.
The jurors deliberated for 16½ hours total, including 13 on Saturday alone, before delivering their verdict.
When he learned his fate, a subdued Zimmerman had little visible reaction. His face was mostly expressionless. He turned and shook one of his attorney's hand before sitting back down. His parents, Robert and Gladys Zimmerman, were seated nearby, but Martin's parents were not in the courtroom.
Earlier in the day, the jury had asked the court for clarification on its instructions regarding manslaughter. The jury couldn't have even posed such a query a few days ago: Judge Debra Nelson ruled Thursday, over the defense's vehement objection, to include manslaughter as an option for jurors, in addition to a second-degree murder charge.
To convict Zimmerman of manslaughter, the jurors would have had to believe that he "intentionally committed an act or acts that caused the death of Trayvon Martin." That charge could have carried a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, though the jury was not told of that possible sentence.
For second-degree murder, the jurors would have had to believe that Martin's unlawful killing was "done from ill will, hatred, spite or an evil intent" and would be "of such a nature that the act itself indicates an indifference to human life."
Ultimately, they believed neither. And that means Zimmerman can walk free.
The fateful night
The story starts the night of February 26, 2012, as Martin walked back to his father's fiancee's house through the rain from a Sanford convenience store, where he'd bought Skittles and a drink.
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, spotted him and called police. A 911 dispatcher told Zimmerman that officers were on the way and not to follow the allegedly suspicious person.
Nonetheless, Zimmerman got out of his car, later telling police he just wanted to get a definitive address to relay to authorities.
Sometime after that, Zimmerman and Martin got into a physical altercation. Some neighbors took notice: On one 911 call, anguished cries for help can be heard.
Who was yelling? Martin's mother testified she's "absolutely" sure it was her son; Zimmerman's parents said, with as much conviction, that it was their own child.
There are also disputes about who was the aggressor, about whether or not Martin may have seen or reached for Zimmerman's gun, about whether Zimmerman should have had more injuries if he was pummeled, as he claims.
And some accused Zimmerman -- who identifies himself as Hispanic -- of racially profiling the black teenager, a claim the defense camp flatly denies.
About the only thing not in dispute is that the now 29-year-old Zimmerman shot and killed Martin.
Nelson acknowledged this week that jurors have a lot of evidence, and competing arguments, to consider. She told them that, even as they pay close attention to the law and the facts, they should also "use your common sense."
"All of us are depending on you to make a wise and legal decision," she said.
Prosecution: 'He shot him because he wanted to'
In his closing argument, Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda noted that -- for all the evidence presented -- the case boils down to two men. One of them, Martin, is dead and can't give his side of the story. The other, according to the prosecutor, cannot be trusted.
De la Rionda asked: Why would a scared man get out of his car and walk around after being told not to? Shouldn't Zimmerman have had more than a ? nose and scratches on his head given the beating he allegedly took? And did he have an agenda -- to do whatever necessary to stop one of those "f***ing punks," as he's heard saying under his breath in his call to police, from getting away?
Assistant State Attorney John Guy made the prosecution's final pitch, during the rebuttal phase of closing arguments Friday. He echoed many points de la Rionda had made earlier, portraying Zimmerman as a frustrated wannabe police officer who took the law into his own hands. He had decided Martin was one of the criminals who had been victimizing his neighborhood, he said, then trailed him against the advice of police dispatchers.
"The defendant didn't shoot Trayvon Martin because he had to," Guy said. "He shot him because he wanted to. That's the bottom line."
Zimmerman, the prosecution said, had a powerful determination not to allow someone he had already decided was a criminal to escape.
"What is that when a grown man, frustrated, angry, with hate in his heart, gets out of his car with a loaded gun and follows a child? A stranger? In the dark? And shoots him through his heart? What is that?" Guy asked.
Defense: Zimmerman deserves benefit of the doubt
In the opinion of defense attorney Mark O'Mara, what George Zimmerman did was simple: he defended himself.
Zimmerman was looking out for those in his neighborhood when he saw someone he felt was suspicious and called police, O'Mara said in his closing argument. The defendant got out of his car, but briefly, and was walking back to it when things got physical.
Martin jumped out of some bushes and pounced, the defense contends. And, O'Mara added, the teen didn't just hold Zimmerman down, but punched and slammed his head repeatedly into the sidewalk.
"That was somebody who used the availability of dangerous items, from his fist to the concrete, to cause great ? injury against George Zimmerman," said O'Mara.
The lead defense attorney also criticized the prosecution's case, saying it was full of "coulda beens. How many 'what ifs' have you heard from the state in this case?" There's no merit, he claimed, to the depiction of Zimmerman as a frustrated, spiteful man seeking vengeance.
"Do not give anybody the benefit of the doubt except for George Zimmerman," O'Mara said.
Tensions high ahead of verdict...
Comments
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Zimmerman found NOT guilty. No jail time.
Sad, sad, sad ? day. -
Thoughts?
As a Black man who is 29, I have realized tonight that my life is less worth less in the eyes of White America and the law compared to a half White guy. Sad commentary on this country where a man can chase down an innocent, unarmed Black teenager, gun him down, and get away with it. AmeriKKKa has shown its true colors today. -
Sad commentary on the state of AmeriKKKa. I will never put my hand on my heart when I hear the Star Spangled Banner again. I'll continue sitting down.
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? these crackas. pull a trigger ? a ? ur a hero
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Race War. Its time for Obama to put all these crackas in Concentration Camps like we've been secretly planning. I wanna sign up for the Negrostapo. Janklow we are coming to take your guns and your white women. Whatever we can't carry we burn. I'm from Buenos Aires, and I say ? 'em all!
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Not suprised about the murder charge but to not even get the manslaughter charge? SMH
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I can't believe this ? , but I knew the prosecution didn't prove the case
I was hoping those great closing statements made up for it
Hoe ass ? -
"why did i have to merge threads when i made a thread to discuss this verdict. why why why"kingblaze84 wrote: »Thoughts?
oh, my thoughts on the verdict... well, that would be "black people too mad, white people too happy"
leave my guns alone! the white women, eh, you can keep themSwiffness! wrote: »Janklow we are coming to take your guns and your white women. -
considering all the murders every year why do you think THIS particular one received so much publicity. and why do people feel outraged like they know exactly what happened that day?
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Swiffness! wrote: »Race War. Its time for Obama to put all these crackas in Concentration Camps like we've been secretly planning. I wanna sign up for the Negrostapo. Janklow we are coming to take your guns and your white women. Whatever we can't carry we burn. I'm from Buenos Aires, and I say ? 'em all!
funniest commentary on this case I've seen yet -
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[img]http://rumorsontheinternets.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/wee-bey-oh-? .gif?w=630[/img]
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Valentinez A. Kaiser wrote: »Not suprised about the murder charge but to not even get the manslaughter charge? SMH
I read that wasn't even given to the jury as an option. That's when I proceeded to do the Wee Bey.
[img]http://rumorsontheinternets.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/wee-bey-oh-? .gif?w=630[/img] -
? will learn its a LEGAL system one day. Not a justice system, not fairness or equality..., just plain legal.
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This case got so much publicity because the cops and the system allowed a known killer to walk free. Initially, Zimmerman wasn't even charged anything for killing Trayvon, and that's the difference between this case and the average black on black violence case. When the police know that a black man has killed someone, he is arrested and charged.considering all the murders every year why do you think THIS particular one received so much publicity. and why do people feel outraged like they know exactly what happened that day?
We do know what happened in the Zimmerman case because 911 calls paint the picture. GZ profiled Trayvon, followed him, then killed him. Even according to Zimmerman, Trayvon was running away from him only to be pursued further. The things that we don't know doesn't change what we do now. The jury's decision was par for the course and we should've all seen this coming. Black life is just not as valuable as white life to white people. A jury 5/6 white was never going to place the proper value on a young black man's life. This is why they gave Zimmerman more than the benefit of the doubt despite the fact that he clearly initiated an incident that led to the killing of an unarmed 17 year old. I'm really not mad at the decision because maybe this will finally wake us up. Whites aren't playing, things are getting real and blacks need to wake up. There's a war going on outside and we are all that we've got.
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I always said florida is ? up it has some ? state laws but overall they dropped the ball big time on this
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As usual, ? are are going with their Zimmerman got off because "America hates blacks and jury was racist," claims, however why is that prosecutors are getting a pass? It was the D. A. that overcharged Zimmerman. It was the D. A. who's star witness that was somebody they didn't properly prep before putting her on the stand. It was the D. A. that caved to public pressure, and it was the D. A. that brought a weak ass case. So why are very few of you blaming the prosecutors for their missteps?
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godbynature wrote: »
This case got so much publicity because the cops and the system allowed a known killer to walk free. Initially, Zimmerman wasn't even charged anything for killing Trayvon, and that's the difference between this case and the average black on black violence case. When the police know that a black man has killed someone, he is arrested and charged.considering all the murders every year why do you think THIS particular one received so much publicity. and why do people feel outraged like they know exactly what happened that day?
We do know what happened in the Zimmerman case because 911 calls paint the picture. GZ profiled Trayvon, followed him, then killed him. Even according to Zimmerman, Trayvon was running away from him only to be pursued further. The things that we don't know doesn't change what we do now. The jury's decision was par for the course and we should've all seen this coming. Black life is just not as valuable as white life to white people. A jury 5/6 white was never going to place the proper value on a young black man's life. This is why they gave Zimmerman more than the benefit of the doubt despite the fact that he clearly initiated an incident that led to the killing of an unarmed 17 year old. I'm really not mad at the decision because maybe this will finally wake us up. Whites aren't playing, things are getting real and blacks need to wake up. There's a war going on outside and we are all that we've got.
Hand claps to the best post Ive seen on the IC about this and Ive read alotta post from the grown n sexy Zimmerman thread too -
after this i'm never visiting florida again. Some crackker might shoot me claiming self defense.
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Not touching Florida. ? pedophiles and imbeciles live there.
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I still think that George is still guilty....this just shows that we still live in a society that black people need to still fear for their lives because we are just not going to get justice like we should.
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If this is true, there is ALOT in here that is news to me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF-Ax5E8EJc
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^^ yeah its ? ?
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lol at hot97 all of sudden playing public enemy
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And just like I predicted. Zimmerman walked free.
