It's Watch!... Neighborhood Watch. Not shoot.

So, about 50-50?

 

They should drop the charges against Zimmerman at about 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

 

Or if there was an empty bottle of schnapps and a bag of weed under the driver's seat.

 

I see vigilante justice coming.

 

According to Florida law, even if the jury says no to 2nd degree murder I think he can be found guilty on a number of Lesser Included Offenses like manslaughter or culpable negligence or aggravated assault.

 

Yeah, but I don't think there is enough even for that. There's just a big blank where pieces of vital information should be.

 

would think it's definitely manslaughter, unless he proves it was self defense. since he was the only one with a weapon it would seem they would have to show there was a fight for the gun.

 

Not based on the Stand Your Ground law. As long as having the gun was legal -- which it apparently was -- the prosecution is going to have to prove he wasn't "standing his ground." That isn't an affirmative defense in Florida, i.e. that isn't something Zimmerman has to prove. They have to prove he wasn't "standing his ground," which is defined so broadly in Florida that you can be anywhere at any time and as long as you think you're in danger, you're entitled to fire away.

 

I know this won't be popular with many of you here who are desperately clinging to this racial angle, but according to the medical reports I've seen, Zimmerman got the shit kicked out of him and Martin had bruises on his knuckles.

Did Zimmerman screw up by getting out of his car? Yep.
Was Martin justified in beating the ever-loving shit out of Zimmerman merely for following him in said car? Uh, no, I don't think so.

If Martin was on top of Zimmerman, slamming his head into the sidewalk and repeatedly punching him in the face as Zimmerman claimed, then I don't think it's too unreasonable for Zimmerman to think his life was in danger.

But just as the police investigation seems to have been hopelesly botched, so was Zimmerman's instant conviction in the court of public opinion by people who were desperate to believe he shot an innocent kid in cold blood.

Between NBC's attempt to alter the 911 call and make Zimmerman sound like a gung-ho racist looking to make trouble, and other outlets' suggestions that Zimmerman really didn't look all that hurt after the incident, the media has fucked this up as badly as they did the Duke lacrosse scandal.

When will people learn not to jump to quick conclusions just because the early "facts" of a certain case happen to neatly dovetail with their worldview?

 

Speaking of not getting facts straight ...

The autopsy, conducted by the medical examiner in Volusia County, Fla., also showed that 17-year-old Martin had one small abrasion on his left ring finger below the knuckle, according to the news report.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/17/autopsy-reportedly-shows-trayvon-martin-died-from-single-gunshot-wound-fired-at/#ixzz1vHPMlZ3Y

That isn't exactly "bruises on his knuckles" a la Jack Johnson.

There has never, not once, been a doubt that the two had a confrontation. It was pretty clear from the early going that Zimmerman lost that confrontation. So the medical report you are clinging to really does not add a whole lot, although I will agree that there has been some doubt about the severity of Zimmerman's injuries.

What still hasn't been answered is what the fuck Zimmerman was doing chasing Martin around with a gun after explicitly being told not to do so. And what has completely vanished from the discussion is that he was able to identify Martin as black (despite early reports that he wasn't), that the police chief hinged his entire early defense of his department's actions on the fact that Zimmerman was unaware of Martin's race (a stance that cost him his job), and those mysterious words that many people believe were "f---ing coons" on the 911 tape.

I am sorry that none of that neatly dovetails with your worldview.

 

But Zimmerman didn't "merely follow him in said car".

He forfeited his 'stand your ground' defense the moment he exited his car and proceeded to hunt down Martin on foot.

Indeed, since Martin was stalked and confronted by an armed aggressor, he's the one who can be more accurately described as standing his ground.

 

And while I'm at it ...

Can you show me where it has been reported that Martin was the aggressor and started beating on Zimmerman "merely for following him in said car"? You know, or have seen it reported, that Zimmerman was just standing there, or maybe just asking some questions, and Martin jumped him? It wasn't Zimmerman picking the fight?

That's the kind of thing that grabbing some witness statements might have helped illuminate. But the police didn't want to do that. So instead we're left with your very large assumption about what led to the fight.