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

Agreed but there is no requirement to put out all evidence to the general public.

 

The burden of proof is never on the accused. He's claimed self defense, but he doesn't have to say shit, or give any reason for his actions.

The court of public opinion might demand his version of events prove true.

A court of law will demand the prosecutors prove murder/manslaughter or some other crime.

The cops may have fucked up. There may be no way to save their reputation, but we have a special prosecutor looking into the case now.

 

I know we all want to get the facts out into the public domain so we can settle this case in our own minds.

But, Zimmerman is in legal jeopardy, and he has to look out for himself. It serves him no interest to make public statements. And, I wouldn't expect any potential defendant in his position to be granting interviews or providing evidence to the public.

 

That's only true once he's in court.

For the moment however, given the serial fuckups in the investigation and the inconsistencies in the stories, the burden of proving to outside investigators that this event doesn't warrant charges will lie with Zimmerman and the cops.

 

Of course not. It also answers every question about why the press doesn't have better information.

But Zimmerman and Sanford PD and the county Sheriff will all have to show outside investigators every bit of evidence they have.

 

I would guess that Zimmerman is much more interested in preserving his liberty, and avoiding prosecution than he is in satisfying Azrael's curiosity regarding this case.

The cops have shown no ability to deal with PR. They've gone into full ostrich mode. They just want this to go away.

 

Drip's right. At the very least, Zimmerman should be locked up while this thing gets figured out. Avatars and sigs demand justice.

 

My curiosity extends only as far as the breadth and depth of the original police investigation. Which has proved untrustworthy to this point. Too many gaps, revisions and inconsistencies.

Also, not sure how 'self-defense' applies if you're the one starting the fight.

 

Dude, I just thought it was an interesting factoid.

 

I'm not sure we're ever gonna get anywhere near the truth of what really happened that night. I haven't heard from anyone who actually saw the alleged altercation as it occurred -- and unless the police are purposely going out of their way to avoid taking testimony from eyewitnesses, that's not changing any time soon.

Given all the uncertainty, though, it seems hasty to suggest that Zimmerman "started" the incident simply by following Martin.

Zimmerman obviously erred in disregarding the 911 dispatcher's attempt to wave him off his "pursuit." But if Martin walked up to Zimmerman's SUV and punched him in the face, then Martin started the fight. I don't know how merely being "followed" is a justification for assaulting someone.

Just seems that many are in a hurry to paint Martin as some sort of innocent bystander in this whole mess, when we don't really know if, given an opportunity to ignore the annoying guy in the SUV and keep walking home, he got pissed and decided to confront Zimmerman instead.

Obviously, if Zimmerman rolled up on Martin specifically to provoke him, then got his ass kicked and shot the kid in a fit of rage, he should go to the hole for a nice long stay.

But if I'm on the jury, we're nowhere near that point yet -- regardless of whether the New Black Panthers have already convicted Zimmeman and sentenced him to death.

 

Any jury should consider what the president said.

 

Question for the board.

What - specifically - was Trayvon Martin doing that attracted neighborhood watcher George Zimmerman's attention?