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Trayvon Martin's Killer Still Free

Tl;Dr: In certain American states, such as Florida, gun "rights" laws make it simple for District Attorney to choose not to file charges.

Side notes, my thoughts: It's fascinating to hear the bizarre responses to this on American forums, as well as a bit disheartening, to many in the American South this is very justifiable. I have no interest in owning a hand gun for self-defense purposes living in Canada. Although I would never live in America, hypothetically, if I did, I wouldn't leave the house unless I was armed to the teeth to protect myself from overzealous fellow citizens.

911 tapes: GRAPHIC: Trayvon Martin 911 calls released | News - Home

Quote:

Shooter of Unarmed Teen Trayvon Martin: "This Guy Looks Like He’s Up to No Good"

These are the 911 calls from the night Trayvon Martin was murdered. The second call, which begins two minutes in, is from the shooter George Zimmerman, who explains his rationale for following and later killing Martin.

There's a real suspicious guy. ... This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining, and he's just walking around, looking about. ... Now he's coming towards me. He's got his hand in his waistband. ... Something's wrong with him. He's coming to check me out. He's got something in his hands. I don't know what he's doing. ... These assholes, they always get away.

You can hear Zimmerman following of Martin, and the dispatcher telling Zimmerman his pursuit is not necessary.

In other 911 tapes released, you can hear Martin screaming in pain (1:55) and the gunshot that killed him (2:40). The 28-year-old Zimmerman, who claims he was acting in self-defense, has yet to be arrested or charged with a crime.

Quote:

1. Zimmerman called the police to report Martin’s “suspicious” behavior, which he described as “just walking around looking about.” Zimmerman was in his car when he saw Martin walking on the street. He called the police and said: “There’s a real suspicious guy. This guy looks like he’s up to no good, on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around looking about… These a**holes always get away” [Orlando Sentinel]
2. Zimmerman pursued Martin against the explicit instructions of the police dispatcher:
Dispatcher: “Are you following him?”
Zimmerman: “Yeah”
Dispatcher: “OK, we don’t need you to do that.”
[Orlando Sentinel]
3. Prior to the release of the 911 tapes, Zimmerman’s father released a statement claiming “[a]t no time did George follow or confront Mr. Martin.” [Sun Sentinel]
4. Zimmerman was carrying a a 9 millimeter handgun. Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. [ABC News]
5. Martin weighed 140 pounds. Zimmerman weighs 250 pounds. [Orlando Sentinel; WDBO]
6. Martin’s English teacher described him as “as an A and B student who majored in cheerfulness.” [Orlando Sentinel]
7. Martin had no criminal record. [New York Times]
8. Zimmerman “was charged in July 2005 with resisting arrest with violence and battery on an officer. The charges appear to have been dropped.” [Huffington Post]
9. Zimmerman called the police 46 times since Jan. 1, 2011. [Miami Herald]
10. According to neighbors, Zimmerman was “fixated on crime and focused on young, black males.” [Miami Herald]
11. Zimmerman “had been the subject of complaints by neighbors in his gated community for aggressive tactics” [Huffington Post]
12. A police officer “corrected” a key witness. “The officer told the witness, a long-time teacher, it was Zimmerman who cried for help, said the witness. ABC News has spoken to the teacher and she confirmed that the officer corrected her when she said she heard the teenager shout for help.” [ABC News]
13. Three witnesses say they heard a boy cry for help before a shot was fired. “Three witnesses contacted by The Miami Herald say they saw or heard the moments before and after the Miami Gardens teenager’s killing. All three said they heard the last howl for help from a despondent boy.” [Miami Herald]
14. The officer in charge of the crime scene also received criticism in 2010 when he initially failed to arrest a lieutenant’s son who was videotaped attacking a homeless black man. [New York Times]
15. The police did not test Zimmerman for drugs or alcohol. A law enforcement expert told ABC that Zimmerman sounds intoxicated on the 911 tapes. Drug and alcohol testing is “standard procedure in most homicide investigations.” [ABC News]

What Everyone Should Know About Trayvon Martin (1995-2012) | ThinkProgress

This whole situation is bullshit, but that seems to be what's expected for news coming out of Florida. There's a reason why this GIF sees a lot of usage:
http://i953.photobucket.com/albums/a...gaf/kckrc0.gif

What's scary is that there's people up here that think the same way as those redneck hicks down there.

Ya, that's bullshit.

There's a video of a civillian dressed cop pulling a gun on a biker after he pulled a wheelie on the highway, lemme find it.

Gotta watch the whole video for context.

^ I was expecting something a lot worse based on the title. Sure the officer over-reacted, but I don't find it that over-the-top.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Great68 (Post 7860488)

What's scary is that there's people up here that think the same way as those redneck hicks down there.

Even on RS there are people who seem to think something as simple as "fucking with my car" is enough reason for you to shoot them or run them over.

Saying you'd like to punk someone who vandalized your property is a bit different then having a gun and a history of being a racist prick.

The saddest part is this exact situation, unarmed young black male gunned down by an officer happens all the time
Posted via RS Mobile

Quote:

Originally Posted by GabAlmighty (Post 7860530)

Spoiler!

Wow at the youtube description:

3/5/2010: Pulled over for speeding
4/7/2010: 6 Cops show up at my house with a search and seizure warrant for all of my computers, cameras and electronics.. They also bring an arrest warrant for "wiretapping" and 2 additional traffic violations. I could not go to jail due to health issues (surgery).
4/14/2010: I turned myself in and spent the night in jail. I was charged with "wiretapping." Felony- 5years $10k max fine. Bail set at $15k?
4/15/2010: Bail review - Released on my own recognizance.

^bullshit warrants

Thank goodness the judge has some sense and threw out the criminal offense charge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Graber
Only traffic violation remained. Sorry to get off topic.

"CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin said it’s extremely significant because the federal government is not able to prosecute your every day, typical murder. “People fighting on the street is not a federal crime,” Toobin said. “However, if one person shoots another based on racial hostility, racial animus, that does become a federal crime and if, very shortly before the murder, Zimmerman used this racial epithet to refer to the person he ultimately shot, that very much puts it within the FBI and the Justice Department’s ambit of a case that they could prosecute.”"

Anderson Cooper: Did George Zimmerman use a racial slur? Why it's important - National unsolved cases | Examiner.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by dangonay (Post 7860690)

^ I was expecting something a lot worse based on the title. Sure the officer over-reacted, but I don't find it that over-the-top.

He pulled a gun on someone who was in no way resisting/being difficult/putting up a fight... Also, pair that with the concealed arms laws in the states. I'm assuming the "cop" identified himself upon exiting the vehicle but what if the rider hadn't heard him and was a faster draw/shooter than him?

Sounds like a shit storm to me... Either way it's retarded, why couldn't they just have you know, pulled him over the normal way..

Quote:

Originally Posted by dangonay (Post 7860690)

Even on RS there are people who seem to think something as simple as "fucking with my car" is enough reason for you to shoot them or run them over.

Yeah, but as others have said, there's a little bit of a difference between fucking with someone's car and just "looking like you're up to no good" IE: completely unprovoked in this kid's situation.

Someone should kill Zimmerman in the exact scenario as he killed the black teen

Call 911, and repeat the paragraph before shooting

"There's a real suspicious guy. ... This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining, and he's just walking around, looking about. ... Now he's coming towards me. He's got his hand in his waistband. ... Something's wrong with him. He's coming to check me out. He's got something in his hands. I don't know what he's doing. ... These assholes, they always get away."

:rukidding:

"looks like he's up to no good"
he quoted the theme song to the fresh prince of bel-air? that's his excuse???....:seriously:

Skittles. Fucking dangerous.

Zimmerman is guilty of first-degree murder IMO. The whole race thing can be a grey issue as it always is. But Zimmerman wanted to kill a black man that entered his neighbourhood, Trayvon eating skittles was the target that day. Atleast in the USA, his trial should start soon and he'll go to jail soon. None of the delays that you see in Canada.

If he gets off scot free. Well then... See Presto's gif.

There is a place where it can all be argued,by people, in front of peers that can make a decision on what has happened. A courtroom.

A kid is dead, and a man had a gun to do it. There is no immediate proof of self-defense for law enforcement to say, "not worth the charge".

When you arm yourself, I think you take responsibility that if you use it, there will be consequences. Either, you were clearly in harm's way, and that is evident to all, or you get a case like this. He made that decision when he decided to carry. He made that decision AGAIN when he decided to use it.

If you don't want to ever be put in a situation where you feel justified in a gun's use, but the law does not-then don't carry.

Is there a racial aspect to this case? I believe so. BUT, my primary concern is that above, and it doesn't matter what color everyone is.

you can hear him scream for help :heckno: that would be scaryy

Quote:

Originally Posted by adambomb (Post 7861367)

Correct me if I'm wrong/chime in those studying law....but doesn't first-degree require that there be some premeditation?

Hey! I got failed by MindBomber again! What a surprise!

If there is any member of RS that consistently abuses the fail button. It is this guy. He seems like the person that cannot accept another persons opinion. I can see him being the type of old man that yells at you if you don't rake your leaves, or calls the city to complain if you park infront of his house. Seems like a control freak too (see quote). I don't know MindBomber except for his posts on RS, but i'm willing to bet he wishes he was an RS mod, has applied to be a mod, or is a mod on some other forum. Kind of like those heros in a strata council. The same elitest attitude that killer George Zimmerman may have had. But now that's reaching too far. Just a guess. :hay:

Quote:

Although I would never live in America, hypothetically, if I did, I wouldn't leave the house unless I was armed to the teeth to protect myself from overzealous fellow citizens.

He's probably working right now, But i'm sure he'll be back to give his two cents. He always does.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shawnly1000 (Post 7861431)

Correct me if I'm wrong/chime in those studying law....but doesn't first-degree require that there be some premeditation?

You may be right on that. I'm not an ambulance chaser, so I could be wrong. But I'm still firm on my opinion that George Zimmerman wanted to kill Trayvon and that he should be charged with murder. :smug:

Anonymous used there hacking skills today to obtain zimmermans information, which they tweeted. you can follow them at “youranonnews” on twitter.

"#TrayvonMartin's killer George Zimmerman: 407-878-6007 | 159 Edgewood Circle, Sanford, FL 32773 << Send him Skittles and a hoodie!”

Someone should cat facts him :nyan:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Great68 (Post 7861243)

You remember the guy throwing rocks at cars and getting shot with a crossbow? A lot of people said he got what he deserved. Almost getting killed for throwing rocks. That sounds like fair payback.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shawnly1000 (Post 7861431)

Correct me if I'm wrong/chime in those studying law....but doesn't first-degree require that there be some premeditation?

First Degree Murder is any murder that is willful and premeditated. Felony Murder is typically first degree.

Second Degree Murder is a murder that is not premeditated or planned in advance.

I would think this is more of a second degree as there may not have been much planning involved, unless hypothetically speaking, Zimmerman has seen Trayvon walk past before and got so angered that Trayvon did something such as spitting on the grass of the complex that he decided that next time he saw him he would call the police and pretend that he felt threatened as an excuse to shoot Trayvon.