Trayvon Martin aside, ’stand your ground’ law is stupid
Let’s acknowledge from the beginning that there are no grounds to believe that Florida’s “stand your ground” law can be blamed for the events leading up to the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin.
George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch fanatic who shot Martin, may have had no idea that Florida even had such a law. And even if he did know, that knowledge might not have changed his behavior in any way. The only thing we know for certain is that Sanford police cited the law in explaining why they lacked probable cause to arrest Zimmerman.
So setting aside the Martin tragedy, what possible purpose does a “stand your ground” law serve in the first place? What good can it possibly achieve, particularly when implemented outside the home?
Dealing with an intruder inside the home is quite a different matter. And every person of course has the right to defend themselves and others from bodily harm. That right existed before passage of “stand your ground” laws around the country; it exists today in states that did not pass “stand your ground” laws.
We’re dealing instead with something very different than mere self-defense. “Stand your ground” laws state that if an armed person faces a choice between safely withdrawing from a scene or standing his or her ground and killing someone, that person “has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force,” as Florida law puts it.
That’s what I don’t get. I understand that there are macho fools out there who believe that backing down from a fight is a worse outcome than shooting and killing another person. I just don’t see why in a civilized country the law should validate and even encourage that mentality.
– Jay Bookman
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905 comments Add your comment
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:04 pm
Tbs
Weight’s not everything. Reach baby…. Trayvon may have had Zim on reach big time
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 27th, 2012
9:05 pm
Recon: 140 Lbs.? I don’t really know the size advantage/disadvantage and I don’t think you could really know either.
Here’s a hint: it’s 100 pounds. Here’s another hint – notice how fighters ONLY fight in their weight class and 240 pounds fighters don’t fight 140 fighters? Ever wonder WHY? Duh!
Sounds like you may have an agenda, ideological or some other reason.
My agenda should be the same as yours. JUSTICE and a complete revamping of an ignorant law. However, I do believe your “agenda” is probably totally different – judging by your statements at any rate.
PS: KSU has some really GOOD Adult education courses. Perhaps you can take up some remedial math…………
barking frog
March 27th, 2012
9:06 pm
Jm,
getalife is not here.
Matti
March 27th, 2012
9:06 pm
The Sanford police did not do their job, which was to thoroughly document the circumstances of the shooting, the physical evidence, the shooter’s story, and as many witnesses they could find. Instead, they took the shooter at his word (despite his disobedience to their orders minutes earlier), scraped the kid off the ground and tossed him in the body fridge.
They could not be bothered to use the deceased child’s cell phone to locate his next of kin.
People are arguing passionately what did or did not happen because the police department FAILED to discharge their prescribed duties. They let their conclusions substitute for a thoroughly-documented investigation. How dare they expect us to NOT jump to conclusions about THAT?
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:08 pm
Frog ?
Oscar
March 27th, 2012
9:08 pm
DebbieDoRight – A Do Right Woman
________
140 pounds. Get real. Maybe when he was twelve. A man six four. More like 180 or 200.
Brosephus™
March 27th, 2012
9:09 pm
DDR
Did you ever undergo the eyewitness test in any of your classes? Something where somebody enters the class unassuming and below radar, does something quick, and dashes from the room? I’ve been subjected to that exercise before, and it was shocking to see 20 different versions of the same event from people who were all in the same room. I think there were only 2 or 3 that were even close to giving an accurate description of the person.
They BOTH suck
March 27th, 2012
9:09 pm
Jm
I was responding to a post about weight…… It didn’t mention reach..
How about you and I just skip each other’s posts?
Generally speaking a think you are an fn idiot 90% of time….. Just want to clear the air on that
Take care and peace
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 27th, 2012
9:09 pm
jm my professor…..heck my two DOGS are smarter than you. At least they know not to track sh##t all over a blog………
Erwin's cat
March 27th, 2012
9:10 pm
I dunno…
barking frog
March 27th, 2012
9:10 pm
Jm?
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:10 pm
Tbs
It was a joke
Apparently over your little head
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
9:12 pm
Debbie, I’ll cut to the chase, you’ve made a decision based only on racial preference. You don’t know the facts as I do not either but you’ve postulated emotional facts from black activists. In my mind that makes you as much of a racist if not more so, than the people you’re castigating on this blog.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:13 pm
Frog
Why r u talking about getalife?
godless heathen
March 27th, 2012
9:15 pm
“replete with their endless stereotypes about picks in the hair and tattoos and saggy pants, come out of the woodwork for this type of topic, isn’t it?”
OK Jam, I’ll take the bait. My route to work takes me through “the hood” and through a white “mill town” area. When I see a young man, white or black, on the street and it requires one of his hands to hold his pants up so he can walk, I say to myself, “That young man did not leave his house planning to do anything constructive today.”
Now you can call that “an endless stereotype” if you want, but I calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.
barking frog
March 27th, 2012
9:15 pm
Jm,
Because he’s not here.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:15 pm
DDR you’re a class act. I bet you make Spelman proud. /sarc/
Don't Forget
March 27th, 2012
9:16 pm
For those who actually care about the facts (there are some for sure) and who don’t have one of a number of apparent agendas, here’s a recent summary from CNN.
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/27/justice/florida-teen-shooting-witnesses/
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:16 pm
Frog, you’re funny
godless heathen
March 27th, 2012
9:17 pm
And I should add, he wasn’t planning to run off with anybody’s teevee, either.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:18 pm
Frog, I don’t gossip….
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 27th, 2012
9:20 pm
Oscar: 140 pounds. Get real. Maybe when he was twelve. A man six four. More like 180 or 200.
The kid wasn’t 6’4” regardless That reminds me of a couple of “skinny” tall people. That guy who played Gilligan, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley when they were players, etc.
Oh and I googled the subject and got this from a website that specializes in dressing tall thin men:
Men who are both tall and thin face a double challenge: they have to avoid looking looming or storkish like every tall man, and they have to do it without looking like they’re swimming around inside clothes that are too loose on their frame.
So it seems that they are quite a FEW tall skinny men doesn’t it?
Bro – I had the same class. Part of the curiculuum at Mercer.
Matti- Word.
oblama
March 27th, 2012
9:25 pm
Hate crime laws are a lawyers dream….. designed for class action lawsuit lawyers like Oblama.
barking frog
March 27th, 2012
9:26 pm
Jm,
when you’re not here
getalife does, but not
much.
Don't Forget
March 27th, 2012
9:27 pm
Jay was right, the mosquitos are out early. Quite a few dung beetles as well.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:28 pm
Don’t forget 9:16
Good link and info
Keep up the info sharing! Love it.
godless heathen
March 27th, 2012
9:28 pm
OMG, DDR has pulled up the Man’s Wearhouse for data. Can this discussion get any more out in left field.
Brosephus™
March 27th, 2012
9:28 pm
DDR
I’ve been fairly skeptical of eyewitness testimony ever since that exercise. Not to say it is not reliable at all, but in traumatic and/or stressful situations, it can not always be trusted as iron clad truth. Knowing that, I’ve been able to, not only maintain my cool amongst this pool of speculation, but I’ve gotten many a laugh from people swearing by heresay (at this point) as concrete irrefutable evidence.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:29 pm
Frog
You crack me up
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 27th, 2012
9:29 pm
Debbie, I’ll cut to the chase, you’ve made a decision based only on racial preference. You don’t know the facts as I do not either but you’ve postulated emotional facts from black activists. In my mind that makes you as much of a racist if not more so, than the people you’re castigating on this blog.
First let me say, with heartfelt sincerity, who a gives a crap what you think – then let me add I know that a kid is dead for no apparent reason other than the fact that someone WANTED him dead.
I know that the police department didn’t even deign to investigate the case. I know that they took the word of the kid’s killer; I know that the kid was just walking home from the store minding his own business. I know that Zimmerman is a free man and a child is dead. I know that Zimmerman had a HISTORY of violent behavior and the only thing they could find on the kid was that he “probably” had some marijuana at one time but it couldn’t be substantiated.
I also know that you are a jerk, but that’s common knowledge.
barking frog
March 27th, 2012
9:30 pm
Don’t Forget,
The beetles are back?
RB from Gwinnett
March 27th, 2012
9:30 pm
“I just don’t see why in a civilized country the law should validate and even encourage that mentality”
Of course not, Jay. You’re a liberal. You don’t have the mental capacity to understand the only reason our society IS civilized is there are people willing to stand up to the evil forces that would control us all if if they were given the opportunity. In the history of this country, if you stole a man’s horse or his cattle, you knew if you got caught, you’d be shot dead and nobody would lose a nights sleep as the buzzards picked your body clean.
These days we have to listen to 4 days of arguements about how it’s your dads fault you stole the cattle because he beat you when you were 2 for crapping your pants and you shouldn’t be held accountable. You get off and go rob the next farm, maybe serve 30 days, move to Wyoming and do it again.
And I’m in the middle of 2 issues of theft at work right now. In one, an employee issued themselves checks they were not entitled to and in the other some equipment was stolen over the weekend. These 2 thefts are worth over $14,000. I’ll never recover a dime of either one of these IF I can even get the police department to care enough to issue a warrant. I reported one of the thefts on Saturday morning, have spent countless hours providing a detective details, and here we are on Tuesday night with no warrant.
Business owners all over this country deal with this crap every day while you liberals whine “give them another chance” while chastising them for making a few dollars and telling them they aren’t paing their “fair” share. It’s frustrating as hell.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:30 pm
Godless
:):):):):)
Dee T.
March 27th, 2012
9:30 pm
“Stand your ground” is more of a ” Permit to Kill” for some.
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
9:31 pm
“but I’ve gotten many a laugh from people swearing by heresay (at this point) as concrete irrefutable evidence.”
Did you laugh at debbie.
godless heathen
March 27th, 2012
9:32 pm
Bro,
There was a show on Discovery a while back called Brain Games. They set up a street scene robbery and it was amazing how poor the witnesses were at recalling who did what and even who did what. And all the witnesses were highly susceptible to the power of suggestion, and wanting to go along with the group. Even showed how unreliable the standard police line-up is.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:33 pm
Recon, DDR has no class
I just hope she’s not representative of your average Spelman person.
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
9:33 pm
“I also know that you are a jerk, but that’s common knowledge.”
Among you and your kind but that’s alright with me.
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 27th, 2012
9:33 pm
Actually it was “Real Men Real Style” but the link didn’t come through. Here it goes again if you’re interested.
http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/clothes-tall-skinny-men/
PS: I know you were being facetious, I thought I’d play along….
Don't Forget
March 27th, 2012
9:33 pm
What’s funny for some may not be funny for everyone.
http://humour.200ok.com.au/image_bombsquad.html
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
9:35 pm
“Recon, DDR has no class”
Jm, you certainly have that right but jay won’t boot her and we both know the reason why.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:35 pm
Eye witness testimony is bad. In lieu of any video recording though, it may be the best they’ve got…..
godless heathen
March 27th, 2012
9:36 pm
thanks, DDR, but my for my body, tall & skinny, does me no good;
gozbothwaez
March 27th, 2012
9:37 pm
That’s why I totally embrace the fact that I am licensed to carry concealed. It gives ME the right to stand MY ground just like the White man does. And trust me, I will stand MY ground if placed in the position.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:38 pm
Recon, oh I’ve said plenty of things I’d take back after the battle
But DDR just comes out guns blazing every time. Like I said, no class.
Brosephus™
March 27th, 2012
9:40 pm
Recon
There are a few here, you included, who have not jumped to conclusions based on what’s been reported in the news. Debbie’s much better in the legal realm than I am, and she’s had more experience, education, and training. I haven’t seen her jump to conclusions. I have seen her offer countering ideas to those who have jumped head first into the shallow end. I can also see she’s pretty ticked off, so I would not find reason to laugh at that. If more people handled this as you have, there would probably be much less for me to laugh at, and people probably wouldn’t be nearly as agitated.
———————-
Don’t Forget
I’ve seen that photo before. That’s just plain out wrong!!
JamVet
March 27th, 2012
9:41 pm
heathen,
A couple of nights ago I asked Scout to explain his accusation that wearing hooded sweatshirts was ignorant.
This after he posted:
“Take those God-darn hoodies down, especially in the summer. Pull your pants up and buy a belt ‘cause no one wants to see your underwear or the crack of your butt. If you walk into somebody’s office with your hair uncombed and a pick in the back, and your shoes untied, and your pants half down, tattoos up and down your arms and on your neck, and you wonder why somebody won’t hire you? They don’t hire you ‘cause you look like you’re crazy. You have damaged your own race.” — Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter
I asked him to explain how this diatribe had ANYTHING to do with that teenager that was killed.
You know the corporal, he ran down a rabbit hole faster than you can say the New Testament. And though I gave him repeated opportunities to explain himself, he stayed in his hole.
What other conclusion can one draw but that he uses completely irrelevant stereotypes to further his racist writings.
Thulsa Doom with his boot on liberal throats
March 27th, 2012
9:41 pm
Godless heathen,
I dunno. My take is that those young men white or black having to pull up their pants with one hand are busy pondering the validity of Einstien’s theory of relativity. That or the origins of the universe.
Speaking of pulling up your britches the funniest thing I’ve seen a few times on the news is the cops chasing some guy and they catch him cause the guy keeps having to slow down to pull his pants up or literally has to hold his pants up with one hand while running.
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
9:42 pm
Jm, Yep, but it is what it is the lib’s on here are really on the the far out left fringe. Unfortunately, anymore the entire Democrat party is on the far out left wing fringe.
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 27th, 2012
9:42 pm
jm and recon — since i hate to malign the poor, poor women who fought to bring you “people” into the world, i will only talk about your birth via your fathers.
RinTinTin and Lassie must be very proud of you two. Woof!
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:43 pm
From the CNN link above
Benjamin Crump, the Martin family lawyer, says Martin’s girlfriend’s account of what happened connects the dots and destroys Zimmerman’s claims of self-defense.
The girl, who did not want to be identified, said she was on the phone with the teen before the shooting.
When Zimmerman got closer to Martin, she told her boyfriend to run, but Martin told her that he was not going to run, she said.
“What are you stopping me for?” Martin asked Zimmerman, according to the girl.
“What are you doing around here?” Zimmerman asked in response.
The girl said she then got the impression that an altercation was taking place and that someone had pushed Martin, because the headset fell out of his ear, and the phone shut off.
————
I have no idea how that makes Zimmerman guilty
Sounds like Trayvon stood his ground too
And it turned into a bad mess
I’d say Zimmerman deserves some charge, but something less than murder of any degree
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
9:44 pm
Wolf was my team code name, I’m indeed flattered Debbie.
rightwingextreme
March 27th, 2012
9:44 pm
this case has nothing to do with what you think it does. this is the test case the left hopes to use to overturn the stand your ground law in florida. the anti-gun nuts just hate this law and want to see it go away. if you are paying attention you will note that there were multiple shootings in chicago this weekend…..any protests from the two justice brothers….any outrage from the left???? crickets…crickets….crickets. btw…ill doesn’t have a stand your ground law.
florida is also a swing state where the annointed one is struggling in the polls. he needs some issue to stir up the base and gun control is one of those.
notice also how this case has sucked all of the media attention away from our treasonous president’s comments to the russians about needing more space over missile defense…that he would be able to do more in his second term….in other words this loser of a president wants to give away our missile defense tech to the ruskies but he hasn’t got the you know whats to do it now. he should be tried for treason for that reason right there.
gas is also approaching $4 a gallon and is projected to go higher this summer….housing prices continue to decline and unemployment continues to go up based on gallop.
and now, bammy’s website is selling obama hoodies….
once again the prezbo spoke before he knew the facts as he did earlier.
november 6 can’t come early enough.
Thulsa Doom with his boot on liberal throats
March 27th, 2012
9:47 pm
“I haven’t seen her jump to conclusions.”
Not quite. Debbie is very emotional on this issue and I’ld say perty damn mad. And I think she has called Zimmerman a murderer at least once. From what I’ve seen in Debbie’s mind he is a convicted man. And while I don’t want to speak for her I think she’ll tell you point blank that in her opinion Zimmerman murdered him. How is that not jumping to conclusions?
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:47 pm
Don’t forget, funny dude, and like bro said, wrong, but still funny
Recon
Joe Scarborough made a decent argument in politico today explaining why the republican party’s problems actually stem from being too liberal, namely on fiscal issues
I agree
And the FedEx CEO said democrats need to wake up and get with the program or our country is going down the tubes
Agree on that too
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:49 pm
DDR is full of garbage and has no credibility here
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
9:50 pm
Jm, I agree as well.
Doomy, be careful or you’ll join me and Jm in the “woof” club.
bman
March 27th, 2012
9:51 pm
“if you are paying attention you will note that there were multiple shootings in chicago this weekend”
I would wager that somewhere, someone has already been killed in the name of retaliation. I would also wager that as long as there are certain people fanning the flames, for the same reason, it will happen even more.
JamVet
March 27th, 2012
9:51 pm
november 6 can’t come early enough.
And come November 7, I will be laughing heartily at you.
The days of your hero George W. Bush sure seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it?
LOL…
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:51 pm
Woof
Thulsa Doom with his boot on liberal throats
March 27th, 2012
9:52 pm
Oscar,
Where did you get the info that Jayvon was 6′4? I find that difficult to believe. I had read somewhere on here that he was 6ft and closer to 180 lbs or even 200 lbs but not 6′4. Regardless I would take a 6 foot 180 lb 17 year old over an out of shape 240lb tubby boy any day in a fight.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:52 pm
Jamvet also has hypertension like DDR
Jamvet did you take your meds today?
Brosephus™
March 27th, 2012
9:53 pm
jm
Whenever you get a chance, go to Google Maps and put in the address that Zimmerman gives initially. That’s where he appears to exit his vehicle if you go by the heavy breathing on the 911 tape. The shooting took place between the buildings straight down the road from the mailboxes, which appear to be to the right of the clubhouse when looking at the map. By Google’s distance indicator, it’s over 400 feet from the clubhouse to the sidewalk in between the two buildings where everything went down.
Clubhouse: 1111 Retreat View Cir, Sanford, FL 32771-7275
Martin’s body found between 1231 Twin Trees Lane and 2821 Retreat View Circle.
Without knowing which way Martin was walking, it’s hard to get a picture of things. However, Zimmerman even stated he was running at one point, which validates the girlfriend’s account to a point. The big question mark remains, who started the altercation. I’ve listened to the 911 calls, and it’s hard to determine who’s doing the screaming, but it sounds like there are two distinct voices. Maybe they were both screaming, but that high pitched whine right before the gunshot is not a sound I’d typically associate with someone who’s in possession of a gun and about to pull the trigger. That makes me wonder if Trayvon was shot during a struggle for the gun. If that’s what really happened, that also makes me wonder why Zimmerman would not say so.
TaxPayer
March 27th, 2012
9:54 pm
I don’t believe it possible to housebreak a Republican. They can’t live without trickledown on everything.
JamVet
March 27th, 2012
9:54 pm
Oh and I miseed this one:
once again the prezbo spoke before he knew the facts as he did earlier.
As I wrote earlier today when some other ignorant fool wrote something similar, there are two kinds of lies- lies and filthy lies.
Your mastery is in the latter…
Brosephus™
March 27th, 2012
9:54 pm
Doom
Any other time, Zimmerman would be facing manslaughter charges, at least. Whether he’s convicted of murder or not, he still killed Trayvon. Did people still not call OJ a murderer, even though he was found innocent?
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
9:55 pm
George isn’t running because he couldn’t anyway but if he hypothetically was Obama would lose to him as well. The “one” is going to be the gone one in January 013.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:55 pm
Doom
You’ve seen the photos. The kid was 12 and five feet tall
What do you charge someone when it’s aggravated assault, minus the assault part?
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 27th, 2012
9:56 pm
SoCoBro –Thanks. I am upset, mostly because of this law, but mainly because of the pseudo people on this blog. Remember when 90 year old Kathryn Johnston was gunned down by APB a few years back?
The ingrates on this blog blamed HER for her death. Then when it came out that the cops lied and PLANTED drugs in her home that precipitated the no-knock warrant, did any of them retract the awful things they said about her? No.
It makes me wonder what type of people they are when they’re not on this blog. If they secretly wear sheets and parade around burning crosses.
Brosephus™
March 27th, 2012
9:56 pm
Where did you get the info that Jayvon was 6′4? I find that difficult to believe. I had read somewhere on here that he was 6ft and closer to 180 lbs or even 200 lbs but not 6′4.
Police report lists him at 6ft and 160lbs.
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
9:57 pm
“Any other time, Zimmerman would be facing manslaughter charges,”
Please provide your legal opinion as to why?
barking frog
March 27th, 2012
9:57 pm
Well I think DDR’s input
contributes to the cause
and as a strong black
woman lawyer chef
married to a marine
she should be admired.
Mick
March 27th, 2012
9:57 pm
**George isn’t running because he couldn’t anyway but if he hypothetically was Obama would lose to him as well.**
Comment not to be perceived as reality based…
Jm
March 27th, 2012
9:58 pm
” The big question mark remains, who started the altercation”
Bro, i agree. I think the CNN link a page or so ago suggested there was a struggle for the gun, but don’t hold me to it.
Even so, I have to think Zimmerman is guilty of something here.
JamVet
March 27th, 2012
9:58 pm
George (W)orst ever Bush could not win an election for dogcatcher. In Texas!
But it would be great to see the stooges line up to lick his boots again!
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
9:59 pm
Mick, doesn’t live in a world of reality. Enough said.
Midori
March 27th, 2012
10:01 pm
Debbie,
love ya!!!
keep on keeping on
Brosephus™
March 27th, 2012
10:02 pm
DDR
I wasn’t here then, but based on how some of the more extreme posters display their logic, I wouldn’t be surprised. I pray that nobody here has to deal with something as tragic as this.
I’ve stated it here before, but I lost my grandfather in an accident where the person responsible wasn’t even given a ticket for running the redlight that she did. That was even after every eyewitness who gave a statement all said she did. He was hit in the middle of a 6 lane highway after he entered the intersection. You have to be way late on the red to hit somebody who’s gone from a dead stop to crossing into the 3rd traffic lane. I still get bitter about it at times. That’s why I hate to see sloppy police investigations. The grieving family gets the appearance that their loved one’s life didn’t meant enough to perform a decent investigation into their death. I don’t think that any American should ever have to feel that.
barking frog
March 27th, 2012
10:02 pm
If Cheney and woodie
are synonymus,
you might be a conservative.
Don't Forget
March 27th, 2012
10:04 pm
I like Scarborough. Don’t always agree but I think he’s even handed, sincere and doesn’t seem to feel a need to be a pric (sic). His show, Morning Joe is probably the most balanced (not perfectly balanced) and they actually get along and discuss things rationally. Ohhhh the horror!!!
Jm
March 27th, 2012
10:04 pm
Yes all white people are in the Klan
You’re inducted at birth
DDR lives hyperbole
Jm
March 27th, 2012
10:06 pm
What kind of lawyer is DDR? Ambulance chaser?
Brosephus™
March 27th, 2012
10:07 pm
Recon
I’ll refer you to my 9:53 post to jm. Look at the distance Zimmerman covered on foot, after being told not to follow. Look at the police report and listen to the 911 calls. The police were on scene no more than a minute after the shot was heard. Had Zimmerman heeded advice and followed the training he was given, the police would have been on scene before Trayvon had a chance to do anything. They could have done their job and determined he was ok.
Instead, Zimmerman chased him down. That led to an altercation and subsequently, a death. I don’t know about the legal system, but you should not be able to claim self defense when you put yourself into a situation like that. When you go against the advice of the police, that should be a forfeit of any grounds to self defense. Without his claim to self defense, he’s looking at involuntary manslaughter at least.
Dee
March 27th, 2012
10:07 pm
Shame on the idiots who are TRYING to uphold injustice and hatred. God bless the ignorant but help the haters.
TaxPayer
March 27th, 2012
10:08 pm
To uncivilized, Republicans, blowing holes through people is nothing to be concerned about. No cause for a police investigation. No reason to worry unless someone leaves the body laying around and it starts stinking up their otherwise stinkfree neighborhoods.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
10:09 pm
Bro 10:07 agree with 99% of that, maybe 90%
Either way, close enough
Recon 0311 2533
March 27th, 2012
10:09 pm
Well I’ve seen ad nausium those on the left along with those who’re only driven by racial motivation blogging on this unfortunate incident over the last several days. They’re casting allegations and opinions, while all the facts aren’t even in. I only hope and pray that the family along with Mr. Zimmerman can find piece. I’m out.
Dee
March 27th, 2012
10:10 pm
What are KLANS? SHEET cowards…………….
Jm
March 27th, 2012
10:11 pm
Let me add. Zimmerman’s friend said he’s very sad and sorry
Well I’m glad he is. If he broke a law he should go to jail for the maximum sentence available.
Jones
March 27th, 2012
10:12 pm
This is a horrible case. The below from a few months ago drew zero attention.
The Virginia man suspected in a drunken-driving crash that killed a Catholic nun in Prince William County this weekend is an illegal immigrant and repeat offender who was awaiting deportation and whom federal immigration authorities had released pending further proceedings, police said Monday
quedawg12
March 27th, 2012
10:13 pm
Recon,
I struggle to agree with your notion of waiting for the facts because in this instance the TRUTH/FACTS will never be known. What we can say is FACT is that the police handled it wrong and a tragedy took place. FACT is that if they arrest Zimmerman, it will be something to appease the masses. If they dont, it will displease the masses.
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
March 27th, 2012
10:15 pm
Hi Midori! Love ya back girlfriend!! Don’t worry — they won’t silence me. I’m their worst enemy. A woman. A woman with intelligence. A Woman with intelligence and a license to carry who used to go hunting with her brothers AND knows a couple of kick boxing moves.
There are some wimpy men fear any woman who might whip their butts……..so they try to silence them with their taunts (and try to get them kicked off the blog). Won’t happen.
Oh and the same men fear little boys 100 pounds lighter than them too…….
they’re probably even scared of girlscouts……..
Don't Forget
March 27th, 2012
10:15 pm
Bro
That’s why I hate to see sloppy police investigations. The grieving family gets the appearance that their loved one’s life didn’t meant enough to perform a decent investigation into their death.
Exactly, and anyone with empathy should be able to see that. And I’m sure you’ll agree that the same feelings occur when nobody will come forward as witnesses because they don’t want to be known as a snitch. Not identical situations but the same type of hurt.
Georgia , The "New Mississippi"
March 27th, 2012
10:15 pm
When the “right” white guy gets killed and the murderer hides behind the law it will change…… Hey , this is America after all. What else would you expect ?
Jm
March 27th, 2012
10:17 pm
My dog just ate a toad
Hippie dog
Brosephus™
March 27th, 2012
10:17 pm
jm
Part of my prayers every night is to thank G*d for me not being in a situation where I had to use deadly force against anybody for that day. When I wake up, I pray to not have to be in such a situation. I’m sure the guilt of taking somebody’s life is eating his conscience to shreds. There’s a reason why officers get assigned to desk duty following any deadly force confrontation.
Jones
March 27th, 2012
10:17 pm
By the way, it is obvious that the bloggers who want to bypass the justice system are extremely primitive and childish in their beliefs. The family attorney herself said she is satisfied with the recent movement in the situation.
By the way- bye bye Obamacare. What a foolish waste of time led by the radical minority. 2 years of time that could have been spent focusing on solutions versus solutions.
You guys are great- love you all.
barking frog
March 27th, 2012
10:20 pm
Jm,
Frogs make dogs sick,
you should teach him
better.
Jm
March 27th, 2012
10:20 pm
DDR
Go chase some ambulances
Brosephus™
March 27th, 2012
10:21 pm
Don’t Forget
Those cases, where people won’t come forward, are even harder for me. When somebody knows what took place but refuse to say anything about it, that’s the worst kind of insult you can lay on a family or person. I can understand if there’s an issue with threats on your life and stuff, but there are ways to make a statement without others knowing about it. The people who believe in that “stop snitchin” crap really makes me sick.