UPDATE: Zimmerman Not Guilty, Here Are the Responses.
UPDATE: The video below has been circulating on twitter and facebook as African Americans rioting in Miami. IT IS NOT. It’s ironically riots of white people rioting in Vancouver, over the sport hockey. [via The Inquisitor]
People outside the courtroom are chanting, “The system failed us – No Justice No Peace!”
MSNBC reported there was silence in the courtroom.
The NAACP is calling for Civil Rights charges to be brought against Zimmerman.
“A jury in Sanford, Florida has found George Zimmerman not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin.
“I know I am not alone in my outrage, anger, and heartbreak over this decision. When a teenager’s life is taken in cold blood, and there is no accountability for the man who killed him, nothing seems right in the world, but we cannot let these emotions alone rule.
In these most challenging of times, we are called to act. There is work left to be done to achieve justice for Trayvon. The Department of Justice can still address the violation of Trayvon’s most fundamental civil right — the right to life, and we are urging them to do so.
Sign our petition to the Department of Justice. Tell them to file civil rights charges against George Zimmerman.” [site is overloaded at the time of posting]
The Broward Police Department a couple counties away from Sanford made this ‘anti-riot’ PSA.
We must mourn the unnecessary & unjust death of a child, but to honor him we must rededicate ourselves to the very ideals that were violated
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) July 14, 2013
I’m rioting if he’s found guilty. RT @suziealmy Want to know if there will be riots after the Zimmerman verdict? FL is a blue state… — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) July 13, 2013
And then once the verdict came down. One word.
Hallelujah!
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) July 14, 2013
Defense Atty:”if George Zimmerman were black, he never would have been charged with a crime” Is he high?
— Michael Steele (@Steele_Michael) July 14, 2013
Welcome to our “post-racial America”!
— Frank Rich (@frankrichny) July 14, 2013
Meanwhile in another courtroom in Florida a “woman who fired warning shots against her allegedly abusive husband has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville had said the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law should apply to her because she was defending herself against her allegedly abusive husband when she fired warning shots inside her home in August 2010. She told police it was to escape a brutal beating by her husband, against whom she had already taken out a protective order.” [full story]
Way off topic- but funny and GROSS!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIFPeHCewpo
Texas Teasbaggers invade Germany.
http://tinyurl.com/pmauefs
From CBS news-some wingnut woman attacked legendary Chambers Brother for dedicating song to Trayvon Martin. Apparently “People Get Ready” touched a rilly sensitive nerve in this woman’s psyche and she went ballistic. He should have stood his ground and blown her away and claimed self defense.
holy moley.
Have you seen the rethuglican jesus’ ten commandments? This is funny and true.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/20/republican-jesus-ten-commandments/
I hadn’t seen this! It IS funny! And true. Thanks!
This one is NOT funny but one of my favorites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyLxjjC887o
Buddy was one of my dearest friends and Alaska’s best songwriter for years and years.
He had a wicked sense of humor also too…even and as well.
Your friend has quite a collection of recorded music that I’m gonna spend some quality time listening to. Same age as my Dad when he passed so long ago. You have the most interesting friends and acquaintances. You are truly blessed. Thank you for the introduction to Buddy Tabor.
I AM truly blessed my path has crossed that of so many folks who have shared their rich, complex joys and sorrows in friendship with me.
In recent years, AKM’s MF has added greatly to the pantheon of extraordinary ordinary people I have had the honor of getting to sit a spell and share with.
I was out. Went fishing on the Kenai. Great trip, thanks. We got a freezer full in 4 hours hard work. It was amazing.
Zimmerman—–Whiskey Tango Foxtrot????
my brain hurts.
Let’s agree that, no insist, that the entire south secede. Please.
I’m puzzled by the popular reaction to this trial. I don’t really feel like the facts are in much dispute. It’s hard to disagree that Zimmerman made a foolish, dangerous and inflammatory decision to follow a stranger. It’s pretty well accepted that Zimmerman may have confronted Martin, and it’s pretty well accepted that Martin responded to this confrontation by attacking Martin. It’s also pretty well accepted that Martin gained the upper hand in that struggle and managed to inflict dangerous, if superficial, damage to Zimmerman’s head.
It’s pretty well accepted that either during that attack or after that attack, Zimmerman shot Martin.
OK. Here’s my problem. One’s judgement on the validity of a “self defense” claim seems correlated at a 95% certainty level with one’s partisan status. Yet, this is a relatively non-partisan case. The legal questions surrounding the case are not typically what you would consider partisan questions. How inflammatory is it for a citizen to follow a stranger? How violent must an attack be before deadly force in self defense is justified? To what extent should the “beyond reasonable doubt” standard be applied to self defense cases?”
These are difficult questions that shouldn’t be defined by party. So, why are we all polarized by party on this case? Well, it’s because we’ve swallowed, hook-line-and-sinker, various narratives that self serving parties have put forth. I have an opinion, but it’s not a very educated opinion. There’s a lot I don’t know. I suppose, by admitting that I don’t know what happened, you can guess what I think a jury should have done, but really I just understand my own ignorance, and understand that partisans on both sides are doing their best to exploit my ignorance for their benefit.
Don’t you guys recognize that?
This is really a quite silly set of remarks, DaninANC.
Your ignorance is easily remediable.
The text of the law the parties had at issue is readily available as is plain English discussion about what it could be said to mean/be, including a link to a discussion page on the link below.
Here are some of the relevant portions :
The 2011 Florida Statutes
Title XLVI
CRIMES
Chapter 776
JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE
776.012 Use of force in defense of person.—
A person is justified in using force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the other’s imminent use of unlawful force. However, a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if:
(1) He or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony; or
776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force.—
(1) A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force,..
776.041 Use of force by aggressor.—
The justification described in the preceding sections of this chapter is not available to a person who:
(1) Is attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after the commission of, a forcible felony; or
2) Initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself, unless:
(a) Such force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant; or
(b) In good faith, the person withdraws from physical contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the assailant that he or she desires to withdraw and terminate the use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of force.
http://www.husseinandwebber.com/florida-stand-your-ground-statute.html
Mr Zimmerman’s defense as an aggressor claiming first immunity from prosecution, then self defense under this law turns on his notion of 2- a.
The prosecution turned on the idea that Mr Zimmerman could not avail himself of protection under this law because he was attempting to commit a forcible felony himself.
The jury bought the defense.
As Mr Martin could not testify and the judge pushed to keep race issues out of the court narrative the argument that Mr Martin’s basic civil rights were violated by Mr Zimmerman profiling him as one of those who always get away and similar crap did not get an open airing.
If THAT creates a partisan divide, so be it.
This is a crappy law.
It is NOT self defense as we have always known it and has been used exactly like many feared it would be.
Don’t you recognize that?
I don’t know if the law is crappy. I do know that Zimmerman’s defense had nothing to do with 2)(a). I also know that peoples judgement on this case was highly partisan long before this judge had the opportunity to make any decisions on the admissibility of evidence.
This is part of my criticism. Partisans on both sides have made this case to be a referendum on the so called “Stand Your Ground” law, but the case is totally unaffected by that law.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/16/3502481/juror-we-talked-stand-your-ground.html
The case is NOT totally unaffected by this law.
One- it changes the way these cases can and may be brought to trial AND changes jury instructions as per what is required to qualify as self defense ., the latter of which is the basis for jurors to decide if what they view as facts fit various legal definitions and parameters.
The defense team did not have to explicitly bring it up- it was embedded in the proceedings and definitions.
Two- The juror who spoke out explicitly talks about it as part of the decision.
While plenty of talking heads are busy saying this wasn’t affected by SYG , they are being disingenuous in not talking about how the jury is now instructed as per what must be considered self defense now.
I could care less about about partisan crap on either side.
It is crappy law. You can read it yourself and the explication and decide for yourself . I have.
http://tinyurl.com/lbaafa3
This from ThinkProgress-Zimmerman’s jury instructions CONTAIN the key clause from SYG that says Zimmerman had the” right” to stand his ground and was not required to “retreat”.That is the essence of SYG,even though the law itself was not pursued in this instance,it sure had a seemingly large effect on the outcome.
Juror B-27 has dropped her book deal. Not sure why.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-07-16/news/os-george-zimmerman-juror-b-37-book-20130716_1_george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-juror
Being dropped by her agent mayhaps figured in the decision?
I had some of the same questions. This article by Will Saletan touches many of the issues here.
Both parties acted stupidly, but Martin was a 17yo stupid and Zimmerman was an adult who was in phone contact with the police and, in my opinion, acted more stupidly.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2013/07/trayvon_martin_verdict_racism_hate_crimes_prosecution_and_other_overreactions.html
My parents used to say (sarcastically) do something, even it it’s wrong. That was definitely the case in Sanford, Florida on that nigh.
From everything that I read, there was no forensic evidence on Trayvon Martin’s body that he had attacked Zimmerman. His hands did not reflect any kind of a struggle, etc. The photos of Zimmerman looking like he had been beaten materialized months after his attack on the boy. Let’s face it, had the boy beaten Zimmerman as badly as the defense portrayed at the trial, Zimmerman would have been rushed to the nearest ER facility for treatment – likely concussion and all of that – and the media would have been all over the attack of a law-abiding Floridian by an African-American teenager. And that did not happen simply because nothing happened at the scene. What really happened I fear is that Zimmerman chased an innocent teenaged boy who may have, at some point, turned around and confronted him and Zimmerman panicked because, at heart, he is a coward, and shot his gun. The bullet’s trajectory was straight – into Trayvon Martin’s chest. There was no struggle on the ground over the gun. I think that Zimmerman was mussed up deliberately after the fact to provide a defense because it was clearly NOT a “stand your ground” case. Even the state legislator who authored the law said as much. This was a tragedy and then a tragic miscarriage of justice.
Rilly unusual that GZ did not suffer a concussion if his head was slammed into the sidewalk as often and as hard as HE claims. The medical expert says Martin may have been under the influence of marijuana,but anyone who has ever smoked or toked knows that pot makes a person goofy and extremely non-aggresive. If Trayvon was high he most likely would have been laughing at Zimmerman instead of trying to beat him up. Rilly unfortunate that Trayvon couldn’t have been around to testify for himself. That happens when you get murdered for no good reason,IMHO. Please send rain.
Trayvon, rest in peace. George, you’ll have to watch your back…forever. Society will be your true jury.
Off topic,but important.
http://tinyurl.com/pufgk6x
From the Atlantic-state of Georgia may try to execute mentally retarded inmate with the help of un-regulated,non approved drugs. State passed a law that classifies drug acquisitions as “State Secrets” so they don’t have to divulge any information about types of drugs,purity,manufacturers,etc., not even to the judiciary. The last two state executions used these drugs and inmates eyes never closed through the executions,leading experts to believe unnecessary pain accompanied the deaths. Fascinating article,not just because of the method of death,but the fact the state is also trying to circumvent the 2002 Scotus ruling in Atkins that we don’t execute demonstrably retarded peoples(6-3 decision).. Yikes!!
Judge grants stay of execution. New hearings on drugs start Thursday morning. Just might be able to civilize rwnj yet.
http://tinyurl.com/pagj9je
Zimmerman has gained 120 pounds since late February. Wow!!
“Wow!!” is right. I remember ‘media’ commenting a few months back. about how much weight he’d gained – they put it down to his being under so much stress, if I recall correctly.
What I find quite amazing –and MOST disturbing– about this whole case is that, IMHO, it was tried and adjudicated in the Court of Public Opinion before it ever even went to trial…the media supplied its public with on-going smatterings of details it ‘discovered’ of the case and, from those, the final verdict was handed down prior to any of the legal proceedings in the courtroom.
From the get-go, various outlets/factions of “the Media” chose which side they’d each support and the followers of that particular faction/source, concurred; concurred unquestioningly. That said, knee-jerk reactions and instantaneous judgments (breathlessly and urgently delivered), are rarely –if ever!– based in unadulterated facts and truth. IMHO, *all* Media knee-jerked for all it was worth on the Zimmerman/Martin case, both before (“He’s the guilty party”…said of both GZ and TM) and during the trial (ditto of what was said before.) And, of course, after.
And the underlying divide and disgruntlement that’s of the heart of it all, just keeps growing and growing unabated… and fueled continually (intentionally or not!) by ‘the media’. Sad, that. beth.
For quite a long period of time it looked like the court of public opinion was gonna be the ONLY trial GZ was gonna face. This nation is so polarized that if Mother Theresa returned,nutters would have her arrested on suspicion of maybe thinking about having an abortion and then they would accuse Libs of raising her taxes and trying to take her guns away from her.All this occurs before Libs say a word. I rilly wish I was exagerating. Keep voicing your opinions-climate change is rilly rill-see how American attitudes have gradually changed about Gays and Lesbians and SSM?
There is no question that Zimmerman is responsible for this tragic event. Had he stayed in his vehicle, as Neighborhood Watch rules and clear instructions from the dispatcher directed him to do, young Mr. Martin would still be very much alive.
With Alaska’s new Stand Your Ground Law, how long will it be before somebody picks a fight here, kills somebody, and suffers no consequences? Perhaps we should write Gov. Parnell, Rep. Neuman, and all those who voted for the bill, to tell them exactly why this law should be repealed. It was never needed to protect Alaskans in true self-defense cases.
Another OJ Simpson type trial, Better Defense team than Prosecution team….without an actual witness or video of the start of the confrontation, the issue was in doubt…. conflicting witness testimony as to who was on top introduced enough reasonable doubt … Can’t say I like the verdict, but can understand how the jury reached it.
benny, you got it. It’s a shame what it took to even get this to trial.
Here’s some cold comfort:
http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=10133
“The fact that there was a trial and a verdict may help to prevent another tragedy such as the one that befell Trayvon Martin. We could not have said that if the Sanford authorities, who originally chose to do nothing, had their way. But the people’s voice was louder and we got the trial we demanded. And if we stay united and committed there will more and fuller victories to come.”
There is audio of the police telling Zimmerman not to follow Martin,which he chose to do anyway. To me that makes Zimmerman culpable of negligence and totally responsible for everything afterwards. Pretty damn simple-if the killer did not pursue Martin,there would not have been a confrontation and Trayvon would be alive today.One more thing that rilly bites my backside is the defense witness who supposedly was training Zimmerman in martial arts claimed Zimmerman was grossly obese and could not throw a punch. He also claimed,I believe,that after the confrontation that Zimmerman looked worse than the dead 17 year old kid with a bullet in him. Was Zimmerman dead by a factor of 2?
I was under the impression that it was the 911 operator that told Zimmerman to not follow; technically that is not the police. I agree that if he had stayed in the car, none of this would have happened… also as a neighborhood watch, you are only suppose to observe and report ; another guideline failure.
now comes an interesting “conspiracy theory” ( must be reading too much Republican stuff) .Zimmerman has put on quite a bit of weight since the incident,,, is it possible he was advised to put weight on to appear obese to the jury for the martial arts expert to be able to make his statement ? I don’t recall the prosecution countering with pics of Zimmerman on the day of the incident..
http://tinyurl.com/p5fwd9d
Here are pictures of Zimmerman’s broken nose. He is not close to being overweight,let alone obese. Later pictures show him having gained considerable weight. Some of the transcripts say 911 didpatcher,some say Sanford Police dispatcher. Doesn’t rilly matter to me. Martin is still dead by the hand of Zimmerman. That will never change.
Bitterly disappointed but not a bit surprised at the verdict.
Cried myself to sleep, then tossed and turned all night.
Hate is alive and very well fed on the bodies of our children here in Florida,
and we are not alone in these divided states of America.
Damn the NRA and damn ALEC for Stand Your Ground and all their hate and fear-mongering.
Y’all think carefully before you book a vacation with The Mouse, y’hear?
I’ll be standing my ground at the ballot box come 2014.
How about you?
May our votes speak as clearly as Zimmerman’s gun.
Here’s a little something from Nick and Elvis for this morning:
…as I walk on through troubled times my spirit gets so downhearted sometimes
So where are the strong? and who are the trusted? and where is the harmony?
’cause each time I feel it slippin’ away, just makes me wanna cry…
Whats So Funny About Peace Love & Understanding?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeFlPxMTP24
L’Shalom, brothers and sisters, L’Shalom,
thatcrowwoman
What’s with the “huh”? Is that like “hoodie”? Are you terror teen???!!?
Disbelief,because there is no way Zimmerman,the stalker/slayer is not guilty. His lawyer morphed him into “Sarah Palin-the victim “,right in front of the juriy’s lying eyes..
Keeping in mind the deficiencies of the prosecution as noted in a Facebook comment above, it seems obvious the defense did work some kind of magic to convince this jury that Mr Zimmerman was the aggrieved party.
The act of following Mr Martin set the scene. Mr Zimmerman made this happen. Pfffttt! on self defense! It is a sorry state of affairs that the jury bought this BS. If one can be the initial aggressor and cause the state of affairs which leads to this kind of death, one is exempt from any self defense argument. Period.
Where is the much ballyhooed personal responsibility schtick here?
This is a perverted, sick twist on Flip Wilson’s devil-made-me-do-it dealie.
No justice for Trayvon Martin here. No justice for Mr Zimmerman here.
Pfffftttt!
HUH??????????