Martin/Zimmerman thread

People have been played by the media. First they sell stories about racism, then sell stories about scandals in false reporting, then sell stories on the truth. Everytime the masses eat it up.

The kid in this video was shot to death in gang related activities no more then 4 months ago.

http://www.wdsu.com/r/30013555/detail.html

Thats sad.

 

People have been played by the media. First they sell stories about racism, then sell stories about scandals in false reporting, then sell stories on the truth. Everytime the masses eat it up.

To mark the 2oth anniversary of the deadly riots that engulfed Los Angeles following the 1992 Rodney King verdict, civil rights activist Al Sharpton and Trayvon Martin's parents are urging peace at events. Sharpton spoke to Yahoo News before he and Martin's family addressed a church on Thursday night.

 

"Twenty years ago I came out here after that protest after the verdict and tried to discourage the violence, and 20 years later now I'm here with Trayvon's parents and we're saying we don't want violence," he said. After four white police officers were acquitted in the recorded beating of Rodney King on April 29, the city exploded into one of the deadliest riots in American history, leaving 54 dead and causing $1 billion in property damage.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/al-sha...-222748970.html

 

Lets hope there is not a repeat of this.

I'm telling you, this case is toast...

 

MIAMI (AP) - Court records show George Zimmerman had a pair of black eyes, a nose fracture and two cuts to the back of his head after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

 

The medical records were part of evidence released Tuesday that prosecutors have in the second-degree murder case against Zimmerman. He has entered a plea of not guilty and claims self-defense in the Feb. 26 shooting. A message left Tuesday evening with Zimmerman's attorney was not immediately returned.

 

Zimmerman was treated Feb. 27 at Altamonte Family Practice. A phone call made Tuesday evening to the practice rang unanswered.

 

ABC News first reported Zimmerman's injuries from the medical records. Some of the injuries were previously reported by The Associated Press based on video of Zimmerman at a jail sally port.

 

I'm telling you, this case is toast...

 

I'm wondering if the "special" prosecutor's law license might get a little toasty as well. Mike Nifong ring a bell?

I'm wondering if the "special" prosecutor's law license might get a little toasty as well. Mike Nifong ring a bell?

 

 

I doubt it, but it should! It reminds me of this quote from a friend that's a criminal defense attorney...

 

"Trying a defendant that a prosecutor knows is innocent, or even bringing to trial a person that the prosecutor knows there is not sufficient evidence to justify a conviction is an offense so odious to the American system of justice that prosecutors who engage in such abuse should be referred to the bar for disbarment. The supervisors who approve of such conduct should be disbarred as well."

I doubt it, but it should! It reminds me of this quote from a friend that's a criminal defense attorney...

 

The problem lies in that the "justice" system is now turning into a "social-justice" system influenced by public opinion and "outcry." Not a good thing, at all.

The problem lies in that the "justice" system is now turning into a "social-justice" system influenced by public opinion and "outcry." Not a good thing, at all.

And that our justice system is first and foremost a business.

I'm telling you, this case is toast...

 

 

As it was designed to be.

 

 

 

Justice delayed is justice denied ( for both parties).

The problem lies in that the "justice" system is now turning into a "social-justice" system influenced by public opinion and "outcry." Not a good thing, at all.

 

Agreed. In almost every high profile case, prosecutors feel compelled to charge, and often overcharge, based on fact patterns that would not even be pursued in a more ordinary case. This has also manifested itself in the number of "process" crimes (perjury, obstruction of justice, etc.) brought against celebrity or high profile defendants when the government can't put together a case for whatever it was that initially attracted its attention. They couldn't get Martha Stewart for securities fraud so they charged her and convicted her for obstruction and lying during the investigation. They couldn't get Scooter Libby for leaking classified info in a highly politicized case so they charged and convicted him of lying and obstructing too, even though they knew who actually leaked the info (not Libby) well before he was charged, and they never went after the actual leaker because there was almost certainly no crime involved in leaking the info in the first place. The concept of judicial and prosecutorial immunity needs to go or be watered down tremendously IMO. These bastards know there is little recourse against them for their misconduct as things currently stand (unless the situation is heinous and involves clearly withholding evidence or something like the Nifong case), so they abuse their authority with impunity. This would change if their freedom and assets were on the line.

^^

 

How many times have we seen cases of incompetent or malicious prosecution. Peoples lives are ruined and the prosecutors get to walk away.

The video report here also says sources have told ABC News that Martin's autopsy report found injuries to his knuckles, bloody hands with broken skin. And the Martin family attorney is now conceding there was a fight, although he's of course claiming Zimmerman initiated it and Martin was defending himself. Previously the family had denied that there was any evidence of a fight.

 

ABC report

The concept of judicial and prosecutorial immunity needs to go or be watered down tremendously IMO. These bastards know there is little recourse against them for their misconduct as things currently stand (unless the situation is heinous and involves clearly withholding evidence or something like the Nifong case), so they abuse their authority with impunity. This would change if their freedom and assets were on the line.

 

 

This atmosphere breeds corrupt career prosecutors that believe that they're above the law. I had four years of my life turned inside out by just such a prosecutor. I beat him and got him demoted but at what cost? Hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, millions of dollars in lost revenue and like that old quote goes "Which office do I go to get my reputation back"

 

^^

 

How many times have we seen cases of incompetent or malicious prosecution. Peoples lives are ruined and the prosecutors get to walk away.

 

Agreed, but not always. A good family friend nailed a dirty prosecutor a few years back, but then the feds appealed! You have no idea how fucked the system is and how frequently prosecutors wipe their asses with our civil liberties while totally ignoring their Brady and Giglio obligations. The alternative is to go ahead and file a 1983 action then expect a good decade of litigation possibly ending all the way at the supreme court. Our criminal justice system is totally fucked and unless prosecutors are reigned in then there's no saving it. As a result of the Duke/Nifong scandal, NC switched to a system of open file discovery which greatly inhibits the prosecutors from hiding exculpatory evidence. It's not perfect solution, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

 

 

The video report here also says sources have told ABC News that Martin's autopsy report found injuries to his knuckles, bloody hands with broken skin. And the Martin family attorney is now conceding there was a fight, although he's of course claiming Zimmerman initiated it and Martin was defending himself. Previously the family had denied that there was any evidence of a fight.

 

ABC report

 

Explain that away Mr. Sharpton!

 

Even if there was a fight (not doubting that), what is important to me is how they arrived to a fight. Zimmerman was told to go home, by the police. For him to continue to follow Martin and initiate an altercation removes the reasonable use of deadly force. You don't get to start a fight (even if only by provocation) and when it goes wrong shoot the person and claim self defense.

 

The case against Zimmerman may be screwed but I am not sure justice will be served.

Latest Update:

 

Trayvon Martin killed by single gunshot fired from 'intermediate range,' autopsy shows:

 

By NBC News and msnbc.com

 

Florida teenager Trayvon Martin died from a single gunshot wound to the chest fired from “intermediate range,” according to an autopsy report reviewed Wednesday by NBC News.

 

The official report, prepared by the medical examiner in Volusia County, Fla., also found that the 17-year-old Martin had one other fresh injury – a small abrasion, no more than a quarter-inch in size – on his left ring finger below the knuckle.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Separately, a medical report on Martin’s alleged killer, 28-year-old George Zimmerman, prepared by his personal physician the day after Martin’s shooting in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26, found that the Neighborhood Watch volunteer suffered a likely broken nose, swelling, two black eyes and cuts to the scalp. That report, first reported Tuesday by ABC News, also was reviewed by NBC News.

 

Both documents are part of a mountain of evidence – up to 300 pages and 67 CDs of witness statements, surveillance videos and other material-- expected to be made public soon in connection with the second-degree murder case against Zimmerman.

 

Zimmerman allegedly shot Martin during a confrontation inside the gated community in Sanford where Zimmerman was a neighborhood volunteer and where Martin was visiting his father’s fiancée.

 

After first reporting a suspicious person in the neighborhood in a phone call to Sanford police, Zimmerman followed the teenager before a fatal confrontation that remains shrouded in mystery.

 

When police arrived at the scene to find Martin dead on the sidewalk, Zimmerman claimed he shot the teen in self-defense. Zimmerman was treated at the scene for cuts and a bloody nose, then questioned by police for hours before being released without being arrested. Authorities said at the time that they had no evidence challenging Zimmerman's account and that his conduct appeared to be justified under Florida's so-called Stand Your Ground law.

 

But after questions about possible racial motivation for the slaying – Martin was black; Zimmerman is a white man of Hispanic heritage – a special prosecutor took over the case and, on April 11, Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder. He was released on April 23 on a $150,000 bond and has been out of the public eye since then.

That dude is walking for sure.

Even if there was a fight (not doubting that), what is important to me is how they arrived to a fight. Zimmerman was told to go home, by the police. For him to continue to follow Martin and initiate an altercation removes the reasonable use of deadly force. You don't get to start a fight (even if only by provocation) and when it goes wrong shoot the person and claim self defense.

 

The case against Zimmerman may be screwed but I am not sure justice will be served.

 

I thought it was only 911 operator who suggested that he go home. Not the police. Big difference if thats the case.

There was only the 911 operator so who else could have told him?

Forget about the theatrics, listen to what the guy is saying...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUpPqmFzkEM...be_gdata_player

I thought it was only 911 operator who suggested that he go home. Not the police. Big difference if thats the case.

 

You are correct. And the dispatcher didn't "tell him to quit following him" or "order" him to do anything, he said, "we don't need you to do that." Amazing how a dispatcher making a somewhat ambiguous statement was reported as a direct order from the police to stop following him in so many media accounts. And there is no law against following someone on a public sidewalk in any event.

Martin had THC in his system that night. Well, well, well.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-do...52#.T7Vmw0VYt8E

You are correct. And the dispatcher didn't "tell him to quit following him" or "order" him to do anything, he said, "we don't need you to do that." Amazing how a dispatcher making a somewhat ambiguous statement was reported as a direct order from the police to stop following him in so many media accounts. And there is no law against following someone on a public sidewalk in any event.

Yes it was a dispatcher; I think of them as a department of the police/fire dept and trained. That may not be 100% correct. It was a somewhat ambiguous statement by the dispatcher but to me the intent is clear.

 

"For him to continue to follow Martin and initiate an altercation removes the reasonable use of deadly force. You don't get to start a fight (even if only by provocation) and when it goes wrong shoot the person and claim self defense."

 

I will leave it at that, I had been trying not to post in here anyway...

Martin had THC in his system that night. Well, well, well.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-do...52#.T7Vmw0VYt8E

 

 

He smoked some weed?? BFD. The worst offense I've ever committed stoned was paying at the first drive thru window, getting to the second window forgetting what I was there for and driving off. Needless to say I'm permanently banned from munchie run duty. The kid was a menace but for the love of god don't blame a little cheba.

What the fcuk is going on here?? CHILD ABUSE??!!

 

Prosecutor Richard Mantei argued that instructions for third-degree murder should be included on the premise that Zimmerman committed child abuse when he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin because Martin was underage.

 

But defense attorney Don West called the proposed instruction "a trick," and he accused the prosecutor of springing it on the defense at the last minute.

 

"Just when I didn't think this case could get any more bizarre, the state is alleging child abuse?" West said. "This is outrageous. It's outrageous the state would seek to do this at this time."

It's a shit show for the prosecution and local PD's are preparing for riots. Should be fun.

 

Did the news networks report the DoJ sent support for rallies after it broke?