[dr2005]

Originally Posted by thebigmole

Ok I feel like most people who are upset haven't actually listened to or watched the trial, or paid attention to the actual evidence at all. According to the transcripts of Zimmerman's call to the police, and what the girl Trayvon was talking to have said, while Zimmerman was in the wrong to get out of his car, he did return to his car when told by the police he didn't need to follow Trayvon.

Again, like Ben this is pure speculation (unless there was something in the witness testimony to the effect that he was returning to his car, in which case I would be grateful for a source as thus far I haven't found it). We can assume he returned to his truck, but at the same time he admitted in the initial police interviews that he was trying to find out which direction Martin had gone in which would contradict that somewhat.

Originally Posted by thebigmole

Trayvon knew he was being followed and instead of continuing on his way, or even running as his girlfriend suggested he went to confront Zimmerman. We know that at the moment of the shot Travyon was on top of Zimmerman, we know this because of the evidence presented that showed where the bullet entered the hoodie in reference to where it entered his body, the only way for them to line up is if Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman.

True, we know he was on top - but that's about it. The distance at which the gun was fired (pressed against Martin's clothing) was estimated by the defence expert witness at between two to four inches from his body - that accounts for a wide range of positions, from leaning directly over Zimmerman and assaulting him to being further back while still pinning him down. Hence my comment about it not seeming entirely consistent with the defence's account of what happened.

Originally Posted by thebigmole

What truly bothers me is all of these people calling him a child. I'm sorry but he was 17, if he had been the one to kill Zimmerman and had been tried he would have been tried as an adult. He might legally be a child, but it gives the completely wrong visual.

Whether it gives the correct visual or not is, quite frankly, irrelevant. If he's not considered an adult under state or federal law, then he's a child - as you admit yourself by saying "he might legally be a child". That's all there is to the matter, and speculating about how he might have been charged in the event of a theoretical crime is something of a smokescreen in my view - particularly given there would be a whole range of factors to consider by both the DA and the court before such an indictment could be made.

Originally Posted by thebigmole

Also the fact that it ever became a race issue is ridiculous. Did Zimmerman become suspicious of Trayvon because he's black, yes but ONLY because the description of the person who had been breaking into houses in the neighborhood was of a black person. Also what if Trayvon had actually been the robber, what if Zimmerman did nothing and then Trayvon broke into someones house? Do you know how many people are not going to report suspicious activity now because of this case? Why risk it? I heard someone on the radio the other day who saw these black kids in his neighborhood that he thought they were suspicious but he didn't do anything because of the Zimmerman case, and those kids broke into his neighbors house. The whole damn case is ridiculous.

Not sure it's really fair to blame the prosecutors for that one. Had Zimmerman abided by his training, the suggestions of the dispatcher and the guidance provided by his manual - to say nothing of not carrying a firearm in the first place - then arguably none of this would have happened at all. The police were on their way, and arrived not longer after the call. Likewise, the person on the radio you refer to seems to have missed a key part of what happened in the case, as nothing in what happened to Zimmerman would have warranted such a course of action (even with the racial claims). Those claiming that it would put them off reporting suspicious activity would do well to educate themselves as to what actually happened - Zimmerman went wrong AFTER reporting it, not BECAUSE of reporting it. It's a clear example of the law of unintended consequences, admittedly, but one borne of irrationality rather than an actual "chilling effect" arising from the decision to charge.

Originally Posted by thebigmole

Also just for those who didn't know the DA was ready to take the Zimmerman case to the Grand jury to see if they could even get an indictment, and then the governor feel victim to media pressure and took over, imagine what would have happened if people had just let it be, maybe he would have served some time. You can't say the justice system didn't work when the media didn't even give it a chance to work properly.

Agreed - the publicity has left something to be desired at times, and it looks like it's going to rumble on for a while afterwards.