Judge's comments to Zimmerman--any lawyers care to comment?

[MediumTex]

Also, words like "grass" and "struggle" sound a lot different than "Martin repeatedly bashing zimmermans head into concrete after sucker punching him."

Leaving these possibilities out is a bit presumptuous.

I don't think they were left out, I just think that the local police, district attorney's office and ultimately the jury reviewed these possibilities and determined that it didn't happen that way, and that Zimmerman's head was being beaten on the sidewalk, or as one witness described it "a ground and pound" type of attack.

[Pointedstick]

Also, words like "grass" and "struggle" sound a lot different than "Martin repeatedly bashing zimmermans head into concrete after sucker punching him."

Zimmerman's nose and the back of his head were bloody. Martin had not a scratch on him save for the gunshot wound.

I guess anything's possible, but the insinuation that Zimmerman pushed, shoved, or grabbed Martin, and then Martin fought back, and then Zimmerman utterly failed to put a single scratch on Martin despite being 50 pounds heavier and apparently having been angry and aggressive enough to lay his hands on him… I mean it just sounds far-fetched to me.

If Zimmerman was mad enough and as pumped for conflict as you seem to want to make him out to be, why wouldn't he have just fired his gun as Martin ran at him and said, "oh, he ran at me and I was afraid for my life!" That seems like something a lot more plausible for someone who you're trying to paint as a racial profiler wannabe cop with an itchy trigger finger.

[MediumTex]

I really hope that no one is seriously suggesting that "fucking punk" is a racial slur.

[moda0306]

I really hope that no one is seriously suggesting that "fucking punk" is a racial slur.

I don't. So we think it was 100% the way he dressed, and the fact that he was black didn't factor into the profiling at all?

[Pointedstick]

I really hope that no one is seriously suggesting that "fucking punk" is a racial slur.

I don't. So we think it was 100% the way he dressed, and the fact that he was black didn't factor into the profiling at all?

If it did, does the fact that Zimmerman's neighborhood was experiencing a crime wave committed by young black men also factor into it?

[Xan]

Going by the way he was dressed isn't racial either.  It may be cultural.  He was dressed like a street punk, which is pretty much the way Zimmerman described him.

[Xan]

By the way, the whole pants-falling-off thing is a result of belts not being allowed in prison.  So when you see somebody dressed like that, he's trying to tell you he admires people who are in prison.

[MediumTex]

I really hope that no one is seriously suggesting that "fucking punk" is a racial slur.

I don't. So we think it was 100% the way he dressed, and the fact that he was black didn't factor into the profiling at all?

If it did, does the fact that Zimmerman's neighborhood was experiencing a crime wave committed by young black men also factor into it?

How about the idea that Zimmerman may have thought that Martin looked like a burglar who was on drugs because Martin actually was a burglar who was on drugs (even if he was on vacation at the time)?

Is it profiling if the thing you are looking for is actually present in the person of whom you are suspicious?

[dualstow]

Oh, I just remembered a few more things about GZ's background that were a source of my criticism.
- Was he charged with domestic violence?
- Was he relieved of a security guard job for being overzealous?

Or have these accusations been found invalid?

[Pointedstick]

Oh, I just remembered a few more things about GZ's background that were a source of my criticism.
- Was he charged with domestic violence?

His ex got a restraining order against him for alleged domestic violence. He retaliated with one against her. Both orders were granted, and neither Zimmerman nor his ex were ever charged. Typical Judge Judy situation! 

- Was he relieved of a security guard job for being overzealous?

Yes, at age 21 apparently George zimmerman was something of a hothead. He was fired from his security guard job for being too agressive, and that same year, he was charged with assault for pushing a police officer who was questioning his friend about underage drinking. The charges were eventually thrown out when he agreed to go to some kind of anger management program or something.

If you want to talk about race, let's talk about the fact that if Zimmerman had been black, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have thrown those charges away.

it doesn't sound to me like GZ was very good at the people/situational skills necessary for somebody doing a neighborhood watch job, but it doesn't mean he was a racist, there is an art to handling it correctly but failing at it doesn't necessarily imply the failure was due to racism if you are in positions where you have to deal with strangers in situations that are potentially volatile you need to make split second assessments and use careful wording/body language etc.. to diffuse the situation, when somebody is presenting with an attitude meant to intimidate, you cant show fear or aggression of your own, without running a risk of escalating the conflict..

[dualstow]

- Was he relieved of a security guard job for being overzealous?

Yes, at age 21 apparently George zimmerman was something of a hothead. He was fired from his security guard job for being too agressive, and that same year, he was charged with assault for pushing a police officer
...

Aha! Aha, ahah. Overzealous. Trajectory to mishap.

Protest photos are coming in. Not the full fledged riots that some were expecting, though.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... 7597.story

[MediumTex]

I'm sure the media is disappointed that it failed to foment even one really good riot (so far, anyway).

I know there must be police departments across the country that are also just aching to try out their riot gear as well.

[RuralEngineer]

I really hope that no one is seriously suggesting that "fucking punk" is a racial slur.

I don't. So we think it was 100% the way he dressed, and the fact that he was black didn't factor into the profiling at all?

If it did, does the fact that Zimmerman's neighborhood was experiencing a crime wave committed by young black men also factor into it?

It looks like the cops need to hire GZ to ride around with them and identify burglars.

If you read the article linked earlier it looks like the only reason Martin wasn't serving some kind of time or didn't have a well established criminal record was because of some extremely shady activity by the school and M-DSPD to manipulate the way they handle black crime statistics (which is very racist btw, somebody go get Jessie and Sharpton).  In Florida Grand Theft is anything above $300.  I have to assume that much jewelry would push him into felony territory.

[MediumTex]

Did anyone see the interview yesterday (or maybe today) where Angela Corey called Zimmerman a "murderer."  Talk about a sore loser.  That would be like Bobby Knight throwing chairs after coaching the Bad News Bears to a loss against the New York Yankees.

I see that that poxy pillock Piers Morgan landed an "interview" with Rachel Jeantel where she explains the meaning of the word "cracka" to him.  [Sigh]

(BTW, I got "poxy pillock" from a review of a dictionary of British slang here.)

[Pointedstick]

Piers Morgan is someone I simply cannot watch. There's something about his cloying, smarmy attitude and self-righteous ignorant sense of superiority that just makes me want to throw things at my computer screen.

In the interests of not repeatedly busting my electronics budget, I try to refrain from reminding myself that he exists.

[MediumTex]

How about this gem from Angela Corey's post-verdict press conference:

Local 6 investigative reporter Tony Piptone asked Corey how the acquittal speaks to the truth.

"Well, the truth came out in the form of every bit evidence and physical evidence and testimony that we were allowed to put on under our rules of evidence," Corey said.

"But he was not guilty," Pipitone responded.

"Well, a jury found him not guilty. We will always know we made every attempt possible under our laws to hold George Zimmerman accountable for his irresponsible and illegal behavior," Corey said.

Pipitone asked how the state can still call it "illegal behavior" when the jury found it was self-defense.

"No, the jury found that we could not prove our case beyond a reasonable doubt," Corey said.

"But he didn't violate the law. He's not a murderer. What is he?" Pipitone asked.

"He is and always will be a man who profiled and tracked an unarmed teenager. He provoked that teenager. What George Zimmerman did after disobeying that dispatcher and getting out of his truck set the entire set of circumstances into motion," Corey said.

"But it wasn't a crime," Pipitone said.

"That alone wasn't a crime. That combined with his mindset, his profiling, him wanting to be the cop, him wanting to apprehend Trayvon, that's what was all against the law," Corey said.

[MediumTex]

Piers Morgan is someone I simply cannot watch. There's something about his cloying, smarmy attitude and self-righteous ignorant sense of superiority that just makes me want to throw things at my computer screen.

In the interests of not repeatedly busting my electronics budget, I try to refrain from reminding myself that he exists.

Morgan's underlying attitude seems to be that of a second rate primatologist studying a rare population of violent monkeys using a total immersion technique where he pretends to be one of them to learn their secrets.

[Libertarian666]

Piers Morgan is someone I simply cannot watch. There's something about his cloying, smarmy attitude and self-righteous ignorant sense of superiority that just makes me want to throw things at my computer screen.

In the interests of not repeatedly busting my electronics budget, I try to refrain from reminding myself that he exists.

I would definitely contribute to a fund to buy him a one-way ticket back to the UK.

[moda0306]

Is there more background into on Martin being a "burglar" besides some jewelry and a screwdriver in his backpack?

[moda0306]

Oh, I just remembered a few more things about GZ's background that were a source of my criticism.
- Was he charged with domestic violence?

His ex got a restraining order against him for alleged domestic violence. He retaliated with one against her. Both orders were granted, and neither Zimmerman nor his ex were ever charged. Typical Judge Judy situation! 

- Was he relieved of a security guard job for being overzealous?

Yes, at age 21 apparently George zimmerman was something of a hothead. He was fired from his security guard job for being too agressive, and that same year, he was charged with assault for pushing a police officer who was questioning his friend about underage drinking. The charges were eventually thrown out when he agreed to go to some kind of anger management program or something.

If you want to talk about race, let's talk about the fact that if Zimmerman had been black, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have thrown those charges away.

The reason for the restraining order was a claim by the woman of domestic violence.

[Pointedstick]

The reason for the restraining order was a claim by the woman of domestic violence.

Do you have any idea how often those are abused? There's no due process attached to a TRO; you just claim domestic violence and get one. It's actually a huge problem. If there was anything to the claim, they would have charged Zimmerman with domestic violence, which they will usually not hesitate to do if there's even a shred of evidence for it. The fact that they didn't, and that Zimmerman himself was granted a TRO of his own shows me that it was just another sad case of TRO abuse.

[MediumTex]

Is there more background into on Martin being a "burglar" besides some jewelry and a screwdriver in his backpack?

There was the report of stolen jewelry that matched the description of the jewelry in Martin's backpack made by a homeowner who lived halfway between Martin's high school and Martin's parent's house.

Dualstow posted this earlier:

Found an interesting link here, not sure if it has been posted:
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/201 ... lary-tool/

Anyway: an intelligent person on the radio suggested that we need to re-examine our racial problems & situation, but perhaps this trial is not the place to do so.

That story is disturbing on far more levels than just Martin being a burglar, though.

[AdamA]

That story is disturbing on far more levels than just Martin being a burglar, though.

The more I read about this, the more disturbing it becomes.

[MediumTex]

That story is disturbing on far more levels than just Martin being a burglar, though.

The more I read about this, the more disturbing it becomes.

It's an interesting story, in part, because of all of the information that the mainstream media has simply ignored in order to maintain their "boy armed with Skittles murdered" narrative.

[Pointedstick]

I missed this at the trial, but apparently Jeantel told Martin over the phone that the "creepy ass cracka" following him might be a gay rapist.

http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conser ... 71308.html

The prosecution asked Rachel Jeantel what Trayvon Martin was complaining to her about on the phone, as he walked home.

“That a man just kept watching him,”? she replied.

After the judge overruled a defense objection, the prosecutor continued, “Did you say anything back to him or did he say anything back to you?”?

“Yes,”? Jeantel replied. “I asked him how the man looked like. He just told me the man — the man looked creepy.”?

“He said the man looked creepy?”? the prosecutor asked.

“Creepy, white, kill-my-neighbors cracker,”? Jeantel replied, and when asked to repeat her testimony a few times, added, “He looked like a creepy ass cracker.”?

“He told me the man was looking at him,”? she added, “so I had to think it might have been a rapist. Might have been a rapist.”?

From the Piers Morgan interview:

MORGAN: You felt that there was no doubt in your mind from what Trayvon was telling you on the phone about the creepy ass cracka and so on, that he absolutely believed that George Zimmerman, this man, you didn't know who he was at the time, but this man, was pursuing him?

JEANTEL: Yes.

MORGAN: And he was freaked out by it?

JEANTEL: Yes. Definitely after I say may be a rapist, for every boy, for every man, every -- who's not that kind of way, seeing a grown man following them, would they be creep out?

And Zimmerman is the intolerant one here?!?