Florida boy killed by Neighborhood Watch (4 Viewers)

[SacramentoBob]

http://www.cnn.com/Zimmerman facing the judge. Judge does now even know it is Zimmerman standing there. Probably has been looking at old picture. Zimmerman seems small.

Who did the judge think was standing there in a jail jumpsuit.

Doesn't look anything like that smiling man in a suit and tie the liberal media has been force feeding us.

 

[kentric]

By NBC News and msnbc.com staff

Updated at 1:15 p.m. ET: Trayvon Martin's mother retracted her comments that she believes her son's fatal shooting by George Zimmerman was an accident, telling MSNBC-TV on Thursday afternoon that she actually believes "George Zimmerman stalked my son and murdered him in cold blood."

In an interview Thursday morning on NBC's TODAY show, Sybrina Fulton had said: "I believe it was an accident. I believe that it just got out of control and he couldn't turn the clock back."

After Fulton's remarks drew widespread media attention, Ryan Julison, a spokesman for the Martin family, emailed a statement to MSNBC TV saying her comments had been "mischaracterized."

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"When I referenced the word 'accident' today with regard to Trayvon's death, in NO way did I mean the shooting was an accident," Fulton said.

"My son was profiled, followed and murdered by George Zimmerman, and there was nothing accidental about that," she said, clarifying that the "accident" was that Martin and Zimmerman ever crossed paths.

Here's the full statement:

Earlier today, I made a comment to the media that was later mischaracterized. When I referenced the word 'accident' today with regard to Trayvon's death, in NO way did I mean the shooting was an accident.

We believe that George Zimmerman stalked my son and murdered him in cold blood. The 'accident' I was referring to was the fact that George Zimmerman and my son ever crossed paths. It was an accidental encounter. If George Zimmerman hadn't gotten out of his vehicle, this entire incident would have been avoided.

My son was profiled, followed and murdered by George Zimmerman, and there was nothing accidental about that.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/12/11159111-update-trayvon-martins-mom-retracts-accident-characterization-says-zimmerman-killed-him-in-cold-blood?lite

Anyone know what the lead-in question was to her statement that, "I believe it was an accident. I believe that it just got out of control and he couldn't turn the clock back."

 

[FavreCo]

http://www.cnn.com/

Zimmerman facing the judge. Judge does now even know it is Zimmerman standing there. Probably has been looking at old picture. Zimmerman seems small.

Who did the judge think was standing there in a jail jumpsuit.

Doesn't look anything like that smiling man in a suit and tie the liberal media has been force feeding us.

How do they decide which side they are on? Do the 2 side get together and draw straws? Is it first come first served? How does this work? I would have thought the liberal media would have chosen the unarmed T-Mart.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

http://www.cnn.com/Zimmerman facing the judge. Judge does now even know it is Zimmerman standing there. Probably has been looking at old picture. Zimmerman seems small.

Who did the judge think was standing there in a jail jumpsuit.

he probably thought it was jose the janitor

 

[dickey moe]

No. Christo is making a legal argument. I'm making a moral one. There's no particular reason they should agree. So that's not my issue with him.My issue is that he's a weasel.

More like a ferret, imo.

More like a well-fed, but incredibly well-reasoned capybara.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

No. Christo is making a legal argument. I'm making a moral one. There's no particular reason they should agree. So that's not my issue with him.My issue is that he's a weasel.

More like a ferret, imo.

More like a well-fed, but incredibly well-reasoned capybara.

Don't pick on fat people. They have enough on their plates.

 

[renesauz]

Good question on SC. I have no idea. I also have no idea how anyone can advance a claim of self-defense when his victims are hiding from him. I realize that Zimmerman was in legal possession and that is not part of this case. What I am asking (and this is not a legal question Christo) is can you look at this situation and honestly say that had Zimmerman not been in possession of a gun, that he would be dead right now instead of Trayvon. It's a total hypothetical, so you can answer however you want and not be wrong. Maybe Zimmerman was enough of a wannabe hero he would have followed Trayvon without it. Maybe Trayvon was so unhinged he would have beaten Zimmerman to death just for following him. But I find it much more likely that it was the fact that Zimmerman was carrying which gave him the bravado to follow Martin, and I also find it unlikely that Trayvon was so enraged by someone following him he would have beaten or suffocated his follower to death.Had a gun not been present, then it's likely that Zimmerman would be alive, and Trayvon would be in jail for battery. JMO.

That's fair, but won't hold it against anyone for shooting someone actively attacking them. "Alive" could include a fractured skull if reports of having his head hit against the sidewalk are true.Plus...what if Zimmerman HAD the gun, but Trayvon took it from him in a scuffle. Isn't there a legitimate chance that, in that scenario, Zimmerman might the dead one? It's possible that Trayvon was trying to take the gun, in which case I could certainly understand Zimmerman being in legitimate fear for his life.Too many what if's. While we can sit back and reasonably guess an outcome, that outcome is far from certain. The DA will need more than what's been released to convict.

 

[Clifford]

I think if Zim is not packing heat he stays in his car and waits for the cops. Which might be why neighborhood watch members are forbidden from carrying while performing that duty.

 

[renesauz]

In what scenario would Zimmerman be the one yelling "no"? If he was getting beat up, I can understand "help".

The one where Martin sees the gun, says "you're gonna die", and then tries to take the gun....as has been reported by those close to Zimmerman.

 

[ATC1]

I think if Zim is not packing heat he stays in his car and waits for the cops. Which might be why neighborhood watch members are forbidden from carrying while performing that duty.

link? Because I posted the offical sanford Neighborhood watch program site and no where on there does it say not to carry or not to follow suspisious characters.

 

[TexanFan02]

In what scenario would Zimmerman be the one yelling "no"? If he was getting beat up, I can understand "help".

The one where Martin sees the gun, says "you're gonna die", and then tries to take the gun....as has been reported by those close to Zimmerman.

Yeah, because that makes perfect sense.

 

[Jackstraw]

In what scenario would Zimmerman be the one yelling "no"? If he was getting beat up, I can understand "help".

The one where Martin sees the gun, says "you're gonna die", and then tries to take the gun....as has been reported by those close to Zimmerman.

GD the kid must be channeling Charles Bronson or something. Is there anybody here who thinks that is a remotely plausible scenario? I'm a grown man and would probably wet myself if someone pointed a gun at me.

 

[Clifford]

I think if Zim is not packing heat he stays in his car and waits for the cops. Which might be why neighborhood watch members are forbidden from carrying while performing that duty.

link? Because I posted the offical sanford Neighborhood watch program site and no where on there does it say not to carry or not to follow suspisious characters.

The national guidelines for neighborhood watch programs, which were also posted, strictly forbids members from carrying while performing their duty, and forbids them from engaging suspicious persons themselves. It goes on to say that is why it is called a neighborhood watch, because members are meant to only be an extension of the eyes of the police department, and should never seek to perform functions meant for the police, only to alert them to potential problems or dangers.Not surprising Sanford managed to mangle or miss that simple guiding concept.

ETA: http://www.nnwi.org/

Our Participants Handbook states, "Always remember that your responsibility is to report crime. Do not take any risks to prevent a crime or try to make an arrest. The responsibility for apprehending criminals belongs to the police/sheriff."

Neighborhood Watch participants act as additional eyes and ears for law enforcement.

They do not take the law into their own hands.

 

[The Commish]

In what scenario would Zimmerman be the one yelling "no"? If he was getting beat up, I can understand "help".

The one where Martin sees the gun, says "you're gonna die", and then tries to take the gun....as has been reported by those close to Zimmerman.

or, it could have been Darth Vader....never know

 

[Carolina Hustler]

Okay, who were the ones claiming that if a black man had shot a white hispanicTM man and claimed "self-defense" even though the victim was unarmed that the arrest would be immediate?

Justice for Daniel

Who are the Hispanic version of Al & Jesse?

And we're off. Normally I would say this has no legs, but I'm not so sure. You can add the SC case pointed out 2 days ago as well. Either these cases will be ignored because the shooters were black and there is no Al Sharpton like person to drive the media, or there will be media coverage forcing arrests to be made before an investigation can be completely made. Either way, where is the justice?

So, was he "white hispanic" or just your garden variety?

 

[Christo]

In what scenario would Zimmerman be the one yelling "no"? If he was getting beat up, I can understand "help".

The one where Martin sees the gun, says "you're gonna die", and then tries to take the gun....as has been reported by those close to Zimmerman.

GD the kid must be channeling Charles Bronson or something. Is there anybody here who thinks that is a remotely plausible scenario? I'm a grown man and would probably wet myself if someone pointed a gun at me.

I didn't see where renesauz said Zimmerman was pointing the gun at Martin.

 

[Da Guru]

Okay, who were the ones claiming that if a black man had shot a white hispanicTM man and claimed "self-defense" even though the victim was unarmed that the arrest would be immediate?

Justice for Daniel

Who are the Hispanic version of Al & Jesse?

And we're off. Normally I would say this has no legs, but I'm not so sure. You can add the SC case pointed out 2 days ago as well. Either these cases will be ignored because the shooters were black and there is no Al Sharpton like person to drive the media, or there will be media coverage forcing arrests to be made before an investigation can be completely made. Either way, where is the justice?

So, was he "white hispanic" or just your garden variety?

If Hugo Chavez had a son..he would look like George.

 

[Christo]

I think if Zim is not packing heat he stays in his car and waits for the cops. Which might be why neighborhood watch members are forbidden from carrying while performing that duty.

link? Because I posted the offical sanford Neighborhood watch program site and no where on there does it say not to carry or not to follow suspisious characters.

The national guidelines for neighborhood watch programs, which were also posted, strictly forbids members from carrying while performing their duty, and forbids them from engaging suspicious persons themselves. It goes on to say that is why it is called a neighborhood watch, because members are meant to only be an extension of the eyes of the police department, and should never seek to perform functions meant for the police, only to alert them to potential problems or dangers.Not surprising Sanford managed to mangle or miss that simple guiding concept.

ETA: http://www.nnwi.org/

Our Participants Handbook states, "Always remember that your responsibility is to report crime. Do not take any risks to prevent a crime or try to make an arrest. The responsibility for apprehending criminals belongs to the police/sheriff."

Neighborhood Watch participants act as additional eyes and ears for law enforcement.

They do not take the law into their own hands.

OMG, we're back to this The "national guidelines" irrelevant.

 

[Clifford]

Look at my original statement. I'm not trying to say the prosecution can use that, just saying this case might illustrate why that is part of the guidelines.

JFC, do you ever take off your lawyer hat? Bet you're a blast at parties...

 

[Christo]

Look at my original statement. I'm not trying to say the prosecution can use that, just saying this case might illustrate why that is part of the guidelines.JFC, do you ever take off your lawyer hat? Bet you're a blast at parties...

No, you said neighborhood watch members are forbidden from carrying guns. You didn't mention guidelines until your follow up statement--after ATC1 had already stated the neighborhood watch guidelines for Zimmerman's neighborhood didn't have that restriction.And I have no problem at parties because the people I hang out with get concepts like this.

 

[SacramentoBob]

In what scenario would Zimmerman be the one yelling "no"? If he was getting beat up, I can understand "help".

The one where Martin sees the gun, says "you're gonna die", and then tries to take the gun....as has been reported by those close to Zimmerman.

I think you, like so many others, are mix and matching stories here. I thought the "story" was Martin says, "you're gonna die" when he is beating Zimmerman's head on the sidewalk, not after he sees the gun.If you are adding your own theory, please say so, or provide a link to the reports by those close to Zimmerman.Is this also the same story that claims Martin said, "You got me." after being shot?

I believe so.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

In what scenario would Zimmerman be the one yelling "no"? If he was getting beat up, I can understand "help".

The one where Martin sees the gun, says "you're gonna die", and then tries to take the gun....as has been reported by those close to Zimmerman.

I think you, like so many others, are mix and matching stories here. I thought the "story" was Martin says, "you're gonna die" when he is beating Zimmerman's head on the sidewalk, not after he sees the gun.If you are adding your own theory, please say so, or provide a link to the reports by those close to Zimmerman.Is this also the same story that claims Martin said, "You got me." after being shot?

I believe so.

Meanwhile, a probable cause affidavit filed in the second-degree murder case failed to disclose much new evidence.The four-page affidavit did, however, does offer a few new pieces of information. It says, that "Zimmerman confronted Martin," an apparent contradiction of Zimmerman's version of the events."During this time, Martin was on the phone with a friend and described to her what was happening," the affidavit said. "The witness advised that Martin was scared because he was being followed through the complex by an unknown male and didn't know why."Martin tried to run home, the affidavit says, but was followed by Zimmerman. "Zimmerman got out of his vehicle and followed Martin."The affidavit goes on to say that "Zimmerman disregarded the police dispatcher" who told him to stop, and "continued to follow Martin who was trying to return to his home."

 

[TexanFan02]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

 

[Chaos Commish]

In what scenario would Zimmerman be the one yelling "no"? If he was getting beat up, I can understand "help".

The one where Martin sees the gun, says "you're gonna die", and then tries to take the gun....as has been reported by those close to Zimmerman.

I think you, like so many others, are mix and matching stories here. I thought the "story" was Martin says, "you're gonna die" when he is beating Zimmerman's head on the sidewalk, not after he sees the gun.If you are adding your own theory, please say so, or provide a link to the reports by those close to Zimmerman.Is this also the same story that claims Martin said, "You got me." after being shot?

I believe so.

You believe wrong. "You got me." came from Tracy Martin remembering Investigator Serino's account. "You're gonna die" comes from Robert Zimmerman remembering George's account.

 

[jon_mx]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

Which parts were innuendo and mind-reading?

 

[TexanFan02]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

It's a charging affidavit. They're pretty much going to be "biased" against any person they are prosecuting.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Is this a joke? Zimmerman will walk. It's not an affidavit, it's a pacifier.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

It's a charging affidavit. They're pretty much going to be "biased" against any person they are prosecuting.

Okay, but they've given themselves some serious issues they didn't need to give themselves.

 

[Christo]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

It's a charging affidavit. They're pretty much going to be "biased" against any person they are prosecuting.

Yep. They're aren't going to put anything under oath that could in any way help Zimmerman.

 

[Christo]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

It's a charging affidavit. They're pretty much going to be "biased" against any person they are prosecuting.

Yep. They're aren't going to put anything under oath that could in any way help Zimmerman.

And notice how there's nothing in there we haven't heard before.

 

[jon_mx]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

Which parts were innuendo and mind-reading?

The mind reading parts were the parts where they said Zimmerman was profiling Martin and that Zimmerman falsely assumed Martin was a criminal and the part that said Martin just wanted to get home. The innuendo was the part where he said Zimmerman confronted Martin. He offered no proof of how he came up with that conclusion.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

Zimmerman confronted Martin...

 

[timschochet]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

It's a charging affidavit. They're pretty much going to be "biased" against any person they are prosecuting.

Yep. They're aren't going to put anything under oath that could in any way help Zimmerman.

And notice how there's nothing in there we haven't heard before.

It's not that we haven't heard this before, it's that we haven't seen any PROOF to back it up. My understanding is that the affidavit doesn't need to present this proof either- the key is can they present it at trial or in discovery.If there is no further evidence than what we already know to back up the charges made in this affidavit, then it seems to me that the defense would have a pretty good case to ask for this charge to be dismissed by a judge prior to trial. But I'm going to assume for the moment that there IS more evidence.

 

[Fennis]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

It's a charging affidavit. They're pretty much going to be "biased" against any person they are prosecuting.

Yep. They're aren't going to put anything under oath that could in any way help Zimmerman.

And notice how there's nothing in there we haven't heard before.

did you expect otherwise?

 

[timschochet]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

Which parts were innuendo and mind-reading?

The mind reading parts were the parts where they said Zimmerman was profiling Martin and that Zimmerman falsely assumed Martin was a criminal and the part that said Martin just wanted to get home. The innuendo was the part where he said Zimmerman confronted Martin. He offered no proof of how he came up with that conclusion.

I don't think they're required to show proof of any of it- yet.

 

[jon_mx]

Zimmerman confronted Martin...

Is there an eyewitness to this? I have not heard any nor is there any reference in the report to one. The investigators seem to be assuming that is the way it went down. It is a piss poor report.

 

[Fennis]

Zimmerman confronted Martin...

Is there an eyewitness to this? I have not heard any nor is there any reference in the report to one. The investigators seem to be assuming that is the way it went down. It is a piss poor report.

new to america?

 

[identikit]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

It's a charging affidavit. They're pretty much going to be "biased" against any person they are prosecuting.

Yep. They're aren't going to put anything under oath that could in any way help Zimmerman.

And notice how there's nothing in there we haven't heard before.

It's not that we haven't heard this before, it's that we haven't seen any PROOF to back it up. My understanding is that the affidavit doesn't need to present this proof either- the key is can they present it at trial or in discovery.If there is no further evidence than what we already know to back up the charges made in this affidavit, then it seems to me that the defense would have a pretty good case to ask for this charge to be dismissed by a judge prior to trial. But I'm going to assume for the moment that there IS more evidence.

Of course there's more evidence.

 

[timschochet]

Zimmerman confronted Martin...

Is there an eyewitness to this? I have not heard any nor is there any reference in the report to one. The investigators seem to be assuming that is the way it went down. It is a piss poor report.

Do you read prosecution affidavits for a living? I

 

[jon_mx]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

Which parts were innuendo and mind-reading?

The mind reading parts were the parts where they said Zimmerman was profiling Martin and that Zimmerman falsely assumed Martin was a criminal and the part that said Martin just wanted to get home. The innuendo was the part where he said Zimmerman confronted Martin. He offered no proof of how he came up with that conclusion.

I don't think they're required to show proof of any of it- yet.

They are investigators. If they had witnesses who could back this up, they should have said so. If I was a judge, i would throw this case out.

 

[TexanFan02]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

It's a charging affidavit. They're pretty much going to be "biased" against any person they are prosecuting.

Yep. They're aren't going to put anything under oath that could in any way help Zimmerman.

And notice how there's nothing in there we haven't heard before.

It's not that we haven't heard this before, it's that we haven't seen any PROOF to back it up. My understanding is that the affidavit doesn't need to present this proof either- the key is can they present it at trial or in discovery.If there is no further evidence than what we already know to back up the charges made in this affidavit, then it seems to me that the defense would have a pretty good case to ask for this charge to be dismissed by a judge prior to trial. But I'm going to assume for the moment that there IS more evidence.

Of course there's more evidence.

I'm sure there is. And if they can discredit one part of Zimmerman's story they can say the rest of his story is unreliable and self serving, and a lie.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

It's a charging affidavit. They're pretty much going to be "biased" against any person they are prosecuting.

Yep. They're aren't going to put anything under oath that could in any way help Zimmerman.

And notice how there's nothing in there we haven't heard before.

This is the very reason that those of us believed that zimmerman should have been charged in the first place, so we were on the right track.Im glad we werent off track at least.

 

[timschochet]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

Which parts were innuendo and mind-reading?

The mind reading parts were the parts where they said Zimmerman was profiling Martin and that Zimmerman falsely assumed Martin was a criminal and the part that said Martin just wanted to get home. The innuendo was the part where he said Zimmerman confronted Martin. He offered no proof of how he came up with that conclusion.

I don't think they're required to show proof of any of it- yet.

They are investigators. If they had witnesses who could back this up, they should have said so. If I was a judge, i would throw this case out.

In your long experience in reading prosecution affidavits, do they usually describe the nature of the specific evidence that backs up their charge in the affidavit?

 

[BigSteelThrill]

Zimmerman confronted Martin...

Is there an eyewitness to this? I have not heard any nor is there any reference in the report to one. The investigators seem to be assuming that is the way it went down. It is a piss poor report.

The entire confrontation lays squarely upon Zimmerman.

He didn't even deserve to be confronted.

Probably not, but certainly debateable. We still don't know what Zimerman really saw. Body language can tell you a lot, even when the person is doing "nothing (technically) wrong."

Debateable?No it isn't., He walked to the convenience store and walked back.

 

[jon_mx]

Zimmerman confronted Martin...

Is there an eyewitness to this? I have not heard any nor is there any reference in the report to one. The investigators seem to be assuming that is the way it went down. It is a piss poor report.

Do you read prosecution affidavits for a living? I

I'would hope it takes more than this to throw someone in prison and charge them with murder. .

 

[identikit]

Zimmerman confronted Martin...

Is there an eyewitness to this? I have not heard any nor is there any reference in the report to one. The investigators seem to be assuming that is the way it went down. It is a piss poor report.

Do you read prosecution affidavits for a living? I

I'would hope it takes more than this to throw someone in prison and charge them with murder. .

Read the last paragraph in the affidavit.

 

[timschochet]

The entire confrontation lays squarely upon Zimmerman.

You know what BST? I'm on "your side" here (I think Zimmerman did wrong and I'd like to see him convicted), but this is an awfully weak argument it seems to me. Just for a second, suppose that Zimmerman behaved like a total jerk, followed Martin around, confronted him, made accusations against him, whatever. If at any time during that confrontation Martin took an action which Zimmerman could reasonably consider life threatening, then the law says Zimmerman had the right to do what he did. The fact that the confrontation was made possible by Zimmerman being a jerk doesn't make him guilty of 2nd degree murder.

 

[jon_mx]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

Which parts were innuendo and mind-reading?

The mind reading parts were the parts where they said Zimmerman was profiling Martin and that Zimmerman falsely assumed Martin was a criminal and the part that said Martin just wanted to get home. The innuendo was the part where he said Zimmerman confronted Martin. He offered no proof of how he came up with that conclusion.

I don't think they're required to show proof of any of it- yet.

They are investigators. If they had witnesses who could back this up, they should have said so. If I was a judge, i would throw this case out.

In your long experience in reading prosecution affidavits, do they usually describe the nature of the specific evidence that backs up their charge in the affidavit?

If they want the DA to press charges they should. Based on this, I would not press charges.

 

[Christo]

Charging affidavit

Affidavit

Wasn't impressed with the investigators before this and this made my impression of them much worse.. A lot of inuendo and outright mind reading in the editorialized story-telling. If anything this shows an undeniable bias against Zimmerman from the police department that is suppose to drowning in institutionalized racism against blacks.

It's a charging affidavit. They're pretty much going to be "biased" against any person they are prosecuting.

Yep. They're aren't going to put anything under oath that could in any way help Zimmerman.

And notice how there's nothing in there we haven't heard before.

did you expect otherwise?

Yes. As BST points out, they state under oath that Zimmerman confronted Martin. But that's a conclusion.