Open Thread on Zimmerman Trial

[MaryT777]

Martin had a violent history as well.
Although the judge does not want to hear of it, it is still pertinent.

This leaves us with two people in the rain at night.somewhere along the way, Martin ended up beating Zimmerman, caused injury to Zimmerman’s face and head and injured his own knuckles from the beating.

He was subsequently shot and killed in what was claimed to be self defense.

I see no reason to think otherwise at the present time.

However a dead man can’t give his testimony. Maybe he saw the gun and became fearful for his own life. There’s been two testimonies, one from Zimmerman he reached for it and one from the friend whosaid he was told Martine grabbed it so who knows. That’s the whole problem; we don’t know.

So thus, reasonable doubt I agree at this point with the evidence they have and all inconsistenet testimonies from everyone it seems including Zimmerman.
Howver the trial is not over much as it appears to most here it is over and Zimmerman was justified in killing Martin in self defense.

 

[kelvinf]

A perfect example of the media bias against Zimmermen in this case…

From the NYT…

"Last week, a young woman who had been on the phone with Mr. Martin that night testified that he told her he was being followed by a “creepy” man, and that she later heard her friend crying, “Get off, get off.”

This is an outright lie by a NYT reporter. What Martin said and what was verified at trial, under oath was “creepy a** cracker”.

I guess the truth isn’t fit to print.

nytimes.com/2013/07/03/us/prosecutors-in-zimmerman-trial-ask-jury-to-disregard-comments.html?partner=MYWAY&ei=5065&_r=0

I have read most of their articles. They did mention that before:
“I asked him how the man looked like,” Ms. Jeantel said. “He just told me the man looked like a creepy-*** cracker.”
nytimes.com/2013/06/27/us/residents-of-housing-complex-testify-in-zimmerman-trial.html
Ms. Jeantel also said that she only cleaned up the language, including Mr. Martin’s statement describing George Zimmerman as a “creepy-*** cracker.” She used just “creepy” instead.
nytimes.com/2013/06/28/us/at-zimmerman-trial-victims-friend-is-pressed-on-her-story.html?ref=trayvonmartin

 

[MaryT777]

I have read most of their articles. They did mention that before:
“I asked him how the man looked like,” Ms. Jeantel said. “He just told me the man looked like a creepy-*** cracker.”
nytimes.com/2013/06/27/us/residents-of-housing-complex-testify-in-zimmerman-trial.html
Ms. Jeantel also said that she only cleaned up the language, including Mr. Martin’s statement describing George Zimmerman as a “creepy-*** cracker.” She used just “creepy” instead.
nytimes.com/2013/06/28/us/at-zimmerman-trial-victims-friend-is-pressed-on-her-story.html?ref=trayvonmartin

And Zimmerman said “these *******s always get away”

 

[kelvinf]

And Zimmerman said “these *******s always get away”

Right, I just wanted to highlight that, that wasn’t a perfect example of media bias since the NYT had printed those words.

 

[iamrefreshed]

Right, I just wanted to highlight that, that wasn’t a perfect example of media bias since the NYT had printed those words.

So it’s OK to lie sometimes?

 

[MaryT777]

So it’s OK to lie sometimes?

The media is always biased both ways…
Watch the trial itself. That’s your best bet.

The jurors will make the decision based on the entire testimony.

Currently they are discussing the Stand your Ground law that apparently Zimmerman said he wasn’t familiar with but took a class where it was addressed.

 

[kelvinf]

So it’s OK to lie sometimes?

I said it wasn’t a perfect example of media bias.

 

[MaryT777]

I said it wasn’t a perfect example of media bias.

I wonder whyZimmerman lied about not knowing about the Stand your Ground law as it is known. He got an A in this class the Professor said where he taught it.

 

[SamH]

I wonder whyZimmerman lied about not knowing about the Stand your Ground law as it is known. He got an A in this class the Professor said where he taught it.

What was the class?

 

[St_Francis]

I welcome an answer to the following questions:

1. Why would he need to go wandering around looking for an address after telling the dispatcher where he wanted to meet the police officer and ending the call?
2. Why would he need to go so far away from the truck, passing multiple buildings to find an address?

Here is a trascript of one of Zimmerman’s interviews with the police. There seems to be two police officers there, one if whom says very little.

A few points from this: a similar incident had occurred a couple weeks before, where Zimmerman had seen someone acting oddly and called the non-emergency line as he did when he saw Martin. In this call, according to Zimmerman, the dispatcher *asked *if Zimmerman could move to where he could see the man in question. The police arrived shortly after, the man was apprehended with some items stolen from the apartment.

And it seems, when reading the interview, that Zimmerman said that this was one of the places Martin was behaving oddly around.

Additionally, Zimmerman mentions he has ADD and has a hard time remembering things in response to a question about why he was looking for the house numbers. He also mentioned that the road goes around in a circle and has a different name on each of the two halves

And, during the course of the interview, the police mentions that they have Martin’s phone and he liked to video tape a lot and the police are hoping he videotaped this incident. Martin’s response was that he hoped someone had vt’ed it.

Finally, the police also told Zimmerman that a witness had phoned in. Zimmerman may or may not have known that others had also witnessed parts of the altercation.

I would like to comment in a personal way. For 6 years, I had been driving up and down a certain road anywhere from 0 to 3 times a week. There is a point where there is a dangerous curve, and i always watch out for it because one has to slow down a lot more than it looks like you have to as you approach it.

This curve is about a mile and a half from the county line. But one day when I saw an accident there and called 911 about it, I was unable to say where we were in relation to the line. I did, however, know how many miles we were from town. What sticks in our minds, even on a familiar road, is not necessarily the info we need in an emergency. Obviously everyone else thought the county line was important, as that changes which emergency crew will be sent out, but I had never thought of it.

1. Why was he walking in the opposite direction of where his truck was parked if he was just walking back to his truck?

I recalled this from earlier reading, but it seems clear from this that Zimmmerman walked further away from his truck looking for an address, and thus could have been walking back when the incident occurred.

1. If Martin had jumped out of the bushes and attacked him, where are the bushes?

There seem to be bushes right up against the walls of the buildings. The police also refer to bushes in another interview.

Now, I have a question for you. There were 3 or 4 minutes between the point at which Zimmerman said that Martin had started running and the point at which the incident started, and Martin’s friend Rachel Jentel said he was headed home and that Martin said he was almost there.

So why did this incident occur so close to Zimmerman’s truck and so far from Martin’s father’s fiancee’s apartment? Why was *Martin *at that point?

 

[MaryT777]

.Zimmerman mentioned his bad memory when asked why after living in a neighborhood
for 3 years he didn’t know the NAME of the street. Not the number.

Might want to look up how many streets were in that neighborhood.

 

[maryjk]

.Zimmerman mentioned his bad memory when asked why after living in a neighborhood
for 3 years he didn’t know the NAME of the street. Not the number.

Might want to look up how many streets were in that neighborhood.

My husband and I have lived in our neighborhood for 10 years. We regularly walk around our neighborhood, and also regularly bike around.

Last week I mentioned that someone lived on “X” street. He had no idea what street I was talking about.

It is a street that he is on at least twice a week, some weeks he is on that street EVERY day. It is a major street in our neighborhood.

 

[MaryT777]

My husband and I have lived in our neighborhood for 10 years. We regularly walk around our neighborhood, and also regularly bike around.

Last week I mentioned that someone lived on “X” street. He had no idea what street I was talking about.

It is a street that he is on at least twice a week, some weeks he is on that street EVERY day. It is a major street in our neighborhood.

Was he neighborhood watch captain like George Zimmerman? I might think you’d know the names of a few streets if you patroled the neighborhood;

 

[St_Francis]

.Zimmerman mentioned his bad memory when asked why after living in a neighborhood
for 3 years he didn’t know the NAME of the street. Not the number.

Might want to look up how many streets were in that neighborhood.

And the street changes names from one part to the next. That can be confusing.

 

[styrgwillidar]

.Zimmerman mentioned his bad memory when asked why after living in a neighborhood
for 3 years he didn’t know the NAME of the street. Not the number.

Might want to look up how many streets were in that neighborhood.

You know, I’ve lived in my home over 10 years. I’m on the central culdesac of three in a row, I honestly can’t tell you the names of either of the other culdesacs. Hopefully nothing ever happens where I need to call the police, I guess it would make me a suspect in anything that happened.

BTW, in terms of inconsistencies in one’s statements and how they’ll appear in court as a reason to never talk to the police without your lawyer present. Especially if you’re innocent. The following may be worth your time:

youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc

 

[styrgwillidar]

And the street changes names from one part to the next. That can be confusing.

OT- London is the result of the merging of a lot of smaller towns, a lot of the street names change from block to block. I’ve read that the cab drivers there have to take a fairly comprehensive test to show their familiarity and knowledge on the street layouts.

 

[maryjk]

Was he neighborhood watch captain like George Zimmerman? I might think you’d know the names of a few streets if you patroled the neighborhood;

No he isn’t. But these are roads that he has been on almost EVERY day for 10 years. On days he isn’t on the street, he passes it at an intersection.

And remember, my husband and I were simply in conversation. Our adrenaline wasn’t high. We weren’t on the phone with police. We were just talking.

I wouldn’t put much stock on him not knowing the street name. It happens.

 

[MaryT777]

No he isn’t. But these are roads that he has been on almost EVERY day for 10 years. On days he isn’t on the street, he passes it at an intersection.

And remember, my husband and I were simply in conversation. Our adrenaline wasn’t high. We weren’t on the phone with police. We were just talking.

I wouldn’t put much stock on him not knowing the street name. It happens.

My simple point is I would think a neighborhood watch captain who patrols looking for suspicious activity would know the names of the few streets in his neighborhood.,
Obviously Serino wondered the same thing.

 

[Carlan]

No he isn’t. But these are roads that he has been on almost EVERY day for 10 years. On days he isn’t on the street, he passes it at an intersection.

And remember, my husband and I were simply in conversation. Our adrenaline wasn’t high. We weren’t on the phone with police. We were just talking.

I wouldn’t put much stock on him not knowing the street name. It happens.

Many of us become indifferent to much, and become only concerned with our immediate self and cares,however a man who is captain of a neighborhood watch should have a thorough knowledge of his neighborhood layout, In the zimmernan’s place you only have three streets

 

[scipio337]

Many of us become indifferent to much, and become only concerned with our immediate self and cares,however a man who is captain of a neighborhood watch should have a thorough knowledge of his neighborhood layout, In the zimmernan’s place you only have three streets

Since he didn’t remember the street names during a stressful event, he is quite obviously GUILTY OF MURDER!

I don’t even know why they’re bothering with the whole “2nd degree” bit, or even having the trial at all.

[/sarcasm]