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Will George Zimmerman be Tried for the Murder of Trayvon Martin?
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by Karen Hatter | March 22, 2012 at 08:00 am
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Outrage Over Trayvon Martin Murder by Self Appointed Patroller
sourced by Karen Hatter
On the evening of February 26, 2012, 28 year old George Zimmerman, on a self appointed neighborhood patrol, pursued and killed 17 year old Trayvon Martin as he attempted to return to his father’s home to watch the end of the NBA All Stars game. He was returning from a neighborhood convenience store after purchasing a can of iced tea and a bag of Skittles candy in the small city of Sanford, Florida, population less than 54,000. Sanford is a suburb of Orlando, Florida, approximately 20 miles away.
When Sanford police arrived, George Zimmerman told them he had killed Trayvon Martin in self defense. George Zimmerman is reported to have said he shot Trayvon Martin in the chest. Trayvon Martin is lying face down in the grass. From that point on, the actions of Sanford police, under the leadership of Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, have been called into question.
When Sanford police arrived, Trayvon Martin is lying face down in the grass, dead from a gunshot wound. Acting solely on George Zimmerman’s word that he had a squeaky clean record with police, a claim that was not investigated by the police and later found to be untrue, after a brief detention, Sanford police authorities sent George Zimmerman on his way with his licensed 9mm murder weapon and his permit to carry a concealed weapon still in his possession.
Drug and alcohol tests were performed on the body of Trayvon Martin. However, no drug or alcohol tests were performed on George Zimmerman nor were any forensics tests run on the weapon or George Zimmerman in relation to the murder of Trayvon Martin.
In addition to the can of iced tea and Skittles in Trayvon Martin’s possession at the time of his murder was his cell phone, which he had used minutes before his death. Sanford police did not make use of his cell phone to attempt to contact anyone upon their discovery of Trayvon's body nor after Sanford city morgue personnel took possession of Trayvon Martin’s body. Not until Trayvon’s father Tracy Martin contacted Sanford police regarding his missing son did he receive a visit from them more than twelve hours later. Prior to Sanford police responding to Tracy Martin's inquiry, Trayvon Martin lay in the morgue, tagged as a John Doe, for three days.
The recent release of 911 tapes from the night of Trayvon’s murder, including a tape of the call George Zimmerman made to a 911 dispatcher, reveal the dispatcher advising George Zimmerman not to follow Trayvon. The tapes also reveal that George Zimmerman proclaims, while talking to the dispatcher and pursuing Trayvon that “these assholes” always get away.
The apparent pursuit of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman tends to not support a claim of self defense. The 911 tapes of neighbors' calls, as well as George Zimmerman's call to the dispatcher that evening, were released only after Trayvon Martin's parents sued for their release.
The local community and the entire nation have been outraged that nearly a month after the murder of Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, who has not been seen at his house in the community for some time, has not been held accountable for his actions. As a result of coverage on the internet and social media sites, international interest in the murder of Trayvon Martin is increasing.
The internet website Change.org has been hosting a petition on behalf of Trayvon Martin's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, meant to aid them in their efforts to obtain justice for their son by calling for the arrest and trial of George Zimmerman. To date, the petition has collected over 2 1/4 million signatures.
A statement issued by Change.org notes ....
"People worldwide are shocked by Trayvon's killing, and they're turning to social media like Change.org and Twitter to turn that outrage into action," the statement said.
From the first report of this tragedy, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee has proclaimed that due to what many consider an expansion of the Castle Doctrine, the Stand Your Ground law, with Florida being the first to adopt this controversial law in 2005, he did not have authority to arrest George Zimmerman on probable cause.
Both of the Florida legislators that authored and successfully guided the statute through the legislature have recently stated they believe the statute, in the case of the murder of Trayvon Martin, has been misapplied. Former Florida State Senator Durell Peaden stated that because George Zimmerman ignored the 911 operator’s advice not to follow Trayvon Martin, his action ....
.... disqualifies him from claiming self-defense under the law.
Rep. Dennis Baxley, Peaden's co-sponsor in the Florida House, agrees with his former colleague, telling the newspaper that the law does not license neighborhood watch or others who feel "like they have the authority to pursue and confront people. That is aggravating an incident right there."
It is worth noting that since this statute was instituted seven years ago, cases of individuals killing a second individual, with no eye witnesses to the altercation and the shooter claiming self defense, have tripled.
An unexpected effect of this law's implementation has been that ....
.... many Orlando-area cops reportedly have given up investigating "self-defense" cases as a result, referring them to the overloaded state Attorney's Office for action.
On March 21, 2012, a Sanford city commission vote resulted in a vote of no confidence in Chief Bill Lee for his handling of the investigation, or lack thereof, into the murder of Trayvon Martin. The vote is without authority for the commission to remove Chief Lee from office. Chief Lee could be removed from office by the Sanford City Manager’s office, an option that the city manager, Norton Bonaparte Jr., has stated is on the table.
Will George Zimmerman be charged and tried for the murder of Trayvon Martin or will this ultimately be prosecuted as a case where Trayvon Martin was denied his civil rights, not the prosecution for murder merited in this case?
In an interview on Saturday, March 24, 2012, Daryl Parks, the lead attorney at the firm representing the family of murdered teen Trayvon Martin ....
.... told a group of journalists that after meeting with federal authorities, he doubts the killing will be charged as a federal hate crime.However, he said he's encouraged that the state's investigation of the shooting will lead to criminal charges filed against the gunman, George Zimmerman.
The Florida State Attorney's Office has prepared a subpoena for Trayvon Martin's girlfriend, who was on the phone with him in the moments before the unarmed African American teen was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, to appear in front a grand jury that will be impaneled on April 10 ....
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is also investigating the circumstances surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin. The inquiry is being headed by Assistant Attorney General for civil rights Thomas Perez. The DOJ's focus is on the shooting of Trayvon Martin but, requests have been made to expand their inquiry.
.... as questions continue to emerge about the Sanford police department's handling of this and other racially-charged cases, civil rights leaders have urged the feds to broaden the inquiry to include a civil investigation into possible police wrongdoing.
UPDATE:
Appearing at a press conference with Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr., Chief Bill Lee has announced he will be stepping aside "temporarily" as the investigation into the death of Trayvon Martin continues.
The police chief at the center of a fatal neighborhood watch shooting says he is stepping down temporarily because he has become a distraction.
Governor Rick Scott of Florida has appointed a special prosecutor, State Attorney Angela Corey of Jacksonville, Florida, to investigate the murder of Trayvon Martin. His action is in response to State Attorney Norman Wolfinger of Seminole County, the jurisdictional location for Sanford, Florida, and his decision to remove himself from the process of grand jury selection, with the grand jury scheduled to convene on April 10, 2012.
The appointment came the same day Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee temporarily stepped down amid outrage over his failure to charge George Zimmerman with any crime in the Feb. 26 shooting. Wolfinger said in a letter to Scott he was stepping aside “in the interest of public safety” and to “avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
Staffers for State Attorney Angela Corey told a Florida media affiliate that a grand jury may not be used in this case, with lead prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda saying they would get at the truth, "one way or another."
Jacksonville-based (State Attorney Angela) Corey replaced local prosecutor Norm Wolfinger in the case and WFTV said several sources had confirmed that police had originally recommended manslaughter charges against Zimmerman, but that Wolfinger had not acted on their advice.
Lead prosecutor De la Rionda would not confirm or deny the information provided by WFTV regarding former lead prosecutor Wolfinger's refusal to bring charges in the murder of Trayvon Martin.
While introducing his choice to head the World Bank, Dartmouth President Kim Jim, in the Rose Garden on March 23, 2012, President Obama was asked to comment on the death of Trayvon Martin. During his response, he remarked ....
"I think all of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how does something like this happen," said Obama. "And that means we examine the laws and the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident."
On March 27, 2012, ABC News has reported, citing multiple sources, that the lead investigator on the night of the killing of Trayvon Martin, Investigator Chris Serino, on February 26, 2012, gave a sworn affidavit stating he did not believe George Zimmerman's version of the events surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin. Investigator Serino wanted to charge George Zimmerman with homicide/negligent manslaughter. He was advised by Seminole County Prosecutor Norman Wolfinger not to do so.
While George Zimmerman was in Sanford police custody, ....
Police did not administer a drug and alcohol test or an immediate background check on Zimmerman, although they did both on Martin.The next day, detectives re-enacted the shooting with Zimmerman at the scene. They also discovered Zimmerman had two prior arrests: one for assaulting a cop, the other for domestic abuse.
For the next two weeks, lead investigator Chris Serino pursued a manslaughter charge against Zimmerman.
How could state attorney and county prosecutor Norman Wolfinger possibly make the determination that there was not enough evidence to lead to a conviction of George Zimmerman before law enforcement had collected physical evidence or, even more disturbing, without law enforcement collecting physical evidence from George Zimmerman? Forensics tests were not conducted on George Zimmerman nor was his clothing collected to be examined for any physical evidence.
The decision to disregard the recommendation of the lead in investigator at the scene of the Trayvon Martin murder, Chris Serino, was a collaboration, in person, between Captain Robert O'Connell, at the time of Trayvon Martin's murder, the lead investigations supervisor, who is currently serving as the acting Sanford chief of police, the former Chief of Police Bill Lee, who has temporarily stepped down from his position as head of the Sanford police department and State Attorney Norman Wolfinger, who earlier recused himself, he stated, to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
It is being reported that State Attorney Norman Wolfinger was either at the scene of the Trayvon Martin murder or Sanford police station, it being said that if he were at either location, that act ....
.... would be unusual, according to the source. On a typical case, police contact the state attorney's office and speak with an on duty assistant state attorney; they either discuss the matter by phone or the on duty assistant state attorney comes to the crime scene - but rarely the state attorney him or herself.
Had Mr. Wolfinger not removed himself from the investigation, knowing that he had been at the scene on the night of Trayvon Martin's murder, collaborating and directing the local Sanford police on the scene not to charge George Zimmerman, the appearance of impropriety could not be avoided.
March 28, 2012 - ABC News has obtained exclusive footage of Sanford police surveillance tape of George Zimmerman being escorted by Sanford police into the police station on February 26, 2012, the evening of the murder of Trayvon Martin.
In the video an officer is seen pausing to look at the back of Zimmerman's head, but no abrasions or blood can be seen in the video and he did not check into the emergency room following the police questioning.
There is no blood on George Zimmerman's nose or head visible on the police surveillance tape. Zimmerman is wearing a light colored shirt. There is no visible blood on his shirt that would support the claims of George Zimmerman attorney's that his client was savagely beaten by Trayvon Martin.
March 29, 2012 - During an interview with Washington Post staffers, Tracy Martin, father of slain Trayvon Martin, recalled the night lead investigator Chris Serino came to his home to inform him of the death of his son. Mr. Martin recounted his recollection of the story Mr. Serino relayed as the story George Zimmerman told Sanford police the night Trayvon was murdered.
According to Zimmerman, he had two encounters with Trayvon, the second encounter ending in Trayvon's death. Zimmerman stated that during his first encounter with Trayvon, Trayvon approached his vehicle, asking Zimmerman if he was following him, which Zimmerman denied, rolling up his window. Trayvon is alleged to have walked away.
Sometime after the first exchange, Zimmerman gets out of his truck. As he is walking past a building, the second encounter occurs. Trayvon is alleged to step out from behind a building, asking, "What's you're problem, homie?" Zimmerman responds he doesn't have a problem, to which it is said Trayvon responded, "You do now."
Mr. Martin describes how the detective told him Zimmerman states that after he is hit in the nose and knocked to the ground, Trayvon pins his arms with his knees, begins beating him with one hand, while reaching for Zimmerman's gun with his other hand, which is tucked in his pants waistband.
This account of the second encounter ends when ....
During the beating, Zimmerman pulled his gun and fired one shot at close range into Martin’s chest. “You got me,” the teenager said, falling backward.
If, according to the account of events attributed to Zimmerman, after Zimmerman shot Trayvon, Trayvon fell backward, why was Trayvon's body found lying face down in the grass when Sanford police arrived?
The Sanford Police Department said in a statement Wednesday that it will no longer answer questions from the news media.
With no official comment from Sanford police planned for now, only time will reveal if unnamed police sources will cease leaking information.
Mr. Martin said he was told by Mr. Serino he did not believe Zimmerman's claim of self defense. Mr. Serino gave a sworn affidavit to that effect the night of Trayvon Martin's death, February 26, 2012.
Several of the attorneys representing the parents of Trayvon Martin have stated that the story that has been alleged to be Zimmerman's story conflicts with the time sequence of the 911 call he made to Sanford police, as well as the phone logs of the cell phone call Trayvon was on with his friend identified only as Dee Dee.
Part time Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett has been speaking out on the media maelstrom in which he has found himself after the Trayvon Martin murder brought national focus on his town. He has discussed his struggle with Sanford police over the 911 tapes of the night of Trayvon's murder, with the police being inclined not to make them public. Mayor Triplett said he wanted the parents of Trayvon Martin to hear what had happened on the night their son was killed.
(Mayor) Triplett said he and (Sanford City Manager) Bonaparte became "joined at the hip" at City Hall trying to ascertain the facts surrounding Martin's death and look into accusations about police conduct."My question immediately was the same as everybody else's," Triplett said. "How is there somebody that has been killed, and we can't make an arrest or we didn't make an arrest?"
Triplett had difficulty getting a handle on the case. Information would be relayed only to be corrected, he said, and police were generally reluctant to reveal too much about the investigation.
March 30, 2012 - Family members of George Zimmerman, his brother Robert Zimmerman Jr. and most notably his father, Robert Zimmerman, have begun coming forward, articulating and expanding upon the story that has been attributed to Zimmerman, essentially very similar to the basic information that has been leaked by unofficial police sources.
Robert Zimmerman Jr. appeared on CNN in an interview with Piers Morgan, offering, in the most graphic detail to date, another retelling of George Zimmerman's account of his version of what happened the night of Trayvon Martin's death.
MSNBC is reporting that Craig Sonner, an attorney for George Zimmerman, has stated that Robert Jr., George's brother, has not seen his brother for years and has come forward seeking media attention.
George Zimmerman's father Robert Zimmerman has lashed out at President Obama, the Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP, claiming there has been hatred emanating from all those named. All mentioned in Robert Zimmerman's comments, including President Obama, have called for an investigation into the events that happened to bring about Trayvon Martin's untimely death.
Mr. Zimmerman is a retired magistrate, having served in the state of Virginia, now living approximately a 20 minute car ride away from Sanford in the small Florida town Lake Mary.
"Robert J. Zimmerman served as a full-time magistrate from 2000-2006. Please be advised that in Virginia magistrates are judicial officers, but they are not considered "judges" and do not possess trial jurisdiction. More detailed information on the role of the magistrate in Virginia is available on Virginia's Judicial System Website."
A compelling procedural fact was raised on MSNBC's Politics Nation with Al Sharpton by former Florida prosecutor Ken Padowitz, who was a Homicide Prosecutor with the Broward County States Attorneys office for 16 years. He made note that contrary to the current talking points, because Zimmerman was handcuffed, he had been arrested. Mr. Padowitz stated that under Florida law, there is no way to un-arrest someone.
According to the Florida rules of criminal procedure, IF George Zimmerman is not re-arrested within 175 days of when he was first arrest, he can never be charged in connection with the murder of Trayvon Martin.
The Sanford Police Department report, generated on the evening of the murder of Trayvon Martin, with a time of 19:17, lists a charge of Homicide/Negligent Manslaughter/Unnecessary Killing to Prevent Unlawful Act, which affirms George Zimmerman had indeed been placed under arrest and charged.
This raises the crucial question, since George Zimmerman was initially arrested and charged in the death of Trayvon Martin, under what statute or law was George Zimmerman's initial charge handled?
At no time has it been reported that any charges were dropped in relation to George Zimmerman. Whatever procedural activity is responsible for the release of George Zimmerman, it was orchestrated and overseen by all of the higher officials named here previously, former Police Chief Bill Lee, current acting Police Chief Robert O'Donnell and State Attorney Prosecutor Norman Wolfinger.
It is imperative the arrest of George Zimmerman is made before time runs out for him to ever be charged, as he is the self identified shooter of Trayvon Martin.
March 31, 2012 - Forensics experts, after analyzing copies of the 911 tapes from February 26, 2012 that contain screaming, which George Zimmerman and his surrogates have alleged are his screams and not the screams of Trayvon Martin, have concluded that the screams are not the screams of George Zimmerman.
Tom Owen is a forensic consultant for Owen Forensic Services LLC. He is also chair emeritus for the American Board of Recorded Evidence. He used voice recognition software to arrive at his conclusion.
"I took all of the screams and put those together, and cut out everything else," Owen says.The software compared that audio to Zimmerman's voice. It returned a 48 percent match. Owen said to reach a positive match with audio of this quality, he'd expect higher than 90 percent.
"As a result of that, you can say with reasonable scientific certainty that it's not Zimmerman," Owen says ....
Another forensics expert and audio engineer, Ed Primeau, using human voice enhancement has determined the tone of the voice is of a young man screaming.
April 1, 2012 - The New York Daily News has obtained information that would appear to refute the claims of Robert Zimmerman Jr., the brother of George Zimmerman, who declared during a CNN interview that medical records would support the claims offered by Sanford police by George Zimmerman that he was involved in a life threatening struggle the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
On Friday, the Daily News obtained EMS documents suggesting (George) Zimmerman, who an ex-colleague said was fired from a security job for being too aggressive, did not sustain serious injuries in the fatal encounter.
In London, England, hundreds of protestors gathered outside of the U.S. embassy, demonstrating and demanding justice for Trayvon Martin.
The protest, organised by Campaign 4 Justice, Tottenham Defence Campaign, comedienne Ava Vidal, and supported by Defend the Right to Protest, comes alongside similar demonstrations held in Manchester, UK and in towns across around America.Demonstrators were asked to wear hoodies and bring a packet of skittles, which is what Trayvon Martin was wearing and carrying in his pocket when he was shot.
April 2, 2012 - Attorneys for the family of Trayvon Martin, in a letter written to Roy Austin of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, are asking for an investigation into concerns the attorneys have regarding the impartiality of the Sanford police department during the investigation of the death of Trayvon Martin.
In part, the letter states:
.... "we learned that on the night of February 26, 2012, within hours of the shooting in which Trayvon Martin was killed, Sanford Chief of Police Bill Lee met with State Attorney Norm Wolfinger. We also believe that family members of shooter George Zimmerman were present at the police department."
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (123)
at 08:48 on March 22nd, 2012
BLAME COP-FED FUSION CENTER GESTAPO IN COMMUNITY POLICING KILLING: VETERAN MAINSTREAM MEDIA JOURNALIST VIC LIVINGSTON
http://nowpublic.com/world/blame-cop-fed-fusion-center-gestapo-community-policing-killing
This issue transcends race. Thousands of Americans are being targeted, persecuted, and neutralized, in many cases, unknowingly, because they have been extrajudicially "targeted" -- condemned without benefit of due process as "dissidents," "undesirables," or "pre-criminals." Vigilantism has replaced professional policing in America; the gun slaying of teenager Trayvon Martin by a Sanford, FL "community policing" team leader is but a symptom of the establishment of a fascist, cop-directed and fed-protected vigilante network.
For more, see http://NowPublic.com/scrivener and http://VicLivingston.blogspot.com
at 15:34 on March 22nd, 2012
Scrivener, it can't be emphasized enough that George Zimmerman was SELF APPOINTED, making rounds in the neighborhood on his own mission, a true vigilante.
at 16:23 on March 22nd, 2012
Note, that according to the NAACP's Benjamin Jealous, the local cops knew about and "loved" Zimmerman. I think there is some liability here on the part of the local police leading all the way to the recently sacked Police Chief.
at 16:44 on March 22nd, 2012
I'm not surprised, Peacefrog. From the outside looking in, this strikes me as the kind of guy that is a police wanabee. Most likely, when the local police heard it was George Zimmerman involved in the shooting, they wanted so hard to believe his story, they may have gotten caught up in backing him until those 911 tapes were made public.
After all, it's George's word only as to what occurred between him and Trayvon Martin.
These Stand Your Ground laws, already in 21 states, need to be revisited and fine tuned, if not removed from the books altogether, to assure another tragedy like Trayvon's murder never happens again.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) was on Capitol Hill in Washington as the fallout from Trayvon's murder was occurring, lobbying to get Stand Your Ground fully implemented nationwide.
Source: thinkprogress.org
at 16:55 on March 22nd, 2012
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/neighbor-perfect-storm-led-to-fatal-shooting/6jtos8u
This video shows former neighborhood watch captain, neighbor and friend of Zimmerman, Frank Taaffe. He says that Zimmerman was "mad as hell and wasn't going to take it anymore." This is vigilante language. These are armed, untrained amateurs who are playing cop. This type of behavior is becoming more widespread and the government is complicit:
In 1981, national data showed that 12 percent of the population was involved in some type of neighborhood watch group (O'Keefe and Mendelsohn, 1984). By 1988, it was estimated that between seven and 20 percent of residents of U.S. cities were involved in such activities (Rosenbaum, 1988). A national study (Whitaker, 1986) showed that 38 percent of households in neighborhoods that had a Neighborhood Watch program participated in the program. This study concluded that urban areas were more likely to have programs than suburban or rural areas, but that people living in the latter were likely to be involved in a program if one was organized.
full link:
http://www.usaonwatch.org/about/neighborhoodwatch.aspx?
at 17:07 on March 22nd, 2012
This is indeed an increasingly dangerous reality. Local U.S. law enforcement, although most often giving lip service to abhorring this type of action, as in self appointed neighborhood patrols roaming their neighborhoods, has always looked the other way when certain groups took law into their own hands.
Thank you, Peacefrog, for the links.
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Elizabeth Blandra (not verified)at 07:23 on March 23rd, 2012
I agree with PeaceFrog's comment. Ben Jealous also said, "And then, you know, finally, the people who have a connection to this department—be it formal, be it social—are given wide dispensation, even when they kill people." (www.democracynow.org/2012/3/22/naacps_ben_jealous_justice_for_trayvon)
at 05:40 on March 27th, 2012
Elizabeth, it is that 'connection' George Zimmerman has with the Sanford police force that taints any perception of non bias on their part during this investigation, which has been more than exemplified by the Sanford police not doing basic forensics at the scene of the murder, assuring that very crucial evidence has been lost in the process.
It can be conjectured that that indeed was their intent given all that was NOT done would be in the Police Handbook 101 of how to process a crime scene.
There seems to be some bizarre disconnect in reality with this murder that has allowed for dismissal of standard police procedure of handling a scene where a dead body is found, as if as soon as George Zimmerman claimed self defense, no investigation was required.
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Church Lady (not verified)at 14:20 on March 26th, 2012
I hope that Zimmerman sings like a stuck pig about the details of the nationwide gangstalking program run by the secret police via their local police brownnoses.
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an anonymous comment (not verified)at 12:06 on March 22nd, 2012
Scrivener is right about this.========== www.nowpublic.com/world/gang-stalking-captain-neighborhood-watch-program-murders-teen
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Elizabeth Blandra (not verified)at 12:19 on March 22nd, 2012
Karen,------Thanks for the update on Chief Bill Lee and for your article. My heart goes out to the Martin family and Trayvon's other relatives and friends. May justice be served. To date, 1,077,795 people have signed the petition at change.org.
at 12:25 on March 22nd, 2012
You are welcome, Elizabeth and thank you for taking time to read my article.
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verta,leon,anthony ,stephanie,stella ,evette session family (not verified)at 15:02 on March 22nd, 2012
to the family of trayvon martin, we are so sorry our hearts are so sad :( in the usa our justice department is a tool for rightand wrong,equalizing the disparities between the rich and the poor,leveling the playing field between the powerful and the powerless a place where people are treated with dignity, respect,and a sense of urgeny..".make your requests known to god"we will pray for you god bless,,,,
at 10:51 on March 30th, 2012
I pray your faith is borne out, Session family.
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myname (not verified)at 13:10 on March 24th, 2012
Who says unproven?
Unwarranted, unlawful, immoral, unethical, uncalled for.
An unarmed teenager aggressively *stalked* confronted and killed by a much larger armed vigilante.
Murder.
Plain and simple.
at 08:10 on March 26th, 2012
Trayvon Martin is visiting his father in a gated community in a Florida suburb. Upon returning from a local store, it begins to rain. For a brief period of time, he seeks shelter near the clubhouse located in the community. Some time later, he pulls his hoodie up on his head and continues walking to his father's home.
He notices someone unknown to him following him in a truck. When the street winding through the community becomes too narrow for the truck to continue, the unknown man gets out of the truck and begins to follow him. Trayvon mentions this to his friend on the phone while he is trying to evade this stranger. At some point, this unknown man catches up to Trayvon and confronts him.
As heated debate continues to be heard regarding the murder of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman's claim of self defense, weigh how the most elemental facts of the events that unfolded support any form of resistance unarmed Trayvon Martin may have used in his effort to defend his life against a stranger with a 9mm gun.
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American decline (not verified)at 14:23 on March 26th, 2012
Gangstalker vigilantes usually work in pairs (to protect their sorry a$$es and have someone to bear false witness against the stalked victim). The Feds should look for Zimmerman's partner.
at 15:42 on March 26th, 2012
The law is going to look at who escalated this from words to blows.
Is there a reason this is omitted from the story?
A man who witnessed part of the altercation contacted authorities.
"The guy on the bottom, who had a red sweater on, was yelling to me, 'Help! Help!' and I told him to stop, and I was calling 911," said the witness, who asked to be identified only by his first name, John.
John said he locked his patio door, ran upstairs and heard at least one gun shot.
"And then, when I got upstairs and looked down, the guy who was on the top beating up the other guy, was the one laying in the grass, and I believe he was dead at that point."
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/seminole_news/022712-man-shot-and-killed-in-neighborhood-altercation#ixzz1qGjlhUSc
My personal opinion is that Zimmerman was a racist a******, a bully with deep seated insecurities who lived out his psychopathic fantasies of being a cop with this neighborhood watch stuff. The law will look at this as they should, though, that because someone follows you and asks you what you are doing in the neighborhood does not allow you to knock them down and beat them senseless, and we have an eyewitness testifying to that and further evidence of the police reporting Zimmerman was bleeding from the face and back of his head and had grass stains on the back of his shirt. Zimmerman feared for his life and acted in self defense with a gun he was carrying legally.
Again this is a sad situation and Zimmerman was probably getting the butt kicking he'd been looking for for years- but the law doesn't let you do that unless he hits you first and there are at this time no eyewitnesses to that part of the story, just the eyewitness to the above- which clearly does not show Martin acting in self defense!
This is a very controversial, emotionally charged issue, forget your feelings and look at the legalities pertaining to their actions.
at 21:13 on March 26th, 2012
The story the Sanford police, Zimmerman's attorney, his supporters and the one witness are peddling does not gel with the 911 tapes nor does it jive with the phone records of the call Trayvon Martin was on when his phone got cut off.
The ear witness to events moments before the confrontation puts the time of Trayvon's death within a minute or so after the ear witness hears Zimmerman confront Trayvon. The police records show that the police that were sent BY the dispatcher who told Zimmerman 'we don't need you to' follow Trayvon arrived one minute after the call Trayvon was on ended.
The Sanford police department have a bizarre, far too comfortable relationship with Zimmerman, so much so that he was allowed to tape off the crime scene.
Any and all accounts offered by Zimmerman's supporters and the Sanford law enforcement officials must be taken with an ocean of salt.
As I said above, Trayvon is approached by some strange man interrogating him why he is in the neighborhood WHERE HE BELONGS. Zimmerman has no authority to confront this boy and was told not to by the police dispatcher.
Since Zimmerman and his supporters are doing their best to pretend that his version of this murder and the events surrounding the murder are THE version of events does NOT make HIS version of events the truth of what transpired.
It is TRAYVON who surely felt threatened and his life in danger since ZIMMERMAN HAD A 9MM GUN.
The legalities of this are that the Sanford police were derelict in their duty and botched the handling of this case, confident that they would get away with it. Now, they have to manufacture a cover story for the reckless disregard for what is considered by most standard police procedure.
So far, there have been no photos of these alleged wounds that were suffered by Zimmerman. No record of him being treated for the alleged broken nose. No evidence from his person, like WHOSE blood was on him, his or Trayvon's, was ever ascertained by the Sanford police. Where is the clothing he wore the night he murdered Trayvon?
So, all we're left with is a SECOND police report, written an hour after the FIRST police report generated by the Sanford police, which now mentions the 'injuries' alleged to be on Zimmerman's person, describing his clothing and one witness, whose statements appear to directly contradict at least three other witnesses' accounts.
Source: nytimes.com
at 21:44 on March 26th, 2012
1. Karen, I furnished you a quote with a link to its source.
Who are you accusing of lying to dispute it, the eyewitness or the source? That eyewitness IS one of the 911 callers and the 911 call all but states exactly what he is reaffirming in that followup statement.
2. None of the "earwitnesses" saw who had the upper hand in the fight nor who was actually screaming. The fact is if you listen to Zimmerman's voice in his 911 call, his voice sounds rather effeminate for a grown man.
In any case it's in the police report that Zimmerman was bleeding from wounds in the face and the back if his head and had grass stains on the back of his shirt.
It is confirmed by (what appears to be) the sole eyewitness to the actual fight, which cannot be contradicted by "ear"witness accounts. While I will agree with you it would be better had the police been more thorough about evidence gathering, your speculatory allegations about a police coverup for Zimmerman are just that and unless you can support them with actual evidence, are not going to be considered by any jury. Or me.
3. It is TRAYVON who surely felt threatened and his life in danger since ZIMMERMAN HAD A 9MM GUN.
Sheer speculation that Zimmerman ever revealed he was armed. And absurd to even think that Martin sees a man with a gun then, unarmed, rushes to attack him.
But if you will believe Zimmerman would confront a young man, then beat him until he was screaming, then for some bizarre reason shoot him while having the upper hand in a fight, All of which right after Zimmerman himself called the police and knew they were on the way, I guess you'll believe anything.
4. Despite your portrayal of Martin as someone who "belonged" in the neighborhood, he was there visiting his father at his father's fiance's house. Martin didn't live there. Martin's father didn't even live there. In fact this was many miles from Martin's actual residence, and on a school night. Why was that? Well he was on a ten day suspension from school, which his parents say the reason was "unimportant". I bet they think so. It wasn't the first time though.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/report-says-police-reveal-details-of-george-zimmermans-account-of-trayvon/1222087
The Miami Herald reported Monday that Trayvon Martin had been suspended three times.
The Herald said it had obtained a Miami-Dade Schools Police report showing that on Oct. 21, staffers monitoring a security camera at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School spotted Martin and two other students writing "W.T.F.," an acronym for "what the f---," on a hallway locker. A security employee who knew Martin confronted the teen and looked through his bag for the graffiti marker.
According to the Herald, the police report said that Martin's backpack contained 12 pieces of jewelry, in addition to a watch and a large flathead screwdriver, which was described as a burglary tool in the report.
Martin was asked whether the jewelry, which was mostly women's rings and earrings, belonged to his family or a girlfriend. "Martin replied, 'It's not mine. A friend gave it to me,' " the Herald quoted the report as saying. Martin declined to name the friend.
School police impounded the jewelry and sent photos of the items to detectives at Miami-Dade police for further investigation. "Martin was suspended, warned and dismissed for the graffiti," according to the report prepared by the Miami-Dade Schools Police.
Is the Miami Herald part of the grand conspiracy to cover up for George Zimmerman too?
What is it being sought by wrongfully pillorying George Zimmerman for all the (many)real and (a few)imagined ills against Blacks in America? If it's respect, it's going to fall short of expectations.
at 04:07 on March 27th, 2012
As I stated, due to past misconduct and shoddy handling of cases the Sanford police did not pursue using professionalism, with ALL of the alleged information you state emanating from UNIDENTIFIED police sources, any and ALL information being leaked in this manner can not and SHOULD not be considered reliable OR truthful.
The information about the jewelry and the rest has NOTHING to do with Zimmerman stalking Trayvon Martin and murdering him and is provided merely to attempt to cloud the issue and employ standard police tactics of victimizing the victim to justify an outcome of which the police approve or seek as THEIR narrative.
To that point, Sanford police have refused to take full statements from the two women who lived in the home where Trayvon died outside behind their property. They stated they went out onto their porch, called out and asked Zimmerman was everything alright. They saw Zimmerman kneeling astride Trayvon as he lay face down in the grass.
After the murder, they continued to call the police to followup and provide full statements of what they observed for several minutes of Zimmerman's behavior. They report the police were not interested in hearing what transpired behind their home.
Maybe the Justice Department will get to the bottom of what minimally may be serious police misconduct and at it's worse, police corruption. It wouldn't be the first time local police in a small Southern town did their dirt in total darkness, with the usual outcome being segments of the community being terrorized by them.
In all likelihood, George Zimmerman will never be charged with or tried for murder. If there is any attempt at an outcome of perceived justice, Zimmerman will be charged with some form of manslaughter of a lesser degree.
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Elizabeth Blandra (not verified)at 04:27 on March 27th, 2012
Very well said, Karen.
at 05:13 on March 27th, 2012
My thanks again, Elizabeth.
at 11:18 on March 27th, 2012
You must think people are stupid.
This is what you get when you CREATE racist tensions, for whatever reason you're doing this:
http://www.bangstyle.com/2012/03/boy-13-set-on-fire/
Proud of yourself?
at 12:27 on March 27th, 2012
Whatever your personal issue is, you need to address it, batvette.
My posted article does not name the race of either Trayvon Martin nor his killer, George Zimmerman.
I am not responsible for the actions of racial profiling exhibited by George Zimmerman or the racial tension that has been created by the Sanford police department and the Seminole County prosecutor's office for their blatant disregard for proper procedure and the mishandling of the murder of Trayvon Martin as local Sanford police decided, at the murder scene, not to gather evidence at the murder scene and Mr. Wolfinger, the Seminole County prosecutor declined to press charges of manslaughter, as alleged by another one of those unknown police sources.
I have not stated anything that has not already been opined and observed by many others in numerous venues in print news, on television and on the internet.
at 13:50 on March 27th, 2012
It's not my "personal issue" that drives your complete lack of objectivity on this matter, and the fact that "others are doing it too" does not excuse what amounts to a lynching of George Zimmerman in the internet media by those seeking to right all manner of social injustices using him for a scapegoat.
The story has become so distorted and laughably skewed mostly by people willfully ignoring pertinent details, you take it a whole step further and think that any pertinent details that are presented to you from well sourced, legitimate media sites, can be wholly dismissed if you can in some way link them to some imaginary racist conspiracy in the Sanford PD.
It's as if everywhere you look, all you see are "white devils"
Karen, what you are you positing is that George Zimmerman pursued Trayvor Martin, with 9/11 dispatchers on the phone listening, asked for police to come meet him at the scene, then on his own free will, proceeded to beat Trayvor Martin, then shoot and kill him, (knowing police were right around the corner) all merely because he didn't like blacks.
That's the story you're selling, excuse the heck out of me for saying it's just silly.
at 19:48 on March 30th, 2012
You are confused, batvette.
Any and all discussion regarding George Zimmerman and the murder of Trayvon Martin has centered around 911 tapes from Sanford police and police reports, with those commenting highlighting what has amounted to troublesome discrepancies, to put it mildly, when compared to leaked police reports, which have been leaked by unnamed, alleged UNofficial police sources.
This perplexing turn of events makes sense when viewed from the perspective that since no charges were filed in the Trayvon Martin murder because, according to the police chief at the time, Bill Lee and because George Zimmerman claimed self defense, the chief claimed he couldn't charge George Zimmerman.
That being said, the police have been forced to rely heavily on Zimmerman's claim since they so mismanaged the handling of possible forensic evidence in this case, giving more weight to his story and of course, Trayvon has no voice to tell his side of the story.
The only strategy that has been offered to attempt to refute the glaring incongruities has been to send surrogates for George Zimmerman to do interviews, by telling his side of the story, which it must be assumed they have been told by George Zimmerman since no one else was there watching the entire struggle, with his father and brother giving detailed information, information of which they have no personal, independent knowledge other than the word of George Zimmerman.
Upon the release of the tapes and Zimmerman's alleged story, according to leaked police reports, once out in the public domain, it is fair game for commentary.
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an anonymous comment (not verified)at 04:20 on March 27th, 2012
I intended to recommend your comment, Karen and clicked on batvette's accidentally. I'm adding this comment because I disagree with batvette's analysis. Time will tell, though it seems pretty clear to many people, now.
at 05:18 on March 27th, 2012
Thank you anyway for your effort. All is well as long as you were able to recommend the comment you intended afterward! : )
at 05:31 on March 27th, 2012
Trayvon DID belong in the neighborhood since he was visiting someone who knew him who resided there, his father's fiancee AND it has been reported that Trayvon's father lived there.
Whether or not Trayvon's father resided at the fiancee's address IS of no relevance. Trayvon was visiting there and was KNOWN to the individuals that were KNOWN to be associated with the house, both his father AND his fiancee, on the night he was murdered by George Zimmerman, both of whom should have anticipated his return from the store.
Even if Trayvon did NOT know anyone in the neighborhood, NO ONE IN AMERICA IS PRECLUDED FROM BEING IN AND WALKING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD IN WHICH THEY DO NOT RESIDE.
Trayvon was profiled by George Zimmerman for walking while Black, pure and simple, an action he had done on dozens of occasions in the past.