Originally Posted By TomSawyer It's all Obama's fault that a fine citizen like Zim is being charged at all.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Second degree is probably the more accurate charge.<< Right. I haven't heard anyone say Zimmerman wanted to kill Treyvon Martin. I think Zimmerman was an overzealous watch "captain" who had fantasies of stopping a crime. When people obsess like that, it messes with their perception and judgment.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>It's all Obama's fault that a fine citizen like Zim is being charged at all.<< Well you know how "they" stick together.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer This is how the system is supposed to work. There's a homicide, the state charges the killer, the killer can then raise his defense in court where the evidence for both sides can be presented. Then a jury can decide whether the homicide was justified and whether the "Make my day" statute applies.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Exactly. And we all may learn things in the course of the trial that we didn't know previously. No one here is saying "fry him" - all we were saying was "try him." Big difference.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer You're right, Dabob. It's funny to see comments from the "law and order" party saying that Zimmerman's explanation of the events was sufficient while the bleeding heart liberals were the ones saying that the courts and a jury should be allowed to look at the evidence to determine how the law should be applied.
Originally Posted By barboy I have mixed feelings about this charge. The charge seems most appropriate given what we know about the incident BUT the only reason the charges were filed is to quell the uprisings.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Huh? The charge is appropriate... but the prosecutor couldn't have investigated and concluded that this charge is appropriate?
Originally Posted By Labuda I am thrilled beyond belief to learn that this will now be in the hands of someone OTHER than the Sanford PD to find out what exactly happened. ...and Zimmerman is pleading not guilty per what I'm reading on npr.org right now. Also on NPR, I'm reading that his attorneys dropped him yesterday... so that's TWICE now that he's had attorneys drop his case, right? Wasn't there one before who dropped him?
Originally Posted By dshyates "Also on NPR, I'm reading that his attorneys dropped him yesterday... so that's TWICE now that he's had attorneys drop his case, right? Wasn't there one before who dropped him?" No. His first attorney was Sonner. Sonner realized he was in over his head and brought in Uhrig. When Uhrig joined the team, some stations mistakenly reported the Sonner was replaced. Anyway, his new lawyer is Mark O'mara.
Originally Posted By 182 I don't think the charge of murder is going to be a good decision . Even the Mother of Trayvon is saying it probably was an accident . <a href="http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-04-12/news/os-trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-charged-jail-20120412_1_face-murder-charges-today-show-accident" target="_blank">http://articles.orlandosentine...accident</a>
Originally Posted By dshyates Let's see, who's legal opinion would you put money on? Trayvon's Mom or the Special Prosecutor from the State Attorney's Office that was appointed by the Republican Governor.
Originally Posted By 182 I think she is over reaching wich is why she will lose if she makes it a Murder 2nd case.
Originally Posted By dshyates Shocking! All of the right wing sites including Sean Hannity are saying that she over reached. So it is no surprise at all that you are parroting their view. I am pretty confident that the Special Prosecutor has her ducks in a row.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer The purpose of the case is to determine the truth of what happened and to determine whether or not the "make my day/stand your ground" law applies in the particular situation. We know for a fact that Zimmerman committed homicide. There's no question about that. But this case asks some particularly tough questions about the stand your ground law that need to be answered and clarified by the courts. Second degree murder is an appropriate charge. Now the court will determine whether Zimmerman's invocation of the "stand your ground" law as a defense is appropriate. If you can commit homicide and not be found guilty because of the stand your ground law then it's open season in Florida. Riots would be the least of your problems.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan What I still can't understand is why some think Trayvon Martin had no right to "stand his ground" armed only with Skittles, while George Zimmerman, who was following Trayvon to begin with, is entitled to "stand his ground" because he had a gun. If Zimmerman calls the cops and stays put, none of this happens. If Zimmerman starts following Trayvon, it makes a confrontation more likely. No matter which way you slice it, I sure can't see Trayvon being at fault in this case whatsoever. But thankfully now the facts can at last be examined in a court of law, so we'll see what comes out.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Shocking! All of the right wing sites including Sean Hannity are saying that she over reached. So it is no surprise at all that you are parroting their view. I am pretty confident that the Special Prosecutor has her ducks in a row.> Yes - let's not forget that although certain details leaked out to the press, not everything did. Corey has more facts about this case than we do. Not only that, but the legal expert I saw last night says that, although everyone's focusing on the second-degree murder charge, Corey was careful to include the "lesser included offense" charge of manslaughter, which can be included in the jury instructions. From CNN: "In addition, although Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder, even if the jury rejects the self-defense claim and believes the killing was homicide, they may choose to convict of a "lesser included offense" such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is still a serious felony, although it carries a lower penalty than murder." So, in other words, the jury could conceivably acquit of second-degree murder if they don't believe the prosecutor has proven that beyond a reasonable doubt, and still convict him of manslaughter.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I wonder how they'll get a jury? Practically everyone in the country has an opinion on this already, especially I would imagine in Florida. Yikes.
