by mouthy 480 Replies latest social current
Srsly,
Robt. Zim, Jr. brother of Geo., is forging a media career as spokesman for the family, vilifying the deceased Trayvon Martin:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/14/robert-zimmerman-jr_n_3593739.html
Also, Geo. Zim's attorneys are piling on and even yukking it up, enjoying the media spotlight:
Speculation is, (and not too far-fetched) is that GZ will have a soft landing as a well-paid speaker for the NRA.
Well, you didn't think he was going to fade into the woodwork, did you?
The NRA won't touch Zimmer. He's a Democrat anyway.
Martin was a punk kid.
Redundant.
Bizzy he has every right to talk to the media and counter the disgusting lies and threats coming from the TM camp. I think he has been doing a good job and has been respectful.
Some things need to be corrected and some asses kicked over this whole thing. I wish the GZ team every success standing up for justice and good practices.
I think GZ just wants a quiet life but as a US citizen isnt he entitled to do whatever he wants? Or are people like you the US Taliban now to tell us all who is deemed 'righteous'
Movies and a book. Maybe, even a series. Wonder who will play zimmerman.
S
Why this case was a failure from the first charges laid to its ending final outcome.....
Reason No. 1 – Bungled Charges. It is hard to win on any case when the legal claims aren’t the right ones that should have been brought. The Zimmerman prosecution team charged Zimmerman with second-degree felony murder. In Florida, to prove murder, Prosecutors had to show that Zimmerman killed Trayvon “knowingly” or “recklessly” – meaning that he knew that what he was doing would result in Trayvon’s death, or should have known, but disregarded the risk. First-degree murder is “premeditated,” or “planned” murder. Second-degree murder does not require planning, but knowledge that the actions taken will result in death of another. As evident from the considerable amount of information gathered on the crime since it occurred, the killing appeared to be accidental – not premeditated, planned, knowing, or even “reckless.” From all accounts, the shooting probably resulted after Zimmerman pursued Trayvon with a loaded firearm, resulting in a fight that started when Trayvon confronted him. The fight appeared to have escalated, and Zimmerman, for unknown, likely panicked, purportedly believing his “life was in danger,” and then shot Trayvon. Zimmerman maintained the shooting was in self-defense. This was clearly an accidental death – but a death no less. What Prosecutors should have charged Zimmerman with was “Manslaughter with Culpable Negligence” – a unique crime in Florida that occurs when an individual is “culpably negligent” resulting in the death of another. Carrying a gun in a quiet suburban neighborhood stalking teenagers wearing a hoodie was irresponsible and negligent. Continuing to stalk the teenager after being told by police dispatch not to was negligent. Starting a fight with an unarmed teenager was negligent, and shooting a weapon at an unarmed teenager was negligent. Why the Prosecution did not prosecute Zimmerman for an involuntary manslaughter, rather than murder, we may never know. The Judge, although allowing the jury to consider voluntary manslaughter as a lesser charge, did not allow the jurors to consider involuntary manslaughter.
Reason No. 2 – Wrong Jury Instructions. Because a far more difficult-to-prove crime had been brought against Zimmerman than what actually supported by the facts, the jury instructions given to the jury were equally incorrect in reflecting what probably happened that night. The jurors were instructed that, in order to find Zimmerman guilty of second-degree murder, they had to find that he acted “with a depraved mind and regard for human life” and “done from ill will, hatred, spite, or evil intent, or “an indifference to human life.” If the death was accidental and resulting from an escalated fight gone wrong, none of these things could ever have been proven, because obviously, neither Zimmerman nor Trayvon intended hurt anyone that night. It is thus not surprising that the jury acquitted Zimmerman of second degree murder. To prove manslaughter, they had to find that he had an “intent to cause death” – again, something that was not supported by the evidence. The problem is that bringing a firearm into a fight necessarily turns a fight into a case of life or death, with both parties involved in the fight believing that if they do not defend themselves or escape, they could be killed – and that was a doing of Zimmerman’s creation.
Reason No. 3 – Prosecution Case Way Too Long. Another mistake that contributed to the breakdown of the jury verdict in the Zimmerman trial was the sheer length of the prosecution’s case. Long speeches and presentations, by their nature, tend to be unfocused, causing those subjected to them to lose focus. The average individual has an attention span of 15 minutes. In the Zimmerman trial, the prosecution’s case involved 39 witnesses over a span of 9 days, which is roughly 4 – 5 witnesses per day – a huge number of witnesses per day and in total, making it difficult for anyone to keep track of testimony. In the average trial, it is extremely easy to lose focus of who said what, and what matters among each witness’s testimony. Even after just 3 or 4 witnesses, testimonies all seem to blend together. For the defense, however, it was half that -- 18 witnesses over 4 days. There were much fewer stories to keep track of, with far fewer days drawn out over the course of the defense’s case. As with all things, too much background noise drowns out the testimony that really matters. The prosecution should have spent far greater time focusing its case on the facts that were truly significant or witnesses that offered truly compelling testimony. In the legal world, a successful prosecution usually occurs through 3 – 4 key blows, not death by a thousand cuts. Too many witnesses with too many facts can sometimes lead jurors or a Court to believe that the real smoking-gun facts or evidence simply does not exist. They were right – in this case, it didn’t. Many individuals and families across America were left, at the end of the trial, feeling as though there was not much discovered in the near 18 months since the accident than what was known immediately.
Reason No. 4 – Too Many Unhelpful Witnesses. The Prosecution not only drowned out important facts by presenting too many of them, there were too many witnesses, some of which were barely helpful, others of which were actually unhelpful to the case. Rather than providing key details about what transpired between Zimmerman and Trayvon, the Prosecution’s “star” witness Rachel Jeantel, the last person to have communicated with Trayvon on his cell phone with him when the alteration with Zimmerman occurred, apparently left both jurors and the public significantly underwhelmed, and slightly offended . Then there was the “changing testimony” of the medical examiner, Dr. Shiping Bao, whose testimony served as another distraction after it was revealed he changed his opinions but failed to tell the prosecution. Again, too many witnesses can de-rail a strong case. Successful cases often have three or four themes, at the most, that are supported by several key witnesses. Superfluous witnesses that are pushed on stage and then walked across off too quickly, offering little useful testimony, can serve as an unhelpful distraction.
Reason No. 5 – Short-Sighted Closing Arguments. The closing arguments in the Zimmerman case were equally off-mark. The prosecutor, though obviously seasoned and passionate about the case, focused too much on Zimmerman killing Martin “because he wanted to” or the details about Zimmerman’s intent to commit murder. It is very hard to prove intent – in any case. Without actual hard evidence proving that Zimmerman intended to kill Trayvon, any murder charge was doomed from the get-go. The closing arguments should have focused on the big-picture principles: that it is socially unacceptable to allow an armed man to pick a fight with an unarmed teenager, shoot him dead, and then claim it was done in self-defense. Not only was Zimmerman’s position not actually believable, it shouldn’t be believable because it should not be acceptable in our society to initiate a physically violent altercation, and contribute to the commission of a killing that occurs as a result, and then somehow entirely avoid accountability for those acts.
Yes, they have every right to speak to the media. It is not illegal.
But they all might be a little more circumspect and a little less avaricious. Perhaps not quite so anxious to dance on the grave of a 17 year old boy. A quiet celebration of Georgie's victory over an unarmed boy would be more appropriate.
The prosecution stated believing their own spin, lies and racist propaganda.
I think the fact that the prosecution's witnesses helped the defense demonstrates what a complete "non-case" they had.
It should never have been brought to trial.
They are hardly doing "whoops". I wonder what the Crump's of this world would be doing now if the prosecution had won?
The NRA won't touch Zimmer. He's a Democrat anyway.
Watch for that to change.
