[yorkietalkjilly]

From the public outcry, constant TV coverage and Google carrying the story top of page almost daily, D.C. involvement, everybody expected she would charge - especially since she eschewed a grand jury - no matter what affidavits or police reports said. You wonder if the story were different and Mr. Martin had killed the older watchman, would the public be equally outraged, most network TV news departments so dedicated in carrying it several times an hour and the President speak on the subject. Now we'll see if it is possible for Mr. Zimmerman to get anything like a fair trial. If it turns out Mr. Zimmerman truly stalked Mr. Martin and then killed because a fight ensued that he'd caused, he's probably going to be found guilty but if there is evidence to believe he backed off and the other man instigated, he may not. But from TV and news articles, most legal "experts" really expected her to charge if there were just the slightest doubt of Mr. Zimmerman's story and let the trial process work. From the frank Tweets out there taking bets on how long Mr. Zimmerman will last in jail and the cavalier way the bounty on him is discussed by one and all - even TV commentators, one wonders if he will live long enough to stand trial. I hope there is a way to find out what really likely happened and this man do significant jail time if he really stalked and killed without a real reason since none of us want to see overzealous police wannabe's free to act out their fears & frustrations. But if it happened differently and he was acting judiciously and did kill for fear of his life, I hope there isn't a rush to judgment and a truly innocent man jailed and hated for life.

I know this - neighborhood watch programs will probably suffer as fewer & fewer people will be willing to expose themselves to all of the things that have happened to one of their own as a result of Mr. Martin's killing whether its deemed justifiable or not from the trial. I know I would be scared to death to be a neighborhood watchman without carrying a gun but now I would be just as scared of something happening and being charged with murder if I had to really defend myself where my life/limb were at risk from a would-be weapon-toting robber or something. So probably we'll have fewer neighborhood watch programs even where none carry guns and have to depend more and more on funds-strapped police departments who often have fewer & fewer officers. Hopefully the neighborhood watches won't be affected for too long and once the story dies down, they will regenerate.