Zimmerman acquitted
 

Zimmerman was found not guilty. Jury asked about manslaughter but was set free.

Was manslaughter one of their options on the table? Or was 2nd degree the only option?

I thought he'd get manslaughter, for sure. Although, someone was telling me that in FL, the sentencing for manslaughter is worse than it is for 2nd degree...which makes no sense.

Wikipedia makes it sound like the sentencing is worse for manslaughter, but a Florida lawyer's website lists this:

The news here said that the jury was advised that they could also consider manslaughter, even though it wasn't on the list of charges brought against him.

Sometime late yesterday afternoon, the jury came back and asked for clarification regarding manslaughter laws, so it looks like they did consider it.

I am disgusted beyond belief by this so-called "justice" system.

[quote=KazzyK810;4269616]I am disgusted beyond belief by this so-called "justice" system.
DITTO!

Interesting, thank you for posting this...I thought it had to untrue bc it just wasn't making any sense to me!

I listen to the verdict on CNN last night - sounds like the jury just did not have enough evidence to convict because there were no witnesses.

Mind boggling...all of it. Zimmerman will have no life now and quite frankly I don't believe he deserves one. He stalked that kid (with a gun on his person) and killed him. He disregarded the 911 operator who told him not to follow that kid. He DID profile...that was so clear in his words.

We have the best criminal justice system in the world, but it is not perfect.

I hope that this case makes people re-evaluate these insane laws that have been created to protect murderers. We have the same thing here in Texas. I get that people have a right to defend themselves, but the point is that Zimmerman would not have had to "defend himself" if he had not been stalking that kid. But...case closed...the jury has spoken.

Rest in Peace Trayvon

If you watched the video of Zimmerman saying how it went he didn't continue to follow Trayvon he was looking for a street sign and address to tell the operator and had no idea where Trayvon had gone. The teen had drugs in his system and had a history of drugs so he could have honestly been up to no good. I mean who walks around in the rain to the store and then just casually stands in a neighborhood that is not his just looking around in the rain. I think maybe both Trayvon and Zimmerman did wrong things. I think if he had wanted to just kill him he would have not called the police and not talked to the police with out a lawyer. I think this whole thing got out of control and people wanted to blame it on a black vs. white thing when he is not even white. I am happy with the outcome I do not think it was murder and I do not think there was enough evidence to prove it was.

I didn't watch the trial itself but coverage in the evenings at times. More and more it seems like juries these days in very high-profile criminal cases do require a CSI-like rock-solid type proof beyond a reasonable doubt before they are willing to convict and many of the more respected lawyers without an agenda didn't seem to think the State had a very strong case or evidence that couldn't be interpreted either way. A lot of them and even TV news reporters said the prosecution witnesses seemed to be testifying for the defense at times and I did see some of their re-run bits of testimony and it did seem that way sometimes. Still, I was surprised at acquittal. I'd thought the jury might have gone for manslaughter just based on all the media and social pressure.

This is a hot topic....I have been attacked by a "child" that was also in a black hoodie, at night, IN MY YARD.....I KNOW that fear!!...I WISH Zimmerman would have been there to help ME. The "child" that jumped me is lucky I was just coming from my garage and did not have my weapon on me, or he too would have been shot. Where is all the uproar for all the actually innocent kids that are killed in their OWN yards, playing in the parks, sleeping in their beds, sitting on the streets in front of their homes, up in Detroit? Thank God the law actually does protect people that are attacked, and assaulted and battered, and NOT just people of color, but also "white" people....Zimmerman broke NO law....he is "hired" to patrol the neighborhood as a member of a neighborhood watch program....he did NOTHING illegal. I hope all the history that surrounds this "child" now comes out...he is NOT the sweet little innocent "child" he has been portrayed to be. He has a history! He may not have been selling dope, or smoking dope, or brandishing his own gun, or fencing stolen booty gained from break ins, or actually breaking into houses at the moment he was seen by Zimmerman, but this is not an innocent little "child". All the kids being killed on our streets, on a daily basis, caught in cross fire by gang bangers....those are the ones people should be all in a knot over.

But THAT is NOT justice...that is delivering a sentence based NOT on the evidence presented, but by mob reaction to the event. If this country ever reaches a point where we revert to hanging people because a riled up mob is demanding NOT justice, but revenge, then we are back to the days of Tombstone and the wild West. Thank God the jury was sequestered and was not knowledgablh of all the media bias and social pressure. They based their decision strictly on the evidence as it was given to them.

I heard the original call he made and THAT is what I base my opinions on...not what he reenacted later.

Bottom line is it is over..the jury has spoken. Each of us has an opinion, but it matters not.

The poor kid did not deserve to die because he *maybe* broke a nose. My son was jumped one night many many years ago...had he killed the people who did it, I would have been horrified, and he looked a whole heck of a lot worse than Zimmerman. I am not a huge gun advocate for just this reason...too easy for people if you ask me. I hope that the laws are changed and made more clear. Tragic.

Isn't Florida the same state that let the mom off who killed her daughter????

The same. And the woman who is rumored to be pregnant again.

I think this case was big because it people started to say it was about race. Apart of me really think it was because the only reason Treyvon was killed was because he didn't fit the description of the area. It's sad because a child was killed be a grown man because he assumed he was doing something wrong. I don't not believe that he was going to go look for an address. How do you live in a area for three years and always walk the area but have no clue of what the address is? If only he would have stayed in his car and left Treyvon alone he would still be here today. I think our justice system is full of it and its not right.

Even the Prosocuter said we have the best Justic system in the world and we do go hang out in some other country's and you will know how great our judicial system is. I lived in my parents neighborhood for over 10 years and didn't know which streets where which. Trayvon had drugs in his system try not to forget that so he was also far from perfect.

If only Trevon would have walked up to Zimmerman and introduced himself, explained he was on his way home, and lost the beligerant attitude, Trevon would be here today. This "child" was almost 6 feet tall...he was not a little 4 foot tall kid....it was not evident this was a "child", although there are alot of people killed by "children" just this age.....we have a bunch of them vandalizing cars in this area....they have been caught on security cameras, and they too, are just a "child"....toting crow bars and guns, breaking into cars and vandalizing property. And THESE kids are looking like kids...their heads do not even clear the roof of an SUV!!! Kind of like the "child" that set fire to our elementary school last year....not once but twice! A "child" can be deadly....

I think it was the right decision.

I was worried that the jury would be swayed by their fear of public reaction. When I first heard about the case I wasn't sure what to think. They were showing the pic of a kid who looked 12. This guy was 17 and far from the innocent looking kid that they tried to make everyone believe was the one who was killed. Still oesn't mean he deserved to die. I think a lot of 17 yr olds are little punks and think they know better, doesn't mean they're bad people, or deserved to get shot.

Zimmerman wasn't the one using racial slurs -- Martin was. Zimmerman had injuries that backed up what he said happened. The girl who said she was on the phone with Martin was revealed to have lied about what she heard AND about writing out what happened.



So even if you think he is guilty, there was definitely enough evidence brought forward to have enough reasonable doubt that he shouldn't have been charged with anything. I think Zimmerman probably should've chosen to do things differently, I think him carrying a gun was a bit much (but it WAS his legal right) and was probably too quick to pull the trigger. But nothing that he did adds up to 'murder'. But I do not think he deserved to spend the rest of his life in jail. And I think the jury made the right decision.

I agree with Brit and Yorkiemom. The system isn't perfect, but I think the charges they tried him on were too harsh, just like Casey Anthony. Too harsh of charges and it's that reasonable doubt. If there's even one bit, you can't convict. Come on even OJ was acquitted. That's how our system works, on high profile cases at least it seems. Lots of times the lower courts will bully people into taking plea deals, essentially admitting guilt, even tho they haven't proved they did anything, bc they don't want to go thru the system, and are afraid that they will get even worse punishment. I think tha'ts so wrong. But in this case, he went thru the system and was not convicted of anything.

However, he still won't have his life back. How can he go to the market, work, etc without people still judging him even tho he is supposed to be free and clear? The court found him not guilty of anything, yet his life will not go back to normal at all. Theoretically, couldn't he even sue for mental anguish or something? Remember the police didn't even arrest him at first. It wasn't until the community started showing the "mob mentality" that the police were pressured to do so.

I just think if it were MY neighborhood, and there had been a rash of break ins, and the suspects looked like Martin, what would I do? I know I would have wished there was someone in my neighborhood that cared enough to patrol, bc I know when we call the cops they take eons to show up! And I know I wouldn't approach someone suspicious myself.

Or what if someone attacked you, your mom, your kid, etc, wouldn't you try to protect them and yourself? How do I know if the attacker isn't on PCP or something? I don't. And turns out he did have drugs in his system.

Yup. 17 years old and almost 6 feet tall and they keep saying child. Yet there are gangbangers who are 14 and they try them as adults. Makes no sense.

OMG are you serious! Who would go near that evil little elf?!

:thumbup::thumbup:

I do know that if a teenage girl - even one smaller and younger than me - was doing that to my face and head and I had protection, I would use it. I'd be scared silly and fearing I'd be dead or a vegetable within 30 seconds. That star ?Natasha Richardson? died from an epidural hematoma after only a fall at a ski resort lesson I think and I don't think she even broke the skin on her head at all. But didn't they say she had a thin skull or a weak blood vessel in the brain or something? When your head is being banged, you might not have much time to react in order to save your life or your brain function.

That is the lady I was talking about....I dont know about her "thin skull" or "weak blood vessel" but I see elderly people admitted to the hospital at least 2 a week, with bleeding into their brains from falling in the house, or slipping outside and hitting their head on THE CONCRETE....all they have is a small contusion on their head, and they end up with bleeding into their brain, requiring surgery to keep them from dying. Football players in HIGH SCHOOL football games, with helmets on their heads, sustain bleeding in the brain after they get tackled on the field, with all that protective gear on, and drop on the sidelines or in the locker rooms....I can not believe no one jumped on that! People that have never been jumpe4d and attacked, and had someone that is NOT their friend, sitting on toip of them, threatening them....you have NO idea what fear is!!!! You can NOT say Zimmerman was not afraid of that 6 foot, 160# "child" telling him he "was going to die tonight".

Yes, indeed.

I have to agree with you all, that is Trevon had said to George, I am visiting my dad, etc, etc. But he didn't. I also believe that if Trevon had received help about 3 years ago, he may still be here with us today. He has a record of breaking and entering, stealing, drugs, and trouble in school. From what I am hearing, the school tried to cover up some of the things he did, because the school had a bad record already, and they didn't need any more trouble. He was found with stolen jewerly, that they didn't tell the police about, instead the teacher that caught him, told the cops, it was "just" found on the school grounds. It sounds like he was starting to turn bad about 3-4 years ago, and instead of getting him help, they turned their heads the other way. And far as kid? He definately was not a "kid" He was under 18, but not a kid. Had to put my 2 cents in..

:thumbup::thumbup:This is exactly what I think