So I've been waiting for someone to address the claims in Zimmerman's lawsuit. It's just crickets so far. This morning Joey Jackson wrote an opinion piece on CNN.com opining that the lawsuit was doomed. He went on to write: "Contrary to Zimmerman's apparent belief, he wasn't falsely picked out of a lineup and framed. He actually shot and killed Trayvon Martin. That was never in dispute. The only issue was whether the shooting was in self-defense."
Um, no. Zimmerman does not have an "apparent belief" that he was picked out of a lineup, falsely or otherwise. The issue isn't even whether or not Zimmerman was justified in shooting Martin. The jury decided he was. The issue is whether or not trial witness Rachel Jeantel was the actual ear-witness or if she was a substitute for Brittany Diamond Eugene. If that did happen, who knew about it when?
Law enforcement had decided, based on witness testimony, that Zimmerman acted in self-defense. Then Benjamin Crump arranged an interview with Diamond Eugene on ABC on March 19. The interview was supposed to be filmed, but was changed to a phone interview, little of which was broadcast. During the interview Diamond Eugene, with Crump's coaching, amplified her account of the incident. (Later in Sybrina Fulton's deposition, she claimed that on that same day Eugene had given her a handwritten account of the confrontation. That letter gives a briefer and probably more truthful account, imo. That letter was only disclosed when Fulton was questioned about it by defense attorneys.) The phone interview, the public agitation it incited, and Crump's continued lobbying forced law enforcement to bring charges against Zimmerman, it is alleged. That's why this matters--along with the whole perjury and witness tampering stuff.
Here's the text of Diamond Eugene's letter:
"[In cursive]
March 19, 2012
I was on the phone when Trevon[sic] decided to go to the Cornerstore. It started to rain so he decided to walk through another complex because it was raining to hard He started walking then noticed someone was following him. Then he decided to find a shortcut cause the man wouldn't follow him. Then he said the man didn't follow him again. Then he looked back and saw the man again. The man started getting closer. Then Trevon turned around and said Why are you following me!! Then I heard him fall then the phone hung up. I called back and text. No response. In my mind I thought it was just a fight. Then I found out the tragic story.
Thank you,
[end of cursive]
Diamond Eugene"
This more or less accords with Zimmerman's account: Martin circled his car while Zimmerman was inside it on the non-emergency police line and then Martin took off. When he was out of sight, Zimmerman got out of his car to see which way Martin went. The operator asked Zimmerman if he was following Martin and told him he didn't need to do that. Zimmerman said, "OK" and headed back to his car. When Zimmerman was close to his car, Martin appeared behind Zimmerman and said, "What's your problem?" Zimmerman responded, "I don't have a problem," at which point Martin punched him in the nose, breaking it, and knocking Zimmerman to the ground. Martin jumped on him and straddled him, punching him in the face with one hand, stifling his screams with the other. A close eyewitness shouted for them to stop. That eyewitness testified that Zimmerman was on the bottom screaming and that Martin was on the top. Martin did not stop until he was shot.
Eugene being an ear-witness only to the confrontation, might just be inferring that it was Zimmerman who came up behind Martin.
As I understand it, the existence of Eugene's letter was not disclosed to the defense until Rachel Jeantel mentioned it in her deposition. For one thing, it would be difficult to explain why Rachel Jeantel would sign such an important letter "Diamond Eugene."
None of this witness substitution business is entirely new. Blogs at the time speculated that Rachel Jeantel was not an actual ear-witness. During her deposition with the prosecutors she had blurted out, "I feel guilty, real guilty. I ain't know about it. I ain't know about it!" Then the interview was terminated.
The existence of an actual person named Diamond Eugene was not known to the defense attorneys at the time of trial, but the lawsuit alleges that it was known to Sybrina Fulton and Benjamin Crump (at least), who had met the real person. (Allegedly, Sybrina seemed to be surprised when Rachel Jeantel claimed to be Diamond Eugene, but she did not disclose the substitution to the defense or the media.)
So it seems that there may be some behind-the-scenes scrambling going on. I assume that there will be a countersuit or something in coming days. We'll see.