17-yo Teen Trayvon Martin Shot to Death by Neighborhood Watch Captain #6

[JeannaT]

I think the point is that TM's picture is not a flattering picture. The media chose to present flattering photos of TM and an unflattering photo of GZ. IMO, they are both attractive men in their "good" shots. Not so much in the others. And people often perceive good looking people as "good."

Sad to say, when I saw GZ's mugshot, my first thought was "what a ." He looks menacing in that pic, completely opposite in this newer one.

(Hope I've made sense.)

It shows attitude, IMHO. It's not like an accidental unflattering shot with eyes closed or mouth open - he posed that way, and liked the photo enough to publish it. Trayvon didn't think it was "unflattering", but older people do.

 

[vlpate]

Maybe, but again, what is the date of the most recent picture of Zimmerman?

Also, there are recent pictures of Trayvon available...some have been posted here.

The picture of Zimmerman is within the last couple of years, much more recent than the one of him at 21.

 

[JeannaT]

So let me get this straight?

Say I came across Casey Anthony randomly walking down my neighborhood street? I know we have a lot of children who live here? She is acting suspiciously to me... so I follow her? She runs? Why would she RUN? So I get out of my car, with a gun, and take a shortcut (I live here, she doesn't) so I can catch back up with her. She asks me, "Why are you following me?" and she decks me one? I can shoot and kill her, right? Perfect defense, right? Not! I would be in jail! Even if it was Casey Anthony!

Give me a break!

And I am not advocating for anyone to do this to Casey Anthony!

Yes. If she decks you, and gets on top of you and pounds your head into the ground, you can shoot to kill.

 

[m00c0w]

Just some devil's advocate:

People have claimed that they believe Zimmerman was out to kill someone, and Martin fit that bill.

Theoretically, could Martin have also not have had the same thoughts? This dude was following him, so he could easily say he felt threatened - I mean, who'd the cops believe, the 17 year old or the large hispanic man? He'd get to at least beat up this dude that's interested in him, brag to his girlfriend about it after the beatdown, and then get to tell all of his friends back home about it... Especially if he was caught up in the " culture" that seems to have been prevalent on his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

I don't necessarily believe any of this, but it's certainly a different way of looking at things that's not far off from the speculation that's been dealt with regards to Zimmerman.

(It's not even JMO - Just thinking out loud is more like it)

 

[MayraMM]

Zimmerman outweighed Trayvon by 100 pounds, he was armed, and he was in a vehicle. He had no reason to fear for his life. Had he stayed in the vehicle, even if Trayvon was running at him, he still would have been safe. His cause for concern according to the 911 call? Trayvon was walking in the rain (hence the hoodie), looking around. Oooh, how scary and suspect. He confronted that kid. That kid probably tried to run when he saw he was being followed, especially since he was so close to home. Did Zimmerman get in his way? Is that the "attack" he speaks of, Trayvon trying to run past him? Zimmerman never identified himself as Neighborhood Watch on the 911 call (although he did identify the kid as a "coon"), so I'm sure that poor kid just thought he was about to get mugged or robbed or killed.

Today in the paper a friend of the Zimmerman family reports that Zimmerman had cried for days over the whole thing. I'm sure he did. It's not a game anymore. It's all very real, a kid is dead, and he may go to prison for a very long time. Of course he's remorseful. But I'm not sure he's remorseful about the right thing.

 

[LolaMoon08]

God, I would hate for you all to see my 17-year-old nieces mean-muggin' faces on her facebook page? I'm glad that classifies her as a bad kid? I'll have to call her mother.

 

[wishuwerehere]

From the transcripts I've read, GZ wasn't even sure about TM's race until he turned around and started walking toward him. He initially called in because the youth, face not seen, was walking in an aimless manner and appeared to be looking at the houses. I presume GZ thought TM was casing the houses. IMO, it is common for teenagers to walk in an aimless manner and when I walk through neighborhoods, even my own, I always stare at the houses (I just love looking at houses). So I, personally, don't think TM's behavior was odd. But GZ did. However, IMO, it was not profiling because GZ was unsure of the young man's race when he initially called in.

But once GZ stated on the 911 call Trayvon was black, shortly thereafter GZ exited his vehicle and went after Trayvon. IMO in a court of law this is going to work against GZ, and rightly so.

The law does not allow a citizen to chase down another citizen and then shoot them dead because you don't like the way they look.

jmo

 

[gxm]

I'm not sure why people say GZ did not initially know Trayvon's race. When asked he said he "looks black." He did not say "I don't know." I'm sorry, but there's not too many races of people who "look black." :twocents: :moo:

I guess because my daughter can "look black" but she's not. GZ was not sure of TM's race until he turned to face him. IMO, that means that he never got a good look at his features and/or skin tone before he made the call. He was going on TM's body movements, not his race. JMO of course.

 

[Dr.Fessel]

The picture of Zimmerman is within the last couple of years, much more recent than the one of him at 21.

Do you have a link to back that up?

 

[m00c0w]

Did you see the blond haired lady who heard Trayvon screaming for help and then the screaming stopped when she heard the gun go off?

How did she positively confirm it was Martin screaming when she only heard it? JMO

 

[tlcya]

VLPate. Do you have a link to the website that picture of Trayvon was posted on? It is so poor quality I would like to see the original.

I saw this image on weekend news coverage. It is a still from a video. I saw it in video form (without audio) and the backward hat wearing TM I saw did not seem particularly threatening and was still (to my eye) obviously a minor. I am trying to find a link to the video for you as it seems V is not able to do so at the moment.

 

[vlpate]

VLPate. Do you have a link to the website that picture of Trayvon was posted on? It is so poor quality I would like to see the original.

I found it on a google search, it is from his facebook. It doesn't matter, computer pics are like that, not clear. Thee's another where he has tattoos on his arm...even that one is not the portrait of an innocent 14 year old.

It's as clear as the photo-shopped picture of him with the hoodie was before being altered.

ETA: Thanks TL, I was going by the caption from google. It is obviously from a computer cam.

 

[Tulessa]

If only there was a way to test the bag for drug residue... :waitasec:

There is, trace evidence.

 

[Dr.Fessel]

I saw this image on weekend news coverage. It is a still from a video. I saw it in video form (without audio) and the backward hat wearing TM I saw did not seem particularly threatening and was still (to my eye) obviously a minor. I am trying to find a link to the video for you as it seems V is not able to do so at the moment.

Thanks tlcox.

 

[Horace Finklestein]

Please. It is normal for my kids school and other parents have posted it is the same for their kids. We also had a direct quote from a teacher saying the suspension was for tardiness. No one was attempting to mislead you.

It sounds like the teacher was misleading people, since it's been confirmed through the family attorney that the suspension was for possessing a baggy with trace amounts of weed in it and not for tardiness. In fact, that's the very definition of misleading. I don't think anyone here was attempting to mislead me if that's what you meant.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/26/2714778/thousands-expected-at-trayvon.html

 

[HiHater]

How did she positively confirm it was Martin screaming when she only heard it? JMO

I could be mistaken, but is this the lady who calls him a "little boy"? I think her window was open or something?

 

[LolaMoon08]

The truth is finally coming out. I did see the pics earlier in this thread, and it's very illuminating. Why in the world they're just now surfacing is beyond me.

Also, the truth has finally surfaced about why he was suspended. An empty bag of marijuana. So while he couldn't be charged with a crime for that and get a record, he could be suspended. It wasn't about tardies.

And as was made obvious by the wounds, George was punched in the nose and slammed on the ground with the back of his head. I'm not sure about the grabbing for the gun thing. Having his head slammed into the ground would be grounds to shoot.

Don't know if this new article has been posted yet:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-shooter-teenager-gun/story?id=16000239#.T3C2SHZWAYY

So Zimmerman did confront Trayvon with the gun?

 

[SuziQ]

That's not true. I am a dual board certified criminal defense attorney, and until I wrote my blog the other night, I was unsure of the in and outs of the Stand Your Ground law. Especially since there are very few articles on what exactly t means.

Honestly, listening to many people here, it seems opinions are based on pure speculation so that they can continue to paint GZ as the bad guy.

After reading the information released by Sanford PD, I think GZ was completely within his rights to react the way he did.

This is where I have a problem. Sanford PD is a problematic and racist agency. There is no way I am going to accept everything they say as gospel. We do not know and probably never will know who put their hand on who first. Unfortunately the only person who can dispute GZ is dead. Just shoot your witness, claim self defense and you are home free. I do know this much and it's MOO. That phone call GZ made shows his intent. He was not going to let another effing ****** get away. I know that's not verbatim, but you know a prosecutor is going to spell it out that way to a jury. Now lets look at TM's intent. He bought snacks and was walking home.

 

[HiHater]

VLPate. Do you have a link to the website that picture of Trayvon was posted on? It is so poor quality I would like to see the original.

The pic doesn't look like Trayvon, IMO. There's pics of him on webcam, and he doesn't look like that...

 

[Horace Finklestein]

But once GZ stated on the 911 call Trayvon was black, shortly thereafter GZ exited his vehicle and went after Trayvon. IMO in a court of law this is going to work against GZ, and rightly so.

The law does not allow a citizen to chase down another citizen and then shoot them dead because you don't like the way they look.

jmo

But if that person is viciously attacking you, you can, under the law, defend yourself whether you like how they look or not.