17 yo Trayvon Martin Shot to Death by Neighborhood Watch Captain #31

[suzihawk]

They finished their investigation and forwarded the results to Wolfinger for possible prosecution.

This after that late night personal visit to the police station on a rainy Sunday night. Not SOP.

IMO

 

[Just K]

I have requested that none of my family ever go to Florida again! I'm serious...the laws there protect the worst of the worst. That State is a complete mess when it comes to missing and murdered children...not to mention this sickening SYG law.

 

[jaded cat]

~ bbm

And that's a satisfactory reason for it to happen again?

Please don't put your words in my mouth/post. It's wrong whenever it happens but it's happened before and will happen again. I have no control over any of it.

 

[Adrienne37]

Imo, he is just doing his job. Crump and Natalie Jackson and their other partners are on every show I see. And they are hitting the emotional vein really hard, about how distraught the parents are, and how unfair it is for GZ to have a bond.
So why shouldn't he go on the air and give his side?

and thank heavens they are otherwise we wouldn't even know who Trayvon Martin was.



~jmo~

 

[ScubaTwinn]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-sanford-chief-resigns-20120423,0,3336571.story

(snipped from above article at above link)

Commissioner Patty Mahany said the chief submitted his resignation over the weekend; Lee temporarily left his post last month amid complaints about how his department handled the investigation of the Feb. 26 shooting. The city commission is scheduled to hold a special meeting late Monday afternoon to discuss Lee's severance package, Mahany said.

"Elected officials used this man as a scapegoat to heal our community," she said in a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times. "Our community was never broken."

Mahany, who had supported Lee during the political furor over his department’s investigation, called the resignation a "terrible tragedy." She said she blamed civil rights activists whose protests "ruined the reputation and career of a really stellar law enforcement officer."

Lee "is nothing but a scapegoat," Mahany said. "Our police department did nothing wrong."

So it wasn't wrong under Chief Lee's watch that:
GZ was not blood or alcohol tested that night.
GZ's injuries are not listed in the preliminary report (which we have not seen).
SPD told the Martins that GZ had a squeaky clean record without checking first.
A witness states SPD tried to lead her son into answers and waited 5 days to question him.
A witness states SPD corrected her when she said she heard a young voice yelling.
At the station house, video reflects an officer touching GZ without gloves and then wiping his hand on himself.

Nothing but a scapegoat my goat.

 

[HiHater]

Why make an arrest when you don't know if you can prosecute? Corey came in as the investigation was completed. They were never given the chance.

They didn't have approximately 3 weeks? That's about how much time Angela C. had as well...

IMO JMO MOO, times are approx.

 

[m00c0w]

March 12th.



As of Monday March 12th, 2012, the investigation into the shooting death of Trayvon
Martin continues by Sanford Police Department. Investigators are finalizing details in
preparation to turn the case over to the State Attorney’s Office. The Sanford Police
Department feels the investigation will be completed today.



http://www.sanfordfl.gov/investigation/docs/TwinLakesTownhomesShootingUpDate2.pdf

And Wolfinger requested the grand jury a week later.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/21...cutor-orders-probe-as-calls-for-justice-rise/

Again, how long did it take Corey?

 

[m00c0w]

They didn't have approximately 3 weeks? That's about how much time Angela C. had as well...

IMO JMO MOO, times are approx.

And a grand jury was convened. The investigation was/was being completed. Two routes to the same destination.

 

[Sherbie]

Forget my request for stats, then. I don't have any either.

But I have heard both DAs and defense attorneys on true crime shows say that a mistrial really helps the prosecutor to evaluate which arguments work with a jury and which do not. Also, some jurisdictions require more disclosure from the State than from the defense, so a first "go" lets the DA know what the defense is likely to do.

Sorry. I don't think my account really explains why a second trial helps the prosecution more than the defense, but that's what I've heard both sides say on TV.

I agree. Unless a case is going very poorly, I don't think any prosecutor ever hopes for a hung jury/mistrial, but the second bite at the apple usually benefits the prosecution more than the defense.

The decision to retry takes into account jury polling to determine how close the vote was. If 11 voted not guilty with one lone holdout for guilt, it would not be as likely for the prosecution to retry the case as it would be if the vote were, say, 8-to-4 in the state's favor.

In this case, I hope the evidence won't be so ambiguous as to cause a hung jury. For the sake of all involved, I hope it's gonna be once and done, whichever way it goes.

 

[Chris_Texas]

Any person in his right mind would resign under the circumstances if that was a viable option for them. Why in the world would anyone deliberately subject themselves to being pilloried like this? It's disgusting, imo. I say, good for him. I just hope for the sake of the citizens in his jurisdiction that his replacement isn't a pandering jellyfish (not that Wolfinger is, imo). Not much hope of that under the circumstances, imo, though.

In my opinion he blew off the murder of a black kid, and very likely because he was black.

I would personally like to see THIS investigated, and possibly charges here as well against everyone involved in this attempted cover up.

 

[katydid23]

and thank heavens they are otherwise we wouldn't even know who Trayvon Martin was.



~jmo~

So why do you berate O'mara for doing his job then? It is admirable for the lawyers representing the Martins, but it is a bad thing for GZ's attorney to get his air time?

 

[mercuriod]

LOL

You're kidding, right?

Do you see the prosecution going on all the talking heads shows tainting the jury pool?

 

[m00c0w]

In my opinion he blew off the murder of a black kid, and very likely because he was black.

I would personally like to see THIS investigated, and possibly charges here as well against everyone involved in this attempted cover up.

It is being investigated.

 

[Marshmallow]

That's right. Keep on tainting the jury pool.

I'm just glad he said he's not going to be trying the case in the media.

 

[Karmady]

Please don't put your words in my mouth/post. It's wrong whenever it happens but it's happened before and will happen again. I have no control over any of it.

My apologies. Thanks for clarifying. It sounded to me like you didn't think it was wrong in this case and that the part I bolded was part of your rationale.

 

[impatientredhead]

It just seems to me that it would logically be harder to prosecute a case the second time around (especially for cases that are already pretty hazy to begin with), and therefore there would be a lower conviction rate. I have no statistics. Just curious.

It is not an apple to apple comparision. Trial A ends in a mistrial. Defense doesn't want another trial they want the charges abandoned. Prosecution has the discretion to proceed or not to a second trial. The cases pursued to retrial by logical progression are going to the ones the prosecution thinks they can correct and win. They will abandon the ones that are hopeless or long shots.

Of the cases that make it to a retrial they probably do have a higher conviction rate, but they are by definition cases that they felt they would win in a retrial.

 

[katydid23]

Do you see the prosecution going on all the talking heads shows tainting the jury pool?

I have seen THREE of the Martins attorneys on mainstream news shows today, 6 shows all together. As a matter of fact, they have been on the news shows every singled day, all three or four of them.

 

[jjenny]

Those "elements" are not officers of the court, O'Mara IS.

Family lawyers are not officers of the court?

 

[mercuriod]

I have seen THREE of the Martins attorneys on mainstream news shows today, 6 shows all together. As a matter of fact, they have been on the news shows every singled day, all three or four of them.

The Martin's attorneys are NOT trying this case, O'Mara is.

 

[Adrienne37]

I have seen THREE of the Martins attorneys on mainstream news shows today, 6 shows all together. As a matter of fact, they have been on the news shows every singled day, all three or four of them.

and again, thank heavens they are. They are going to ensure that NO ONE forgets who Trayvon Martin is.



~jmo~