George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin General discussion

[tinkabella]

He could have meant "they" as in "these thiefs that keep getting away with burglary and keep coming back... "They" always get away."

And there lies the problem, he ASSUMED that Trayvon was one of those *******s that always got away, he was simply walking home. He already had it in his mind that Trayvon was an *******, suspicious and up to no good. making assumptions about someone based on how they look affects how you respond. The saddest part about this is that YOU too can be considered suspicious. Does someone have the right to follow you? call you an *******? assume that you're up to no good. You could be Trayvon martin right now to some overzealous George out there.

 

[SilkySifaka]

He was so scared yet he didn't run straight home, which he would of arrived to while GZ was still on the phone.

well why should he run straight home??? There was a younger child at home. I wouldn't have headed there either if i thought someone was up to no good. And someone following me can only be up to no good in most people's mind unless they are LE

 

[corundogs]

Can anyone explain to me why this guy (sorry, don't know his name - but not the Guy on the prosecution...LOL!!) is going so indepth regarding the evidence in the opening statement?

Is this normal? I mean, I know we have already discussed this...but the fact that this is continuing, and getting even more indepth with the photos etc is really boggling my mind!

 

[Reader]

Jeff Weiner ‏@JeffWeinerOS 4m
West: "There was an exchange. The gunshot proves... that they were less than an arm's length away." #GeorgeZimmerman #TrayvonMartin
Retweeted by Kyle Hightower

Kyle Hightower Kyle Hightower ‏@khightower 4m
West: "There is enough evidence to show these guys were face-to-face."

Kyle Hightower Kyle Hightower ‏@khightower 6m
West says "The absence of biological evidence or DNA doesn't necessarily prove anything" re: lack of blood on #TrayvonMartin

Kyle Hightower Kyle Hightower ‏@khightower 8m
West questions medical examiners exam in them not finding any blood in #TrayvonMartin's hands.

Kyle Hightower Kyle Hightower ‏@khightower 9m
West says its harder to tell if #TrayvonMartin had any bruising. Promises testimony to back up it being inconclusive.

Kyle Hightower Kyle Hightower ‏@khightower 10m
West says #trayvon had abrasion on his left knuckle. Says its proof that #TrayvonMartin was hitting #zimmerman

Tony Pipitone Tony Pipitone ‏@TonyPipitone 13m
Don West: "He did have the gun and thank God because .... he was able to retrieve the gun when he couldn't take it anymore."
Retweeted by Kyle Hightower

Jeff Weiner Jeff Weiner ‏@JeffWeinerOS 16m
West: Burns show #TrayvonMartin was "straddling" #GeorgeZimmerman. Gravity pulled hoodie away from skin, he says.
Retweeted by Kyle Hightower

Kyle Hightower Kyle Hightower ‏@khightower 14m
West takes issue with state opening comments when John Guy said #zimmerman pressed his gone/[gun] into #TrayvonMartin

Corey Dade Corey Dade ‏@CoreyDade 15m
#TrayvonMartin's mother back in courtroom since leaving during the playing of tape of 911 screams. #GZtrial
Retweeted by Kyle Hightower

Kyle Hightower Kyle Hightower ‏@khightower 15m
West apologizes for his knock knock joke again. Also says state's opening was heavy in emotion, but lacked details.

Kyle Hightower Kyle Hightower ‏@khightower 16m
We are back in session. Don West continues his opening.

Kyle Hightower Kyle Hightower ‏@khightower 37m
Prosecutor opens with #Zimmerman's obscenity - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/prosecutor-opens-zimmermans-obscenity-135419217.html … @zimmermantrial #trayvonmartin

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

My understanding is he was on the clubhouse property and I think everyone is allowed to be there. A black teenager was gunned down, imo in cold blood at the least for no good reason. He had his gun for a reason and planned to use it. Its a double action so it wasn't just panic that made him shoot. Is everyone in the states reaction to fisticuffs to shoot someone dead??????

Not where he first saw him. He was on his neighbors front lawn.

 

[iluvmua]

My understanding is he was on the clubhouse property and I think everyone is allowed to be there. A black teenager was gunned down, imo in cold blood at the least for no good reason. He had his gun for a reason and planned to use it. Its a double action so it wasn't just panic that made him shoot. Is everyone in the states reaction to fisticuffs to shoot someone dead??????

do you have any links that state GZ planned to use his gun?

 

[2Hip2BSquare]

That's how I took it. It's not as if he knew TM and was saying he personally was a punk.

Hey Horace! Good to see you around!

 

[AngelWings444]

Why is this defense attorney putting his evidence into the opening statement. He is trying to testify. It's odd. GZ is falling asleep.

 

[corundogs]

When you walk outside to get air - do you stand on the lawn of strangers?

Also,when crime happens in a neighborhood, it makes everyone more conscious and watchful. When my mom's neighbor was robbed, we became very suspicious of people slowly walking by - looking up at the house, or anything like that - because we worried the house was being "cased"....if they were actually standing on her property - I'm certain we would not have assumed they were there to get air!!!

From my understanding, this is an apartment like complex.

Most people don't "own" the lawn areas - they are in fact public areas. Even if they are in front of your unit.

 

[Jane Jetson]

""Knock Knock"

"who's there?"

"George Zimmerman"

"George Zimmerman who?"

And now you are on the jury."

Am I right in how I remember this?

Yes. And I think that was a ridiculous way to open. To me it says this particular lawyer is out of touch with the gravity of the case. MOO.

 

[especiallyheather]

Snipped for space..

Then you call the police. And have them investigate. You don't leave your house with a loaded gun to find out what they are in fact up to.

Do you?

He didnt leave his house, he was in his car when he noticed trayvon. He had a concealed weapons permit, which leads one to assume he carries the gun everywhere. There had been numerous break ins in the neighborhood by AA males. Zimmerman was on the Neighborhood watch team so he had privy to this information.

If the police can't find them, then obviously they are not committing a crime and no reason to demand to know what the guy was doing there.

Not necessarily...

But in hindsight, we KNOW TM did in fact belong there...and was unarmed. I guess people can break into someone's house without a weapon. Granted.

You are absolutely correct. Yet no one would have been able to tell if Trayvon had a weapon on him.

again we KNOW GZ's thoughts about TM. He told us with his own words. He felt he was a F'ing Punk, and A'hole who always gets away.

That is a matter of interpretation. One could also say that he was referring to the recent break ins that are unsolved involving AA males, and he thought Trayvon was one of them.

Again, I am not defending anyone, I am still on the fence regarding this case. I am simply trying to keep the facts straight.

 

[SilkySifaka]

Again, Trayvon and his father did not stay in that neighborhood. Trayvon was cutting through that complex. He was standing out in the rain texting, but to GZ it was odd he would be just standing in the rain in general instead of just passing through. It's all tragic.

As a homeowner I am allowedc to have any visitors of any color, black, purple green or pink to my home and they ipso facto belong there. They can cut through the complex on their way entering or leaving or just going for a walk without being labeled suspicious. They are friends of mine who have the same right I do to be there. I can even suggest they go visit the clubhouse or some other area without an inkling that some nut would think i was suspicious because i was texting my friend. He was a CHILD.

 

[PrincessSezMe]

Its tough. AS a mother of sons, I have that ache in my heart for this kid. But on the other hand this was a big dude even at 17. He was not walking on the sidewalks but lurking on the property of home owners. If I saw a person in a hoodie standing on my neighbors lawn, That I knew did not belong there, I would have been suspicious too. Especially if we had break ins recently.

To me in this respect, GZ is acting just as I would. I would have been suspicious and called the police, I would have been looking for him so I could tell Police where he went.

I go to this.. If he was just wanting to hurt the kid, Or get back at all the kids causing trouble in the neighborhood, He would not have called police until after the event. Not before. Not calling them to come..

I was not going to post on this thread given the strong emotions and clear division of opinions around this case. I have no thought one way or the other on whether or not a crime was truly committed here, but I do have an opinion that GZ used extremely poor judgement in the situation. If it was me:

1. I would not be toting a loaded gun to go shopping at Target. Who does that?
2. If I saw something I thought was suspicious, I would call LE and then leave it up to the professionals to handle it.
3. I would not put myself in a situation that would put me at risk in order to save someone else's "property", or my own for that matter. Property can be replaced, lives can't.

MOO, and I respect everyone's difference of opinion. I'll go back to lurking now :blushing:

 

[LaLaw2000]

A young teenage is dead because GZ assumed TM was going to commit a crime. TM ran from GZ and GZ went after him. TM isn't here to defend himself against GZ and I believe TM was defending himself that night from GZ.

That is what I believe also, PaperDoll. JMO

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

And there lies the problem, he ASSUMED that Trayvon was one of those *******s that always got away, he was simply walking home. He already had it in his mind that Trayvon was an *******, suspicious and up to no good. making assumptions about someone based on how they look affects how you respond. The saddest part about this is that YOU too can be considered suspicious. Does someone have the right to follow you? call you an *******? assume that you're up to no good. You could be Trayvon martin right now to some overzealous George out there.

The thing is, It was raining. GZ says that he was not simply walking home. He was standing on his friends property in the rain. That is not what most people would do. They would walk home quickly to get out of the rain. He was standing there on someone else's lawn where he did not belong. And GZ knew that.

 

[corundogs]

Again, Trayvon and his father did not stay in that neighborhood. Trayvon was cutting through that complex. He was standing out in the rain texting, but to GZ it was odd he would be just standing in the rain in general instead of just passing through. It's all tragic.

Not true. He was staying at his father's girlfriends, which is in that complex. He had every right to be there.

 

[katiewonders]

I'm not sure if we are talking about the same same case Apparently, I didn't get the memo that NW "liaisons" are supposed to drive around the neighborhood with a holstered weapon and a bullet ready to shoot an unarmed teenager.

I agree with you - call the cops and report anything you think is suspicious in your neighborhood. Don't follow, don't pursue. I am certain RZ regrets doing that to this day. As far as having his weapon? He has a permit to carry, he is not in the wrong with carrying a weapon. All MOO.

 

[mck16]

I would want to get away from some nutcase following me. That is a given. If he continued I would have turned around and confronted him,. Thats scary stuff following someone in the dark of night. First he ran then he turned around, pretty understandable to me.

If his dad lived there why didn't he call his dad. He had his cell phone. Did he indicate to is girlfriend he was scared or worried? I wonder what she heard on the phone when the confrontation began. ty

 

[carnnell]

Howdy folks!!!
uuuuuuuummmm.. is it me? or is the defense giving a closing argument rather than an opening argument? Sure sounds like it to me!!! JMHO

 

[iluvmua]

well why should he run straight home??? There was a younger child at home. I wouldn't have headed there either if i thought someone was up to no good. And someone following me can only be up to no good in most people's mind unless they are LE

So if someone was following you, you would decide to confront this person?

(just asking a general question, not aimed at you).

That's what any reasonable person would do or call the police etc. not turn around and try to teach some guy a lesson which is what TM wanted to do based on evidence.