Ship of Fools: Stand your ground

Thread: Stand your ground Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :

Zimmerman's defense in his murder trial

It seems to me that Mr. Zimmerman is on thin, slippery ice with his 'fearing for his life' claim. Of course, any number of things or situations can cause a person to be mortally afraid. But the stand-your-ground seems to be an after-thought. What was the ferocious, suspicious looking kid going to do? Assault Zimmerman with his bag of Skittles? Versus a loaded, ready-to-shoot pistol? I say it doesn't look very good for Zimmerman.

Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :

Well, this is America. Kid is black, shooter is white. There you go. [Frown]

All you can is hope that reason prevails. Often, it doesn't. As if the Civil Rights Movement had never existed.

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :

FYI: he's been acquitted. See the "Zimmerman" thread here in Purg.

Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :

In other words do not turn the other cheek; confront, kill.

Normal Christian behaviour.

Posted by Twilight (# 2832) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Wesley J:
Well, this is America. Kid is black, shooter is white. There you go.

All you can is hope that reason prevails. Often, it doesn't. As if the Civil Rights Movement had never existed.

Are you saying that because the victim was black and the shooter white, he should be convicted without a trial? The Civil Rights movement was about treating all races equally, not about favoring one over the other.

I watched every minute of this trail and I was very relieved last night when the jury returned with a verdict of "Not Guilty." I think reason did prevail.

I don't agree with most of George Zimmerman's decisions. I wish he had stayed home that night, not got out of his car and not been carrying a gun, but he wasn't on trail for those things.

Zimmerman reported, in a manner the police found perfectly credible, that Trayvon turned and attacked him, knocked him to the ground, then sat astride him and pounded his head against the sidewalk while Zimmerman screamed for help. Trayvon then saw Zimmerman's gun and reached for it. Zimmerman grabbed it first and shot Trayvon.

Is this account true? Several witnesses back it up, but more importantly, there was not enough evidence, if any, to the contrary to convict him of murder or manslaughter.

I wish Zimmerman had stayed home that night. Trayvon would still be alive. But if Zimmerman hadn't shot he may well have been dead or brain damaged and we never would have heard about it.

I'm glad this jury listened to the facts and wasn't swayed by the 2.2 million angry mob that seems to believe criminal justice should be based on the physical appearance of the individuals involved.

Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :

What alarms me about this acquittal is the apparent vindication it provides for "stand your ground" laws actually on the books in several states and being considered in others.

My state implemented such a law a couple of years ago. In my first annual session as lawmaker, our House of Reps tried unsuccessfully to repeal it.

These are bad laws, which effectively turn everybody into his or her own personal law enforcement officer without benefit of training, without solid knowledge of the laws and cases supporting them, and you can bet the NRA will now be pushing for similar legislation in all 50 states.

IMO, Stand Your Ground greatly enhances the already far-too-high risk of innocent US citizens getting shot in public while going about their ordinary, unexceptional business.

If I wanted to live in the Wild West, I'd have moved there.

Also, Twilight, you left out one important (to me, anyway) fact: When Zimmerman phoned in his suspicions, the dispatcher told him, "You don't have to follow him."

Zimmerman did so anyway -- against advice, against common sense. What description was ever obtained from Zimmerman about the "suspicious behavior" Martin was exhibiting to warrant his being followed, beyond WWB* in a lily-white neighborhood?

* Walking While Black

[ 14. July 2013, 11:32: Message edited by: Porridge ]

Posted by New Yorker (# 9898) on :

As I understand it the stand your ground law did not play a role at all in this case. It says that you can "stand your ground" rather than retreating in a life-threatening situation. Zimmerman could not stand his ground rather than retreat because Travon had him on the ground and was banging his head into the sidewalk. You can't stand your ground if you can't retreat.

I'm sorry that Travon is dead. I'm sorry for his family. I wish that Zimmerman had not followed him. But what happened happened and the result is just.

Posted by Lietuvos Sv. Kazimieras (# 11274) on :

Zimmerman's stalking of Trayvon Martin negates any claim of self-defense. Indeed, it can be reasonably argued that Trayvon Martin was defending himself. The outcome of the trial is not just, and I think we are still to see the fall-out.

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :

We really don't need two Zimmerman threads, and the other one is longer, so closing this one and pasting the posts over.

Gwai
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