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Trayvon Martin: Special prosecutor appointed in Trayvon Martin shooting case

Ridiculous. If he was "already scared," sensible people would ask, "Then why the hell didn't you just drive away?? You damn well knew the LEO's were on their way." That's not going to fly, my friend.

Whether or not charges are pressed, whether or not he is found guilty or innocent, a whole bunch of law-abiding Americans are going to put the blame for Martin's death squarely on Zimmerman's shoulders...where it belongs. Stay in the car and drive away? Kid goes home to eat Skittles.

the ridiculous thing is people think he is guilty for not following an "order" to not follow, when the dispatch also told him seconds before he ran to "let me know if he does anything else"


So how do I tell them what else he is doing when he just ran out of site?

he immediately started following - for the first time - to obey that request. then when he was told he didn't have to, he said "ok". he stopped following and started heading back to his truck as he continued talking to the police and explaining where to meet at.

show me some real evidence that can prove that is not what happened.
 
which officer by name cited stand your ground as the reason to not arrest? do you have that link?

Christ, let's not get hung up on THAT. The poster didn't read the link I posted and made a completely wrong assumption. Zimmerman's attorney says it is simply a matter of self-defense . . . SYG has absolutely nothing to do with it. Read the link.
 
the ridiculous thing is people think he is guilty for not following an "order" to not follow, when the dispatch also told him seconds before he ran to "let me know if he does anything else"

So how do I tell them what else he is doing when he just ran out of site?

he immediately started following - for the first time - to obey that request. then when he was told he didn't have to, he said "ok". he stopped following and started heading back to his truck as he continued talking to the police and explaining where to meet at.

show me some real evidence that can prove that is not what happened.

Where does he say, "Let me know if he does anything else"?? And how is this some kind of ORDER to do anything?

And why are you talking about things I personally have never asserted and deflecting to something else? Respond to my post.
 
I listened to the 911 call. Actually, Zimmerman was never ordered to stop following Martin.

But he was informed that follkwing Martin wasn't necessary.

Making his subsequent actions purely his own responsibility.
 
Sorry, but you are wrong there. For instance, if a gang banger comes up to me that is bigger, I can and will shoot him. That would be legal.




Zimmerman felt that Trayvon might commit a crime and was following him. That is not stalking under any law.

The only part that is in question is what happened with the confrontation and who was the aggresor of that confrontation. You are also forgetting that Zimmerman was beaten and bloodied as well, so we know at some point Trayvon also used force. The question was did he use the force in defense or was he the aggresor. Those I can't answer and will leave up to the justice system to decide.

I know you feel strongly about this dana, but it is not cut and dry or Zimmerman would have been arrested and tried as guilty by now if it were that simple.

I'm not saying Zimmerman is not guilty either. I am very happy this is getting investigated finally.

Wait wait wait...

So you're saying that Martin would have been justified in shooting Zimmerman, who is MUCH larger than Martin, for "coming up on him"?

Then by simple extension it would certainly have been ok for Martin to punch him in the nose.
 
Where does he say, "Let me know if he does anything else"??

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/326700-full-transcript-zimmerman.html

please read the full transcript

pay special attention to the statements everyone likes to leave out right before, and right after the highlighted part.

And how is this some kind of ORDER to do anything?

it isn't. but either is the suggestion to not follow later.

And why are you talking about things I personally have never asserted and deflecting to something else? Respond to my post.

I am. you claimed he was following slowly in the car, the 911 tape does not prove this. the only time we know for sure he followed was immediately after the teen ran.
 
I am. you claimed he was following slowly in the car, the 911 tape does not prove this. the only time we know for sure he followed was immediately after the teen ran.

So he was just sitting in his driveway in his car when he saw Martin , but had to get out to see the street sign to see what street he was on? Yeah, that sounds right...lol
 
the ridiculous thing is people think he is guilty for not following an "order" to not follow, when the dispatch also told him seconds before he ran to "let me know if he does anything else"


So how do I tell them what else he is doing when he just ran out of site?

he immediately started following - for the first time - to obey that request. then when he was told he didn't have to, he said "ok". he stopped following and started heading back to his truck as he continued talking to the police and explaining where to meet at.

show me some real evidence that can prove that is not what happened.

The girlfriends relation of a verbal exchange that wasn't mentioned by Zimmerman in HIS version of events.

Remember, Martin was on a headset, and there was no reason Zimmerman would have known he was on the phone at the time of the conversation.

And the scuffle, according to the girlfriend, began immediately after the verbal exchange. Yet Zims statement would lead one to believe he had lost Martin, was walking back to his truck to meet police, and was attacked from behind.

I'd love to see an actual timeline of all the calls and when what was said was said.
 
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/326700-full-transcript-zimmerman.html

please read the full transcript

pay special attention to the statements everyone likes to leave out right before, and right after the highlighted part.



it isn't. but either is the suggestion to not follow later.



I am. you claimed he was following slowly in the car, the 911 tape does not prove this. the only time we know for sure he followed was immediately after the teen ran.

Yeah, I don't know where I got that he was following in his car. He must have just driven past him...a dozen times.

That 911 transcript is damning. "We don't need you to follow him." . . . "Okay"

"He's running." That spells scared. Maybe not to you, but to the rest of the world it does.

And from "He's running" Zimmerman exits the car and ends up shooting the kid. Nope. This guy's in a hot mess.

Don't exit the car? Meet the LEOs as instructed? Wait for their call? Kid lives. Play copper in an unmarked car . . . no uniform . . . kid dies. What is the immediate precursor to the kid getting shot???? Zimmerman getting out of his damn car and following the guy. The guy was scared...as well he should have been.
 
evidence suggests that Zimmerman did not fire his weapon until after the adult male witness he was screaming to for help went inside and locked the doors and called for 911 (which Zimmerman had already done).

George Zimmerman has to be the poster boy for 911 calls. Given the frequency with which he called, I'm surprised they just didn't give him his own direct line - maybe 666 instead of 911.
 
the ridiculous thing is people think he is guilty for not following an "order" to not follow, when the dispatch also told him seconds before he ran to "let me know if he does anything else"


So how do I tell them what else he is doing when he just ran out of site?

he immediately started following - for the first time - to obey that request. then when he was told he didn't have to, he said "ok". he stopped following and started heading back to his truck as he continued talking to the police and explaining where to meet at.

show me some real evidence that can prove that is not what happened.

Well, Trayvon Martin is dead. There's one piece of real evidence.
 
The grand jury investigation of this case is most likely going to be shut down, but before anybody screams coverup, they should know that the special prosecutor appointed by Governor Scott is one of the most hard nosed Conservative prosecutors in the entire nation. Angela Corey has been criticized by Liberals for her controversial stances of trying juveniles as adults, and seeking maximum punishment in the vast majority of the cases she has tried. She will undoubtedly not be accepting any excuses from Zimmerman here. Instead, if she determines that Zimmerman broke the law, he will be going to prison for a very long time.

In the end, this is not about Liberal versus Conservative. It is about the whole nation coming together against an asshole weekend warrior policeman wannabe who took the law into his own hands, and murdered an innocent boy. Democrats are shocked. Republicans are shocked. The police chief has been forced to step down, and justice is going to be meted out in spades. At this point, let me bring home 2 important points of Florida's Stand Your Ground Law:

1) Under the law, you can only meet a threat with equal force. If you go further, then Stand Your Ground does not apply.

AND (And this is most important)

2) The person you stand up to must have been the one to initiate action which made you feel threatened. If you are stalking someone, or otherwise following them them, then it is YOU who initiated the confrontation, and Stand Your Ground does not apply. When Zimmerman ignored the police dispatcher's order to stop following Trayvon Martin, he cut himself off from Stand Your Ground, and thus, under Florida's law, he went from defending himself against a threat to committing homicide.

At this time, I am not ready to say that there is a racist element to this case, in that police did not thoroughly investigate the shooting. I will chalk it up to incompetence. As for the prosecutor that Governor Scott appointed, this shows me that, if indeed, Zimmerman is to be charged with a crime, the State of Florida intends to make an example out of him, as a warning to other militia weekend warrior wannabes. In a civilized society you do NOT stalk someone, armed with a gun, for ANY reason. That's what police are for - To investigate the possibility that a crime is about to be committed, and then act accordingly. Those who are not cops, but attempt to take those kinds of powers unto themselves, as vigilantes, deserve whatever they get when they go off the reservation, as Zimmerman did.

If there is a silver lining in all of this, it is that a law that many Florida policemen and prosecutors opposed is going to be under scrutiny, and may soon be abolished. Unfortunately, there is no silver lining for the mother of a boy who was murdered while purchasing a soft drink and a box of candy.

Article is here.

The president said what this case is about - RACE. Martin is the right race. Zimmerman is the wrong race.

And yes, the law needs to represent the goal of Obama and public opinion. The law needs to make it clear that anyone may beat to death any Latino that annoys them or calls the police on them. It should be clear that African-American Martin had an absolute right to kill Zimmerman for calling the police on him.
 
Well, Trayvon Martin is dead. There's one piece of real evidence.

Most agree it should be Zimmerman who is dead. Its even been posted on this forum a hope that someone stages a way to murder Zimmerman. The government also quickly released Zimmerman's address and phone number, who fled after this. The President, Justice Department, media and police have expressed no objections to death threats against the whole Zimmerman family - both fi which had to flee their house.

It is being made clear the goal is to prove that Martin is the right race, and Spanish speaking Latino Zimmerman is the wrong race. Even the African-American members of his family are wrong for marrying into and associating with wrong-race people.
 
Most agree it should be Zimmerman who is dead. Its even been posted on this forum a hope that someone stages a way to murder Zimmerman. The government also quickly released Zimmerman's address and phone number, who fled after this. The President, Justice Department, media and police have expressed no objections to death threats against the whole Zimmerman family - both fi which had to flee their house.

It is being made clear the goal is to prove that Martin is the right race, and Spanish speaking Latino Zimmerman is the wrong race. Even the African-American members of his family are wrong for marrying into and associating with wrong-race people.

Well, I would have preferred that nobody died. But given a choice between a hothead with a criminal record who instigated the confrontation and the 17 year old kid walking down the street, I'd opt for the instigator.
 
The president said what this case is about - RACE. Martin is the right race. Zimmerman is the wrong race.

And yes, the law needs to represent the goal of Obama and public opinion. The law needs to make it clear that anyone may beat to death any Latino that annoys them or calls the police on them. It should be clear that African-American Martin had an absolute right to kill Zimmerman for calling the police on him.

Could you provide a link where the President said this was about race? Personally, I thought the '****ing coon' statement pretty much established it was about race.
 
Sorry, but you are wrong there. For instance, if a gang banger comes up to me that is bigger, I can and will shoot him. That would be legal.

I think shooting anyone that looks like a gang banger is part of the problem in this case. If someone came up to me, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his waistband, and asked me for a light, I would probably just light it for him. You seem to be saying that it would be legal to shoot him when he reaches into his waistband as long as he looks sufficiently scary.

I know you feel strongly about this dana, but it is not cut and dry or Zimmerman would have been arrested and tried as guilty by now if it were that simple.

Yes, it certainly isn't cut and dry at this point, and I thank you and others on this forum for defending Zimmerman because it currently is a very unpopular stance. There certainly isn't enough evidence yet to be sure of anything. Seems like stupidity wasn't in short supply for either of the two involved. But the legal determinations of the actions taken that night are now in the hands of the system, and I am grateful for that.

But the Sanford police department has had a history of trying to sweep white on black violence under the carpet, and therefore disagree with you that IF Zimmerman was guilty that he would necessarily have been arrested and charged by now. I don't know that the police involved with this case were not absolutely fair and unbiased, but I know for a fact that they definitely weren't thorough. Where is Zimmerman's alcohol test, his toxicology screen, a check of the phone that the deceased was carrying, an attempt to extensively interrogate the shooter?

Is the Sanford police department biased in its investigations? I guarantee you that I don't have any idea. But it is a question that needs to be looked at. And in the long run, I think that answer is much more important to us all than the guilt or innocence of Zimmerman.

Before unarmed black teen was shot, Fla. city’s blacks complained of bias in police department

Sanford’s police department is no stranger to racial tension, which is one reason why people are assuming Martin’s killing was racially motivated. In 2005, two white security guards — one of which was the son of a Sanford police veteran, the other the son of a volunteer with the department — fatally shot a black teen in a parking lot; they claimed self defense. In 2011, a white lieutenant’s son beat up a black homeless man for seemingly no reason. The department didn’t prosecute the man until footage from the scene was uploaded to YouTube. The perpetrator was arrested and the police chief was forced out of office.

Focus on the case, not their race
 
Well, I would have preferred that nobody died. But given a choice between a hothead with a criminal record who instigated the confrontation and the 17 year old kid walking down the street, I'd opt for the instigator.

So you agree. If a Latino calls the police on an African-American, that Latino is an instigator that may be beaten to death - and you wish he had been. Latinos are the new n....rs. All African-Americans and nearly all Democrats agree.
 
But the Sanford police department has had a history of trying to sweep white on black violence under the carpet, and therefore disagree with you that IF Zimmerman was guilty that he would necessarily have been arrested and charged by now. I don't know that the police involved with this case were not absolutely fair and unbiased, but I know for a fact that they definitely weren't thorough. Where is Zimmerman's alcohol test, his toxicology screen, a check of the phone that the deceased was carrying, an attempt to extensively interrogate the shooter?

Is the Sanford police department biased in its investigations? I guarantee you that I don't have any idea. But it is a question that needs to be looked at. And in the long run, I think that answer is much more important to us all than the guilt or innocence of Zimmerman.


Correct. The uproar is about an inept police dept. Some here have already twisted this around to make Martin look like he hauled Zimmerman out of his car while he was sitting in his driveway.

Yes, this should be settled in a trial but the feds will have to come in and take charge over the Barney Fifes.
 
Well, Trayvon Martin is dead. There's one piece of real evidence.

Keep your focus on, the lethal force situation where you need to shoot. Keep all other superfluous BS (racist, alleged bad detective work, etc, etc) and stick to the point

If you carry a firearm and decide to use it, you are in a deadly force situation where you need to shoot to *STOP*, NOT kill and not wound.

The entire purpose of your using deadly force is to halt the perpetrator from completing whatever action it is he or she is doing that was putting you in fear for your life.....IN FEAR FOR YOUR LIFE. Period.

Zimmerman's goal was not to kill him. Thats a big difference...

Shooting to kill even if, the person has stopped whatever it was he was doing you had already decided this person must die and you weren't going to stop for anything less or if you were only shooting to wound then obviously you weren't really in fear for your life at the time you shot and therefore you must have used excessive force and you now become the primary aggressor.

Shooting to wound and shooting to kill are not acceptable practices in the civilian or even LEO area. Both will likely get you arrested, sent to prison, and sued

You shoot to stop the threat--if it wounds him, good. If it kills him, that's the price he pays for his actions. Either way the threat is stopped, and that's the bottom line.

Zimmerman did no wrong in that particular situation
 
Apparently the police have a witness to the entire altercation and that will be included in the evidence presented to the grand jury in 2 weeks.
 
Zimmerman did no wrong in that particular situation

Total utter nonsense. But you have already made your decision on this case.
It will be decided in a court of law once the feds take over.
 
Total utter nonsense. But you have already made your decision on this case.
It will be decided in a court of law once the feds take over.

Yeah, the Feds have no business down there as they have 0 jurisdiction and no federal crime has taken place.

Case goes to the grand jury on the 10th of April.
 
Total utter nonsense. But you have already made your decision on this case.
It will be decided in a court of law once the feds take over.

What part don't you understand...where Zimmerman shot to stop the threat, which Zimmerman felt was an iminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to himself??
 
which officer by name cited stand your ground as the reason to not arrest? do you have that link?

Forgive me for butting in, I know you didn't ask me, but this is one of the most important questions of the entire affair.

Why was George Zimmerman not arrested the night of the shooting?
When the Sanford Police Department arrived at the scene of the incident, Mr.
Zimmerman provided a statement claiming he acted in self defense which at the time
was supported by physical evidence and testimony. By Florida Statute, law
enforcement was PROHIBITED from making an arrest based on the facts and
circumstances they had at the time. Additionally, when any police officer makes an
arrest for any reason, the officer MUST swear and affirm that he/she is making the
arrest in good faith and with probable cause. If the arrest is done maliciously and in
bad faith, the officer and the City may be held liable.

That quote is from Sanford police chief Bill Lee.

Why was George Zimmerman not arrested the night of the shooting?
 
Could you provide a link where the President said this was about race? Personally, I thought the '****ing coon' statement pretty much established it was about race.

"If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said during a press gathering in the Rose Garden, after he was asked about the incident that has sparked national debate.

Obama: Trayvon Martin Could Be My Son : People.com
 
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