• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!
  • Welcome to our archives. No new posts are allowed here.

Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by law

Status
Not open for further replies.
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

Zimmerman was an overzealous and apparently an unbalanced individual. People complained about him to the police who did nothing. Zimmerman was a vigilante and ” public records show he was arrested in Orange County in 2005 on charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer."

Zimmerman, who patrolled the Retreat at Twin Lakes development in his own car, had been called aggressive in earlier complaints to the local police and the homeowner's association, according to a homeowner who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

At an emergency homeowner’s association meeting on March 1, “one man was escorted out because he openly expressed his frustration because he had previously contacted the Sanford Police Department about Zimmerman approaching him and even coming to his home,” the resident wrote in an email to HuffPost. “It was also made known that there had been several complaints about George Zimmerman and his tactics" in his neighborhood watch captain role.

George Zimmerman Neighbors Complained About Aggressive Tactics Before Trayvon Martin Killing
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

Zimmerman was an overzealous and apparently an unbalanced individual. People complained about him to the police who did nothing. Zimmerman was a vigilante and ” public records show he was arrested in Orange County in 2005 on charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer."



George Zimmerman Neighbors Complained About Aggressive Tactics Before Trayvon Martin Killing

and yet, no charges have been filed against him.

cover-up?
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

Just listened to the 911 calls. Sounds like the shooter was actively looking for a reason to shoot the kid.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

Just listened to the 911 calls. Sounds like the shooter was actively looking for a reason to shoot the kid.

well, he WAS wearing a hooded sweatshirt. I bet he was also wearing baggy pants.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

I have read about this story before. It doesn't seem that the kid was any threat to anyone and that the guy with the weapon was pretty damn stupid. I mean, what kind of a threat does a kid "armed" only with some snacks present to a grown man with a gun?
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

Just listened to the 911 calls. Sounds like the shooter was actively looking for a reason to shoot the kid.
Yeah, the 911 calls were what solidified my position that this guy is a nutjob. I'm just waiting for the arrest.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

As I said in another thread, Zimmerman screwed the pooch in several ways in trying to claim self-defense for this shooting. If the local DA/Solicitor/etc does not charge him with manslaughter of some kind, the local DA needs to be investigated.... unless there is other information I do not have, this looks like a bad shoot to me.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

can someone provide a link to the audio of the 911 call?
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

I have read a lot about this incident. The boy was walking down the street toward his father's house, wearing a black hoodie and carrying a bag containing candy and iced tea. Zimmerman called 911 to report a suspicious person. He asked if he should follow the person. 911 said definitely not, police were on the way and would handle it. Zimmerman then exited his car. There was an altercation between a thin, unarmed teenager and a grown man who outweighed him by 100 pounds. Witnesses heard the boy screaming for help. The screaming stopped with the second shot fired.

Those are facts.

Zimmerman said he shot in self defense. The small-town police department who knew and liked Zimmerman said, "okay" and did no further investigation. None. Nada. Not even a lie detector. The police report ignored all witness statements that contradicted Zimmerman's story. Now some 911 tapes from witnesses, perhaps one even from the frantic boy himself, have surfaced and witnesses have told the media what they saw (one person saw Zimmerman sitting on the boy's chest seconds before he stood up and shot him in the chest). This happened over a month ago, and Zimmerman hasn't been charged. The reason? The police deduce that since the boy is dead, the only version of events is Zimmerman's so they have to accept his story.

I mean, WTF? The boy is dead so they have to accept Zimmerman's story?? Well, snap, if you kill someone, you're automatically off the hook because the dead victim can't give a statement.

The victim's family has every right to feel betrayed by the police department. They WERE betrayed by the police department.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

I have read a lot about this incident. The boy was walking down the street toward his father's house, wearing a black hoodie and carrying a bag containing candy and iced tea. Zimmerman called 911 to report a suspicious person. He asked if he should follow the person. 911 said definitely not, police were on the way and would handle it. Zimmerman then exited his car. There was an altercation between a thin, unarmed teenager and a grown man who outweighed him by 100 pounds. Witnesses heard the boy screaming for help. The screaming stopped with the second shot fired.

Those are facts.

Zimmerman said he shot in self defense. The small-town police department who knew and liked Zimmerman said, "okay" and did no further investigation. None. Nada. Not even a lie detector. The police report ignored all witness statements that contradicted Zimmerman's story. Now some 911 tapes from witnesses, perhaps one even from the frantic boy himself, have surfaced and witnesses have told the media what they saw (one person saw Zimmerman sitting on the boy's chest seconds before he stood up and shot him in the chest). This happened over a month ago, and Zimmerman hasn't been charged. The reason? The police deduce that since the boy is dead, the only version of events is Zimmerman's so they have to accept his story.

I mean, WTF? The boy is dead so they have to accept Zimmerman's story?? Well, snap, if you kill someone, you're automatically off the hook because the dead victim can't give a statement.

The victim's family has every right to feel betrayed by the police department. They WERE betrayed by the police department.
I'm pretty disgusted by this entire story. Zimmerman's actions are disgusting enough, but when the people who are supposed to protect you and get "justice" betray you, it's just another level. When I was growing up, we had a 7 Eleven around the corner from us and sometimes I would walk there at night and then walk back home. The idea that kids can't do something like that without being shot by a psycho and then the police officers they are taught to trust don't even care enough about them to investigate a death like this is disheartening.

In any case, for all interested, Trayvon's friend was on the phone with him right before he was shot and the call further proves that Zimmerman is the psycho aggressor:

Trayvon Martin Exclusive: Friend on Phone with Teen Before Death Recalls Final Moments - ABC News

Also, the Department of Justice and the FBI are investigating the case:

U.S. News - Justice Department, FBI to probe shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

I hear nothing disturbing in the tape at all. There had been burglaries, Zimmerman was looking out for the neighborhood, and saw someone wearing a hoody at night wandering around apparently aimlessly. That does warrant calling the police. I see no problem with him watching the guy. There is the comment of the teen walking towards Zimmerman, hand in pocket, then turning around and running as Zimmerman told it.

I have NO problem with Zimmerman's conduct to this point, and what I hear in Zimmerman's voice if fear (trembling), not rage or racism.

While it seems we all are trying to guess what happened next, we don't know. I read Zimmerman had a bloody nose, seeming to indication a fight broke out before there was shooting. Who approached who at that point? We don't know. It does appear fighting had started before shooting. Since there was a gun in that situation, it may have become just a question of who is shot. If Zimmerman lost the fight, he lost his gun. They may have even been stuggling over it.

I do NOT buy that because Zimmerman is white and the other guy black it had anything to do with race.

If there was someone wandering around our house, a hood over his head, then ran around a corner when he saw me - I'm going to go ask that person why - and I am going to be armed when I do it. Understand, I would do more than watch him. I would go straight to him demanding "what the hell are you doing stalking around my house?" But it a bit different, as our location is isolated and not an apartment complex. However, when I lived in an urban setting circumstantially I might do the same.

I would do that before I was in law enforcement and I would do it now. The notion that no one but police should look out for themselves and their community is nonsense and there is no legal requirement to do so.

I'm not defending Zimmerman. Rather, I'm not buying into the canned "he's white and the other black so obviously this was a racist murder" claim, such as MSNBC declared last night - then converting it into an anti-gun-rights lecture. The issue is what happened, not what each of us guess happened. I think the true answer is "we don't know."

Getting the US Justice Department into this? What the hell is that about? Pure politics. Democratic politics to be exact.
 
Last edited:
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

Listening to other 911 callers and learning more details, and the recount of the girl Trayvon told what was happening on his cell phone, the entire matter troubling. But whether or not there is a case may depend entirely on what Zimmerman said happened. It probably comes down to that, unfortunately.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

I hear nothing disturbing in the tape at all. There had been burglaries, Zimmerman was looking out for the neighborhood, and saw someone wearing a hoody at night wandering around apparently aimlessly. That does warrant calling the police. I see no problem with him watching the guy. There is the comment of the teen walking towards Zimmerman, hand in pocket, then turning around and running as Zimmerman told it.

I have NO problem with Zimmerman's conduct to this point, and what I hear in Zimmerman's voice if fear (trembling), not rage or racism.
What is he afraid of? Some kid who's walking AWAY from him. Self-defense is one thing. Picking a fight is another. There absolutely no logical reason to follow someone when the police are on their way and you have been instructed to not follow the person.

While it seems we all are trying to guess what happened next, we don't know. I read Zimmerman had a bloody nose, seeming to indication a fight broke out before there was shooting. Who approached who at that point? We don't know. It does appear fighting had started before shooting. Since there was a gun in that situation, it may have become just a question of who is shot. If Zimmerman lost the fight, he lost his gun. They may have even been stuggling over it.

I do NOT buy that because Zimmerman is white and the other guy black it had anything to do with race.

If there was someone wandering around our house, a hood over his head, then ran around a corner when he saw me - I'm going to go ask that person why - and I am going to be armed when I do it. Understand, I would do more than watch him. I would go straight to him demanding "what the hell are you doing stalking around my house?" But it a bit different, as our location is isolated and not an apartment complex. However, when I lived in an urban setting circumstantially I might do the same.

I would do that before I was in law enforcement and I would do it now. The notion that no one but police should look out for themselves and their community is nonsense and there is no legal requirement to do so.
The sentiment expressed by those who are criticizing Zimmerman is not that people shouldn't look out for themselves. It's that when someone 100 pounds less than you is walking down the street not threatening you in the least, the dispatcher tells you not to follow him and you still follow, you become the aggressor. I doubt anyone would argue that people don't have the right to defend themselves. This guy, however, was not defending himself. HE followed someone else.

I'm not defending Zimmerman. Rather, I'm not buying into the canned "he's white and the other black so obviously this was a racist murder" claim, such as MSNBC declared last night - then converting it into an anti-gun-rights lecture. The issue is what happened, not what each of us guess happened. I think the true answer is "we don't know."
Actually, you are defending him because you've said repeatedly that you would do exactly what he did and that you have no problem with any of his actions.

Getting the US Justice Department into this? What the hell is that about? Pure politics. Democratic politics to be exact.
Or it's the fact that police department did not do an investigation and just swept this under the rug so somebody else has to step up to the place..
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by


It seems the only thing this kid did wrong was WWB. Walking While Black. The "altercation" mentioned seems to be nothing more than this Zimmerman cat assaulting the kid. I wonder if there's more to that, but it doesn't look to be so from the article. I feel for Tray's family.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

What is he afraid of? Some kid who's walking AWAY from him. Self-defense is one thing. Picking a fight is another. There absolutely no logical reason to follow someone when the police are on their way and you have been instructed to not follow the person.

The sentiment expressed by those who are criticizing Zimmerman is not that people shouldn't look out for themselves. It's that when someone 100 pounds less than you is walking down the street not threatening you in the least, the dispatcher tells you not to follow him and you still follow, you become the aggressor. I doubt anyone would argue that people don't have the right to defend themselves. This guy, however, was not defending himself. HE followed someone else.

Actually, you are defending him because you've said repeatedly that you would do exactly what he did and that you have no problem with any of his actions.

Or it's the fact that police department did not do an investigation and just swept this under the rug so somebody else has to step up to the place..

Since seeing how compact and huge the complex is, I would not have done the same thing. That is a huge, crowded complex for which people, particularly teens, are going to be out and about at all hours.

I see no problem with "watching" the teen at all. Even watching where he was going.

The question, it seems, is who approached who on the conflict? If Zimmerman hunted the teen down and confronted him, yes I have a real problem with that. If a person initiates a conflict and then kills the person during that conflict, that person is certainly in the wrong.

Obviously the teen could have outrun Zimmerman, though there is no duty to run (the 16 year old girl telling him to run according to her).

The constantly saying Zimmerman weighed 100 pounds more doesn't really mean anything. In a fight between a 17 year old and an 28 year old who is 100 pounds overweight, I'd put my money on the 17 year old - and I've been in literally hundreds, if not over a thousand, fights in my life from my earliest youth through adult life.

This is a tragedy of errors by both - that not a defense of Zimmerman - and a real legal mess however you size it up. Nor does it work to use it as an anti-gun campaign. If Zimmerman had been unarmed and just found dead, no suspects, it wouldn't make the news nor would anyone be using that as a case for people to carry guns.

I do NOT like this being politicized - since it is dealing with unknowns and the speculations into that unknown. We can't know what we can't know.

The thing to do seems obvious enough. Gather all the evidence and witnesses possible and then turn it all over to a grand jury. Either they do or don't indict Zimmerman. Just follow the process.

This is not a new-type case. In Texas a man saw two guys messing with his neighbors car. Despite the dispatcher repeatedly telling him NOT to confront them, he went out and shot both to death with a shotgun. The two were repo-ing, not stealing, the car. No racial implications. He was not arrested.

Yet to say taking away people's guns then doesn't end wrongful deaths, does it? It shifts who dies.
 
Last edited:
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

Since seeing how compact and huge the complex is, I would not have done the same thing. That is a huge, crowded complex for which people, particularly teens, are going to be out and about at all hours.
Okay.

I see no problem with "watching" the teen at all. Even watching where he was going.
Neither do I. Growing up, my mother would watch every suspicious person that walked down our street which, to her, was literally anyone walking outside at night.

The question, it seems, is who approached who on the conflict? If Zimmerman hunted the teen down and confronted him, yes I have a real problem with that. If a person initiates a conflict and then kills the person during that conflict, that person is certainly in the wrong. Obviously the teen could have outrun Zimmerman, though there is no duty to run (the 16 year old girl telling him to run according to her).
I don't think the fact that Zimmerman approached the teen is in question. Zimmerman says that he followed Trayvon.

The constantly saying Zimmerman weighed 100 pounds more doesn't really mean anything. In a fight between a 17 year old and an 28 year old who is 100 pounds overweight, I'd put my money on the 17 year old - and I've been in literally hundreds, if not over a thousand, fights in my life from my earliest youth through adult life.
It's pretty relevant when Zimmerman is the aggressor. Approaching someone much smaller than you just makes your case that much worse.

This is a tragedy of errors by both - that not a defense of Zimmerman - and a real legal mess however you size it up. Nor does it work to use it as an anti-gun campaign. If Zimmerman had been unarmed and just found dead, no suspects, it wouldn't make the news nor would anyone be using that as a case for people to carry guns.
What errors did Trayvon make?

I do NOT like this being politicized - since it is dealing with unknowns and the speculations into that unknown. We can't know what we can't know.

The thing to do seems obvious enough. Gather all the evidence and witnesses possible and then turn it all over to a grand jury. Either they do or don't indict Zimmerman. Just follow the process.

This is not a new-type case. In Texas a man saw two guys messing with his neighbors car. Despite the dispatcher repeatedly telling him NOT to confront them, he went out and shot both to death with a shotgun. The two were repo-ing, not stealing, the car. No racial implications. He was not arrested.

Yet to say taking away people's guns then doesn't end wrongful deaths, does it? It shifts who dies.
I don't know why you have a problem with racial implications. There are people in the world who are racist or prejudiced and there are a lot of people in the world who see black boys and men and automatically assume criminal. That's a part of our society and it might be a part of this case.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

Why is Zimmerman not arrested? What are we missing that the local police let him go? For a man who has a loaded weapon on them and access to a car to claim self defense, there has to be a lot of evidence showing that a teenager with a hoodie was presenting a dangerous situation. This whole thing looks like a cold blooded murder.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

Why is Zimmerman not arrested? What are we missing that the local police let him go? For a man who has a loaded weapon on them and access to a car to claim self defense, there has to be a lot of evidence showing that a teenager with a hoodie was presenting a dangerous situation. This whole thing looks like a cold blooded murder.

And even if you think he was maybe justified, if the roles were reversed and Martin was the shooter, he would be in jail. It would be up to him to prove self-defense.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

The calls for arrest Zimmerman? I know many people think the police should be able to keep someone in jail for months or a couple years until the person is found innocent, but I've never agreed with that practice.

There is NO evidence of racism or misconduct by police. Florida law is what it is. We just saw a women (Casey Anthony) found "not guilty" in Florida for lack of evidence in the death of a child - although massive circumstantial evidence against her. BUT Florida law on murder has very ODD language. The jury not only has to find the person did it beyond a reasonable doubt - but also to the exclusion of any other possible senarios. So if there is ANY senario anyone can imagine where it was not murder, he can't be found guilty of if. That is how Florida law works. That combined with the right to use death force as a protection against serious injury would make any conviction all but impossible - UNLESS Zimmerman says things convicting himself or there is more evidence determined that is being told.

We don't know who approached who. In the recorded phone call, he stated that the teen was coming towards him at one point. In the phone call to the 16 year old, the teen said he was "walking away fast," but won't run like she says she suggested. So who approached who after this?

Our location is very different. We are remote and this isn't hiking country. If anyone is around our property, they are there because of us. Among other things, we are a shelter for women and children - meaning sheltering them not just for housing but also protection. So someone wandering around our place WILL be confronted until their reason being there is known, and if a suspicious group within 5 to 10 minutes half a dozen deputies - shotguns in hand - will be arriving. Such is the nature of a shelter.

Then again this isn't a huge urban county and law is a bit relative. If a person seemingly up to no good or of unknown motive says "I'm not on the property, you can't make me leave," the response of law enforcement likely will be, "last chance. Leave now or ride with us to jail. Take your pick." They mean it. So would I. A stalker(s) watching someone is, in a sense, a psychological assault and fear factor of who he/they are stalking. We won't tolerate it.

Personally, I believe if it was Zimmerman who face-to-face approached and initiated conflict, then I see him as responsible for the death that came to result. However, that is NOT Florida law. As we saw in the Casey Anthony Florida case, if there are unknowns it is all but impossible to get a conviction for murder for how Florida law is worded. However, would you want the law changed to make it easier to get a murder conviction - only to then learn innocent people are on death row or have been executed?

I do not see what the Justice Department adds other than politics. Send all the witnesses and facts to a grand jury. If they can't get an indictment on "probably" guilty, there is no reason to have a jury trial that requires "certainly guilty" and "to the exclusion of any other possibility."

Zimmerman is a paranoid person. That isn't illegal. Nor is watching someone. Unfortunately, we all have to speculate what happened with prior bits and pieces. Particularly with how Florida law is worded, a conviction is virtually impossible.

Playing this as a racist matter is just inaccurate and wrong. If this had been a 17 year old white kid, who pulled a hood over his head, approached Zimmmerman, then ran, I think Zimmerman likely would have done the same. Was his 2 dozen prior 911 calls all about African-Americans? You can not assert someone is racist because they are of a different race. That is well worn out.

The police shouldn't arrest someone because they don't like the person or what the person did. I have no doubt the police don't like Zimmerman a lot.

Guilty people do go free for lack of evidence, like it or not, and what matters is how law is worded, not what people think is justice.
 
Last edited:
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

The calls for arrest Zimmerman? I know many people think the police should be able to keep someone in jail for months or a couple years until the person is found innocent, but I've never agreed with that practice.

There is NO evidence of racism or misconduct by police. Florida law is what it is. We just saw a women (Casey Anthony) found "not guilty" in Florida for lack of evidence in the death of a child - although massive circumstantial evidence against her. BUT Florida law on murder has very ODD language. The jury not only has to find the person did it beyond a reasonable doubt - but also to the exclusion of any other possible senarios. So if there is ANY senario anyone can imagine where it was not murder, he can't be found guilty of if. That is how Florida law works. That combined with the right to use death force as a protection against serious injury would make any conviction all but impossible - UNLESS Zimmerman says things convicting himself or there is more evidence determined that is being told.

We don't know who approached who. In the recorded phone call, he stated that the teen was coming towards him at one point. In the phone call to the 16 year old, the teen said he was "walking away fast," but won't run like she says she suggested. So who approached who after this?

Our location is very different. We are remote and this isn't hiking country. If anyone is around our property, they are there because of us. Among other things, we are a shelter for women and children - meaning sheltering them not just for housing but also protection. So someone wandering around our place WILL be confronted until their reason being there is known, and if a suspicious group within 5 to 10 minutes half a dozen deputies - shotguns in hand - will be arriving. Such is the nature of a shelter.

Then again this isn't a huge urban county and law is a bit relative. If a person seemingly up to no good or of unknown motive says "I'm not on the property, you can't make me leave," the response of law enforcement likely will be, "last chance. Leave now or ride with us to jail. Take your pick." They mean it. So would I. A stalker(s) watching someone is, in a sense, a psychological assault and fear factor of who he/they are stalking. We won't tolerate it.

Personally, I believe if it was Zimmerman who face-to-face approached and initiated conflict, then I see him as responsible for the death that came to result. However, that is NOT Florida law. As we saw in the Casey Anthony Florida case, if there are unknowns it is all but impossible to get a conviction for murder for how Florida law is worded. However, would you want the law changed to make it easier to get a murder conviction - only to then learn innocent people are on death row or have been executed?

I do not see what the Justice Department adds other than politics. Send all the witnesses and facts to a grand jury. If they can't get an indictment on "probably" guilty, there is no reason to have a jury trial that requires "certainly guilty" and "to the exclusion of any other possibility."

Zimmerman is a paranoid person. That isn't illegal. Nor is watching someone. Unfortunately, we all have to speculate what happened with prior bits and pieces. Particularly with how Florida law is worded, a conviction is virtually impossible.
Playing this as a racist matter is just inaccurate and wrong. If this had been a 17 year old white kid, who pulled a hood over his head, approached Zimmmerman, then ran, I think Zimmerman likely would have done the same. Was his 2 dozen prior 911 calls all about African-Americans? You can not assert someone is racist because they are of a different race. That is well worn out.

The police shouldn't arrest someone because they don't like the person or what the person did. I have no doubt the police don't like Zimmerman a lot.

Guilty people do go free for lack of evidence, like it or not, and what matters is how law is worded, not what people think is justice.

I checked Florida law. Murder is illegal there.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

And even if you think he was maybe justified, if the roles were reversed and Martin was the shooter, he would be in jail. It would be up to him to prove self-defense.

Prove it.

Your view of law is just wrong. A person doesn't have to prove self-defense. A person never has to prove they are innocent. The government has to prove they are guilty - and in Florida - that there is absolutely no other possibility anyone can even imagine.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

Florida has many unusual laws. I call this on the "legality of beating someone to death" law:

782.03 Excusable homicide.--Homicide is excusable when committed by accident and misfortune in doing any lawful act by lawful means with usual ordinary caution, and without any unlawful intent, or by accident and misfortune in the heat of passion, upon any sudden and sufficient provocation, or upon a sudden combat, without any dangerous weapon being used and not done in a cruel or unusual manner.

Thus, if someone shoves you ("provocation" and "sudden combat"), you can beat that person to death (no weapons) provided you do so quickly and skillfully.

Try to figure out a legal meaning of "misfortune."
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

I believe there is adequate evidence here to suspect murder. The fact that Zimmerman is saying that he acted out in self defense does not give him a get out of jail free card. So yes, Zimmerman does not have to prove that he was defending himself, but I think there is substantial evidence to show that he has to prove that he didn't murder an unarmed teenager.
 
Re: Family of Florida teen killed by neighborhood watch volunteer feel 'betrayed' by

The Florida Supreme Court and Bar are currently attempting to draft changes to the Jury Instruction in murder cases, all but certainly a result of the Casey Anthony case.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom