17yr old black kid shot and killed for walking in white suburbia?

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Originally Posted by Willie Escalade

Um, why?

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?id...national_world

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Former neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman wants to use Trayvon Martin's school records as part of his defense.

Zimmerman's attorney said Friday he has sent subpoenas to the schools the 17-year-old Martin attended in the Miami area. The subpoenas request disciplinary notices, suspensions and tardiness records among other things.

Martin was suspended by Miami-Dade County schools because traces of marijuana were found in a plastic baggie in his book bag. He was serving the suspension when he was shot Feb. 26 by Zimmerman..

Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump has said the link between the youth and marijuana should have no bearing on the probe into his shooting death.

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Those records may show things much more helpful to the defense than just being late or having an empty bag of weed in his backpack.

Please, don't shoot the messenger here. I'm not saying Zimmerman was justified, I'm discussing the possible evidence. I'm just saying that this is what the defense could use it for.

They may show that Martin was seen in an area of the school students aren't supposed to be in (kinda like trespassing) and that the next day, when his backpack was searched he had a bunch of women's jewelry in it, which he said he didn't know who owned the jewelry and didn't know how the jewelry got there. And he had a screwdriver in the backpack, which one might use to break into a locker with. (kinda like burglary.) So, if you take all of that and put the worst possible spin on it for Trayvon, it makes him look like a small-time burglar, penny ante weed dealer, and somebody who might have been doing something that would have looked suspicious to Z., beyond just being a black teenager. (Like slowly walking back to his dad's place and looking into apartment windows for an apartment to burglarize during the week, since he was suspended from school and had plenty of time to do it.) Those are rumors I've heard about what is in his disciplinary records, but, like a lot of stuff reported in this case, that may not be what actually is in his school records.

GZ's lawyer only needs to get one juror to think there is reasonable doubt and he's hoping the disciplinary records help do that.

Just guessing, but I don't think Trayvon's school records are admissible in this case.
I also don't think Zimmerman's prior arrests can be used against him in his prosecution.

Florida judge sets June start date for George Zimmerman murder trial

A Florida judge has set June 10, 2013 as the start date of the murder trial of George Zimmerman.
Attorneys in the case said they estimate the trial will last three weeks, and Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda said he expected the jury selection would take longer than the trial itself, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson was appointed to the case in late August after the former judge in the case made disparaging remarks about Zimmerman’s character and advocated for additional charges against him during a bond hearing.
A hearing is set for Friday for Nelson to hear arguments on several new motions, including the defense asking for more time to interview state witnesses, reported NBCMiami.com.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012...ite&ocid=msnhp

George Zimmerman judge rejected 'stand your ground' claim in other murder case

In May, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson, who has taken overthe George Zimmerman murder case, rejected the "stand your ground" claim of a 21-year-old Sanford man who was charged with murder.
A month later, a Seminole County jury acquitted him.
That case, Florida v. Kishawn Jones, is important because it could signal what's ahead for Zimmerman, the 28-year-old Neighborhood Watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old.

Zimmerman is expected to use Florida's "stand your ground" law to try to clear himself. Passed by the Florida Legislature in 2005, the law grants immunity to anyone who uses deadly force if he has a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury.
Zimmerman says he killed Trayvon in self-defense on a rainy February evening in a Sanford gated community after he spotted the Miami Gardens teenager and called the police, describing him as suspicious.
Since Trayvon's death, there has been an influx of "stand your ground" motions in Seminole County.
"We never had them before the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case," said Assistant State Attorney John Mannion Jr. "Now, they're getting to be routine."
Nelson is the judge who must decide whether Zimmerman deserves immunity. To date, she has held one "stand your ground" hearing — in the case of Jones, a homeless Sanford man who was charged with second-degree murder.
He shot and killed a close friend, 28-year-oldLeonard Boone, at a Sanford apartment complex in June 2011 in a dispute over a cheap gun and $20.
Jones was outnumbered: He was confronted by Boone and his brother, Eugene Rouse, according to court records. Rouse had sold Jones a handgun, according to testimony, but Jones still owed him$20.
On the day of the shooting, the brothers began arguing with Jones about the money. They upended the bench where he was lying, dumping him on the ground. Rouse then snatched the disputed gun from Jones and, according to a witness, shook it at him. Rouse then walked away with it.
Jones followed, agreed to hand over some money, got back the gun and headed back to his bench, according to witness statements.
The two brothers then began to taunt Jones"and threatened to start a 'war' with him," Nelson wrote in her May 4 order denying the defendant immunity.
Boone charged at Jones, lifting a glass-top table as if to flip it onto the defendant, the judge wrote, and Jones opened fire, shooting Boone three times.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/...orge-zimmerman

http://entertainment.topnewstoday.or...ticle/3287240/

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,2513497.story

natina, the latimes link doesn't work. The other 2 do.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...psb542b626.jpg

http://newsone.com/2036891/brandon-jackson-case/

The issue was always about justice. One cant help but reflect on this when looking at other cases involving the concept of the 'self defense' claim. In this this case a Black man, with no prior criminal record is sentenced to 12 years, after being assaulted by 7-8 White males. And this is six years after the incident. He did stab someone, and the carrying of the knife is illegal, I assume. Jackson was convicted in a jury trial; an all White jury, by the way.

Man Charged in Trayvon Martin’s Death Sues NBC for Defamation

George Zimmerman, accused of second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin earlier this year, filed suit against NBCUniversal on Thursday, alleging that news reports that edited his voice on a 911 tape constituted defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The suit, filed in circuit court in Seminole County, Fla., asked for a jury trial. A spokeswoman for NBCUniversal said in response to the suit: “We strongly disagree with the accusations made in the complaint. There was no intent to portray Mr. Zimmerman unfairly. We intend to vigorously defend our position in court.”
The edits of a 911 audio recording — which removed an intervening question from the operator directly asking Mr. Zimmerman what race Mr. Martin was — aired three times on NBC’s “Today” show: first on March 20, in a report by Lilia Luciano; on March 22, in another report by Ms. Luciano; and again on March 27, in a report by Ron Allen. The killing of Mr. Martin, on the night of Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., spurred a national debate about self-defense, crime and race.
In Ms. Luciano’s first report, Mr. Zimmerman’s words to the 911 operator were: “This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something. He looks black.” In fact, Mr. Zimmerman told the operator: “This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.” When the dispatcher said, “O.K., and this guy — is he white, black or Hispanic?” Mr. Zimmerman then said, “He looks black.”
The suit charges that journalists at NBC News intentionally edited Mr. Zimmerman’s statements to make him appear to be a “racist, predatory villain.”
When the omissions were noticed at the end of March, NBC News conducted an investigation and concluded that the edits were mistakes, not deliberate distortions. Ms. Luciano subsequently left the network, as did a producer who worked with her. Mr. Allen remains at the network.
Ms. Luciano and Mr. Allen were named as defendants in the lawsuit along with NBC on Thursday. The producer, whose name has not been revealed in news reports, was not named as a defendant.
Mr. Zimmerman faces second-degree murder charges in the shooting of Mr. Martin, who was 17. His criminal trial is scheduled to begin in June.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.co...or-defamation/

Zimmerman is unbelievable.
There was no malice on the part of NBC, and the person responsible for the doctored recording was fired.
I hope NBC fights his claim and doesn't give that jerk a single penny.

Reply #2000! The attachment is proof before this post is edited...