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

[savannahguy]

Justice

[bobvela]

Justice

Not yet.

Once Bernie De La Rionda, John Guy but especially Angela Corey are disbarred... then we will be closer.

Malfeasance cannot be excused, especially when so blatant.

[robertlouis]

So in Florida it's now ok for a vigilante to shoot an innocent black kid.

Words fail me.

[Prospero]

So in Florida it's now ok for a vigilante to shoot an innocent black kid.

Words fail me.

I agree. A shameful and shaming verdict.

[bobvela]

I agree. A shameful and shaming verdict.

Self-defense is a shameful act? Good to know how you think.

[robertlouis]

Self-defense is a shameful act? Good to know how you think.

Self-defence??? Listen to yourself.

How is shooting an unarmed juvenile self-defence?

Asshole.

[bobvela]

Self-defence??? Listen to yourself.

How is shooting an unarmed juvenile self-defence?

Asshole.

First... it's spelled 'self-defense', not 'self-defence'.

Moron.

Lets walk through it slower as clearly haven’t graduated from special-ed yet.

While TM was not carrying a gun or knife... the testimony does indicate he was using weapons... in the form of his fists and the ground. So much for being unarmed.

While TM was not yet 18... there are 17 year olds who are emancipated or have even enlisted in the military. Just because he is not 18 does not mean he is not responsible for his own actions.

If as the testimony suggests... that TM was running (or skipping) away from GZ... either you believe that GZ is such a fantastic runner (something no one claimed in court) that he caught up to TM who was running for out of fear or for his life... or that either TM hid and waited for GZ to approach... or doubled back.

It’s either #2 or #3… TM made the choice to confront. Stupid? Yup. Was it stupid for GZ to get out of his car and see where TM was going? Probably (doubly so with what we now know)… neither of which are illegal.

Unfortunately it seems that TM attacked GZ… and after screaming for help after multiple blows… GZ defended himself against the assault which most people (if in that situation) would reasonably believe could cause them significant injury or death.

Like it or not… the jury reached the correct verdict given the evidence presented.

[Prospero]

You are just plain wrog Bobvela. Probably a racist to judge by your remarks. And as for spelling Bobvela, you are a fool... do you not realise the English language has many words spelt and pronounced differently on different sides of the Atlantic. By the way we spell the word to describe you as arsehole... but it means the same as your own word asshole.

Staggering that such people exist.... if your unarmed son had been gunned down by this murderer perhaps you'd feel differently.

[youngblood61]

Sad day

[trish]

Zimmerman is not guilty of murder according to Florida law. I firmly believe that once someone has been found not guilty, or once someone has serve their time, they should be allowed to continue with their lives and be integrated back into society. So I hope will be the case with Zimmerman. This is not to say Martin’s family shouldn’t pursue civil action against Zimmerman. But the legal charge of murder has now been settled; and Zimmerman is not guilty.

When a prosecutor loses a case in court it clearly doesn’t mean the case should never have gone to court. Not only the prosecutor but the public and the grand jury saw the need to settle the issue of fault in this particular shooting in a court of Florida law. Had there been a serious investigation from the beginning, and had Zimmerman been arrested on the night of the shooting, this case would not have gotten a tenth of the public attention it now has. I think is was right to have a trail, to clarify what happened that tragic night, to give the Martins some closure and to give Zimmerman the opportunity to clear his name, which he has.

Yet clearly something is still amiss. An boy was walking through a neighborhood, armed with only a box of skittles. A self professed and armed vigilante views him as a suspicious character and calls 911. The police virtually ask the vigilante to back off (had they only made their request literal). He doesn’t; the vigilante confronts the boy and a scuffle ensues. The boy is shot and killed. The vigilante has lesions on the back of his head. The only thing that is clear is that if the police had got to the boy first, no one would’ve been injure, no one would be dead.

So what is wrong with this picture?

Florida’s stand your ground law.

In actual practice it’s protecting more drug dealers, gang bangers and thugs than ordinary citizens. In a street shoot out between two gangs, any surviver can claim and does claim he fired his weapon in self-defense. Of course the paradox is the dead were firing thei weapons in self-defense too.

The Zimmerman case underscores the tragedy of stand your ground laws because neither Zimmerman nor Martin were drug deals, gang bangers nor thugs. Both may have been acting in self-defense, but the law only protects the survivor who shoots, not the survivors of the dead who were shot.