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Tag: trayvon

  • George Zimmerman Gets Another Speeding Ticket

    Former neighborhood “watchman” George Zimmerman was pulled over for speeding in Central Florida Tuesday, roughly a month after being stopped near Dallas for the same violation. No word yet on whether he was carrying a firearm this time around.

    Zimmerman was left with a warning in the Texas incident, but police in Lake Mary, a suburban city in Seminole County, issued Zimmerman a $256 fine for going 60 in a 45 mph zone on Rinehart Road.

    Incidentally, the traffic violation occurred less than 3 miles from where Zimmerman had shot Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012. Zimmerman’s lawyers have claimed that he’s been trying to keep a low profile, though the gunman was also recently involved in the rescue of a family of four, after their SUV flipped over near Sanford, Florida. This good deed was met with a lot of media attention regardless.

    Zimmerman has been a very polarizing character after his recent acquittal for the shooting death of 17-year-old Martin, and has been understandably trying to remain covert. One would think that excessive speeding and the visiting of the manufacturing facility of the gun used in the Martin case might not be the best ideas.

  • Zimmerman Case Spurs Moms Group, Polarizes Sides

    After the “not guilty” verdict for George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin, protests have sparked up and heated exchanges on social media are in full swing. Lots of people have cooled off over the weekend, but many are just getting going.

    One of the byproducts of the Zimmerman/Martin case is the launch of grassroots groups that advocate for one side or the other, or even just for a cause related to the whole affair.

    One such group is Moms Demand Action. Their chief concern seems to be gun violence in general. They point to the Trayvon Martin case a one example of what they see as a growing problem in America.

    Trayvon, a 17-year-old victim of gun violence, was sadly one of the children and teens shot and killed every 3 hours and 15 minutes in America. Gun violence is a public health crisis of epidemic proportions in our country and, unchecked by Congress and many state legislatures, continues to spiral out of control.

    The group takes particular umbrage with Stand Your Ground laws, while others say they save lives.

    Stand Your Ground laws, which give everyday citizens more leeway to shoot than the U.S. military gives to our soldiers in war zones, endanger our children, families and communities. These laws grow even more dangerous when coupled with some states’ permissive concealed carry policies that empower untrained, average citizens to carry a gun, and turn everyday conflicts into deadly tragedies.

    The group points to a study that they say backs their claims. They also point to a seeming racial disparity in the Stand Your Ground cases.

    A recent Texas A&M study analyzed 20 states with Stand Your Ground laws, including Florida, and found that the laws do not deter violent crime. In fact, there is a clear increase in homicides in those states, resulting in up to 700 more shooting deaths nationwide each year. Stand Your Ground laws also disproportionately affect communities of color. According to an Urban Institute study, when white shooters kill black victims, 34 percent of the resulting homicides are deemed justifiable, while only 3 percent of deaths are ruled justifiable when the shooter is black and the victim is white.

    One of the toughest things to prove in situations like this, even with data, is causality. Certainly, there are more homicides in states with Stand Your Ground laws. Those numbers can’t be denied. But advocates say that the homicide rate is not a result of the laws, but the reason the laws were put in place in the first place.

    The argument, with data on both sides, is sure to go on for a while.

  • George Zimmerman Not Guilty

    A jury has found George Zimmerman not guilty on all counts in the trial of murder/manslaughter of Trayvon Martin.

    The jury deliberated for two days before returning the verdict. The case has polarized the opinions of the nation for months, with some saying that Zimmermann brutally took the life of a young black man with no cause, and others saying he was acting only in self-defense.

    A jury was tasked with determining beyond reasonable doubt whether Zimmerman killed Martin with malice aforethought, or even acted in a reckless manner that he knew could result in his death.

    According to Fox News, after the reading of the verdict, the judge told Zimmerman he was free to go: “You have no more business in this court.”

    And now to see what the reactions to the verdict will be. Prior to the reading of the verdict Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger said, “There is no party in this case who wants to see any violence. We have an expectation upon this announcement that our community will continue to act peacefully.”

    The trial and verdict echo the days of the O.J. Simpson trial and verdict, where a black man was accused of murder, but found not guilty in court. Though many have continued to believe that Simpson did commit the murders, they also agree that the burden of proof in the trial was not handled properly by the prosecution, and that the verdict was therefore appropriate judicially.

    There may be many who disagree with the verdict handed down my the jury in the Zimmerman case, not even finding him guilty on the secondary charge of manslaughter. But the question is whether or not the jury felt the prosecution had met that burden of proof: beyond reasonable doubt. Much of that had to do with whether they could prove that Zimmerman was not defending himself in the struggle with Martin, a task very hard to accomplish.

  • Trayvon Martin’s Mother: Screams Were My Son’s

    Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, has testified in court in the case against George Zimmerman. Zimmerman is accused of the February 26, 2012 shooting of Martin after having called 911 to report a suspicious figure in his gated community (Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain, had made similar calls several times over the previous six months).

    When asked by Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda whether she had any children, Fulton replied, “My youngest son is Trayvon Benjamin Martin. He’s in heaven.”

    After describing her son’s tattoos—one of which had the names of his grandmother and great-grandmother, the other Fulton’s name—De la Rionda played an audio recording of a 911 call placed by a neighbor who witnessed Zimmerman and Martin’s struggle. The recording featured screams that Fulton testified to be her son’s, followed by a gunshot.

    On cross-examination, defense attorney Mark O’Mara suggested that Fulton wanted the screams to be those of her son rather than Zimmerman, a claim Fulton rejected.

    Martin’s brother, Jaharvis Fulton, also took the stand, claiming that the voice was Trayvon’s. This testimony forced Jaharvis to recant a previous report that he wasn’t sure whose voice it was. “How do I explain?” he said, “I guess I didn’t want to believe it was him. . . . I guess listening to it was clouded by shock and denial and sadness.”

    Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, had previously told authorities that the voice in the recording was not Trayvon’s.

    An FBI audio expert testified that technology couldn’t definitively clarify whose voice it was, but a close relative may be able to tell. Even so, he warned, bias on the part of the listener could influence what that individual heard.

    Zimmerman is charged with second degree murder. The case has aroused racial tensions nationwide, as Martin was African-American and Zimmerman’s willingness to pursue Martin has been suggested to have been racially motivated. The Martin incident was the fifth time in seven months that Zimmerman had called 911 to report a suspicious person in his community. In all five instances, the person Zimmerman identified as suspcious was an African-American male.

    If convicted, Zimmerman could face 25 years to life in prison.

  • Zimmerman Trial Joke: Attorney Throws Himself on the Mercy of the Court

    Prosecutors and defense attorneys have delivered opening statements in the case against George Zimmerman. Neither statement went well.

    The prosecuting attorney charged with delivering the opening statement, John Guy, began with the following: “Good morning. ‘F***ing punks. These a******s all get away.’”

    If this was disconcerting for you, imagine how bizarre it must have seemed for the six jurors in the Trayvon Martin murder case. Guy went on to explain that the expletive-laced statement was something Zimmerman said moments before his fatal confrontation with Martin: “These were the words in this grown man’s mouth as he followed this boy that he didn’t know. Those were his words, not mine.” Even so, Guy’s eagerness to get his audience’s attention has been viewed as crass.

    While the prosecution had a punchy, if awkward, opening, defense attorney Don West had it worse—he started off with a knock-knock joke.

    “Knock knock,” he began. “Who’s there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? Good, you’re on the jury.” This apparent reference to the difficulty of seating jurors unfamiliar with the case didn’t fly, and West went on to apologize, promising “no more bad jokes” and claiming he felt that his “delivery” had failed him.

    This was an inauspicious beginning to what will surely continue to be a high profile trial.

    George Zimmerman is charged with second degree murder in relation to the February 26, 2012 death of high school student Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, called 911 after deeming Martin “suspicious.” Going against the instructions of the 911 operator, Zimmerman confronted Martin, and, after a struggle, shot the 17 year old.

    The case has aroused racial tensions nationwide, as Martin was African-American and Zimmerman’s willingness to pursue Martin has been suggested to have been racially motivated. The Martin incident was the fifth time in seven months that Zimmerman had called 911 to report a suspicious person in his community. In all five instances, the person Zimmerman identified as suspcious was an African-American male.

    If convicted, Zimmerman could face 25 years to life in prison.