Trayvon Martin

Good question. While saying "but I have black friends" does sound lame, but what else can one do to prove a negative?

 

I am also not racist. My wife works with a half black, half Eskimo lady. True story.

 

Perhaps his black friends could come out and support him.

 

"I have black friends..." Honestly what else is someone supposed to say unless they have a spouse/partner that is black?

 

The man's already receiving death threats. You want his black friends to also receive death threats?

 

Why don't you go hold his hand and tell him everything is going to be ok.

 

Why don't you?

 

Because he should be arrested and given a fair trial. Even conservative leaders are coming out and saying the "stand your ground" statute doesn't apply in this case. People are outraged at the lack of justice. You and bigtexxx just seem to be outraged by their outrage.

 

Terrible story.

So, I have a hypothetical question.

If the white guy feels threatened by this black kid because of his appearance and pulls out a gun, would the black kid, if armed, have been justified in shooting the white guy in self defense?

 

It seems quite plausible that in the Martin case both may have been in fear of death or serious bodily injury and that fear may have happened simultaneously.

 

It's also quite plausible that he had unreasonable fear, which dispels the self defense argument.

1. He chased Martin down to confront him (confirmed by Zimmerman in the 911 call and confirmed by Martin's girlfriend on the phone that "somebody strange was chasing him").
2. He was 110 lbs heavier than Martin.
3. Martin doesn't have a history of violence or fighting.

http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/second-degree-murder-defenses.html

Here are the basic elements of a self-defense claim:

The defendant was not in a place they were prohibited from entering.
The defendant cannot be at fault in the situation.
The defendant was not the aggressor or instigator.
The defendant had a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm that required the use of force.
The defendant fulfilled the requirement to retreat from the threat or attempt to avoid danger. (not necessary in Florida)

First, the defendant must be in a place that they had a right to be in when the situation arose. A trespasser, for example, cannot enter someones property and then claim self-defense if they kill the property owner in a scuffle.

Second, the general rule is that the person claiming self-defense must not have provoked the slain party in any way. If the situation arose because of the actions of the eventual killer, the killer cannot argue that the slaying occurred in self-defense. It might lessen the severity of the charge, but provocation by the defendant negates the possibility of an acquittal because of self-defense. (Zimmerman is going to have a hard time arguing that he didn't provoke the slain party considering he mumbled "F'ing COONS", ran Martin Down on foot and confronted Martin with no police authority)

In addition, the person acting in self-defense must have had a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm that necessitated the use of force. If the situation would not result in death or great bodily harm, or if the killers fear was unreasonable, then the self-defense argument is not available. (Could a 140 lb kid, with no history of violence, cause reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm to a man almost twice his size using his fists, a bag of skittles and a can of iced tea?)

 

My only point was that him coming out and saying he helps black people in different capacities does not clear him from being racist.

In this case, there is a questionable concern about race as the shooter may have uttered a racial slur.

I'm not saying you're damned if you are accused of racism. If somebody accused me of racism my first reaction would be "What did I do or say to give you that impression?" and then defend myself accordingly. If I said "I hate those crackers." while at work and somebody overhears me in my office and accuses me of racism is it not possible I was talking about some saltines laying on my desk and that I prefer Ritz to those?

 

You're assuming a lot of things that have not been proven.

 

Spike Lee (and others) is a piece of **** for tweeting Zimmerman's address

He's going to get someone killed.

 

Such as?

 

Leave it up to the Sanford PD to serve and protect. Public info is public.

FWIW - Zimmerman moved out of there a while ago after shooting Martin.

 

Even if true, it still doesn't justify Lee posting the guy's address. Obviously Lee doesn't know that or what would be the point. Spike Lee is encouraging violence.

 

And the lynch mob forms.

 

Your conclusion that Zimmerman was the aggressor is just speculation on your part.

Also, Martin's criminal history (or lack thereof) is irrelevant since there is no way Zimmerman would have known that.

 

Nope, according to the 911, Zimmerman thought Martin was an F'ing Coon, an a-hole and was up to no good. But I guess since your friends at pjmedia, BoysUnderTheHood.org, breitbard and herpaderp.com haven't called for the arrest, you just can't come to the conclusion that there is probable cause that Zimmerman might NOT have acted in self defense. Surely, it would be terrible for this to ever reach a court since Obama and all of the GOP candidates have weighed in.