Do you believe george zimmerman should be in jail?

I won't bother to make any decision on that. My main beef with this whole thing is that the police department didn't even bother to investigate. If they made a legit finding based on all the evidence that Zimmerman can't be charged, so be it. But I don't think they tried to do that.

That's the thing. I shouldn't have to rely on random media interviews and family lawyers to provide me with evidence. The police should've done these things.

 

I am not going to vote in this thread since I think what should be done is being done already, the grand jury is investigating, so I don't think jail is warranted at the moment. If the question is should he have been taken into custody at the time of the incident. I think there is evidence for that but even if he was he likely would be out of jail now awaiting whether he gets indicted.

 

I can't vote because I have to add a caveat:

He should be in custody or out on bail awaiting trial.

I am open to hearing his self-defense argument, but that argument is an argument to be made in court, not at the scene of the crime, followed by the cops saying, "Alright then, well you have a good night."

For all bigtexxx goes on about needing more facts, it's funny he's not upset that the shooter's clothes weren't tested, he was allowed to go home and shower and he was not drug/alcohol tested which I would think should be common practice whether he shot an armed one or an unarmed one. It figures into the case whether or not he was sober when he decided to follow a stranger while carrying a gun.

 

agreed and also not voting

 

Let the court system decide that.

 

He should at least have been interrogated. You rarely see an altercation that results in a death that releases the killer; regardless of his story...

 

Do you think that is true in general, or just for this specific case? If someone kills an intruder in their house, should they stand trial for murder or manslaughter and be forced to prove the self-defense?

 

According to the police report Zimmerman was cuffed and questioned on the scene. The on scene police accepted his story seemingly with little follow up.

 

That's the problem. Should have been a full-blown investigation.
If he were truly innocent, he would have nothing to worry about... by releasing him, the police just marked him for death. Sooner or later vigilantes will find him.

 

I had this discussion with someone the other night. What you describe depends on what the state law is. In states with the Castle Doctrine then if a homeowner shoots someone in their own home the legal circumstances strongly favor the home owner. If in a state like MN without the castle doctrine the homeowner still has an advantage but would still have to justify their actions. For example if I shot someone in my own house I would absolutely expect to be taken into custody to explain the circumstances.

The Zimmerman case though was on a public street and under the FL law both Zimmerman and Martin have a right to be there, to confront each other, and even act in self-defense. The problem is that with one person dead the one that survives gets to tell their story while the other doesn't. It is very possible Martin believed he was in the right and defending himself from someone who was stalking him.

 

Have any photos been taken and released of Zimmerman's alleged sustained injuries? Seems to me if he had injuries that corroborated his whole story along with witness testimony, there may not be much to follow up on.

 

The only reason we believe the police didn't do their job is because we were initially all pretty much in agreement that at least manslaughter happened. Why did we believe that? Because of bad/incomplete information being given to the media.

If the police at the scene saw a beat up Zimmerman with wounds to the back of his head and had witnesses confirming that he was on the ground being assaulted, why would they make an arrest?

I think it is possible that in the end the police will be found to have done their job. The only reason it's being said that they didn't is because people don't accept that he is innocent.

 

Good question. For all the anonymous witnesses and attempts to sully the image of the dead young man, you'd think if there was physical injuries sustained by the shooter, pictures of this would be released as well.

 

I voted that he should be, but I will add batman's caveat to my vote.

 

I would hope the police would investigate any shootings much more than just ask a couple of questions to the shooter and a witness. Then again, I tend to feel like cases where someone dies should be important to the police.

If this happens where I live, I would feel quite uncomfortable spending my taxpayer money on the police department.

 

Its not just that. According to some witnesses they said police corrected them about their testimony at the scene. They would indicate possible bias or incompetent police work. The impression that I am getting is that the police didn't do a thorough or a biased job on scene. At first glance perhaps it appears that Zimmerman acted in self-defense but police are supposed to consider more than just first glance.

 

people still seem to be confusing the issue. this case should be brought to trial. whether zimmerman is incarcerated pending the trial is something else.

 

Yes.. Zimmerman should be put in jail....

But for everyone on the board, please realize this is more about the Florida Law then it is about race.

The question has popped up on what if this were a reversal, well in Sept 2010, there was a reversal....

Black Shooter of White Victim in Florida Claimed "Stand Your Ground", still Arrested & Tried

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/22/1076889/-Black-Shooter-of-White-Victim-in-Florida-Claimed-Stand-Your-Ground-still-went-to-Court

In the beginning he was not arrested and eventually later on he was. Dooley killed this man in front of his daughter.

I'm a black man and i'm upset, but this is more about the law than it is about race.

The anger should be at the Law, which has allowed many innocent people to be killed for no apparent reason.

T_Man

 

The police doing a mediocre or bad job doesn't mean Zimmerman should be in jail. IF (and this is still an if) he actually is innocent, he shouldn't be penalized because of some shoddy police work.

You believe that innocent people should stand trial even if the evidence proves to prosecutors and police that no crime was committed? This is getting silly. You think "of course he should be standing trial" because you think "of course he is guilty of something." Police shouldn't arrest and prosecutors shouldn't prosecute people they think are innocent.