Everyone talking about weight/reach/etc are acting like this was a fight. You don't know that it was though. If Zimmerman got popped in the face and went down and then got mounted, his weight has very little relevance.
That's also assuming that they were fighting on a sidewalk and not grass (can't find where they found Martin's body). It's also assuming that Zimmerman told the truth when he said he was looking at the street signs to tell police where Martin was. His dad flat out lied (or he innocently didn't know) to the media about George never following Martin. There was enough doubt cast on the story for the homicide detective to file an affidavit calling for the arrest on manslaughter charges.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2117219/Trayvon-Martin-shooting-Mother-claims-George-Zimmerman-killed-son-skin-colour.html Eighth grader Austin McLendon was only 20 yards away when he heard Trayvon Martin being shot in the chest. Since the February 26 shooting, the 13-year-old has been unable to sleep and said he can still hear the screams for help and the one resonating gunshot that took Mr Martin’s life. He said: ‘I picture myself back over where I saw it and it sticks in the back of my mind.’ In an interview with the Huffington Post, the boy said he had played out endless scenarios in his head and wondered if he could have been the one to get shot. That night, he had taken the family dog for a walk in the neighbourhood. 'If I was like two years older, that could have happened to me,' he said. ‘I’ve been feeling bad for him and his family.’ However the teenager was most upset by the fact Zimmerman had not been arrested. Sheryl Brown, Austin's mother, said she felt the officer who interviewed her son asked him leading questions to make it appear that it was Zimmerman who called for help.
http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-na...aims-trayvon-martin-attacked-george-zimmerman You can actually listen to him talking to news agencies if you google the video. Note that the people who heard the calls for help have suggested that it was Trayvon ONLY because it stopped after the gunshot. http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/27/justice/florida-teen-shooting-witnesses/index.html However, it is also consistent that if Zimmerman was calling for help and whining he would stop after he shot the kid and go into shock. Not one witness has actually said they saw Martin or heard Martin call for help. They've only said they heard someone call for help and they assume it was Martin because he got shot. However, Zimmerman told police at the scene he was calling for help and a witness who saw it happening backs up that story. http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/27/justice/florida-teen-shooting-witnesses/index.html
So going to the store is the same as deliberately following someone? Zimmerman literally went looking for trouble. It is no surprise then that he found it.
Zimmerman would presumably say he went looking to prevent trouble. One could say he was overzealous in that regard, but your characterization seems unfair based on the known evidence.
Not necessarily. Using FL case law as a precedent in the 2010 Dooley and James case. Trevor Dooley was armed when he verbally confronted an unarmed man, David James, in a public park. Both men had the right to be there and both the right to defend themselves. James lunged at Dooley when he saw the gun and in the ensuing struggle James was shot. Dooley was subsequently found guilty of manslaughter. It is without doubt that James made the first aggressive move in lunging at Dooley so under your logic James should be in the clear. The prosecutor and jury in that case didn't see it that way. This case is more clear cut than the Martin Zimmerman case since it isn't known which one first got physical with the other but as a precedent even if Martin had "attacked" Zimmerman first Zimmerman isn't automatically justified. Anyway both you and Bigtexxx seem to be overlooking the fact that Zimmerman was deliberately following Martin and had set out that evening to look for trouble. Martin had deliberately set out to go to the store. If you don't see that there is a difference between that and how that could lead to the tragedy I don't know what to say.
Once again highly speculative. I have noticed you seem to repeat that Martin was the first to attack Zimmerman even while you have stated you need more facts.
I've stated this a few times but what evidence we know is difficult to reconcile with the idea that Zimmerman shot Martin while Martin was bashing his head against the concrete. I think it is possible that Martin did at least attempt to bash his head in but given that the the witnesses report seeing Zimmerman standing over Martin right after the shooting and there is is no report of lots of blood on Zimmerman that would be consistent with shooting someone on top of you it seems questionable. My own read is that as soon as Martin saw the gun he backed off and Zimmerman shot him.
That is a big "if" that we don't know about. We know for a fact that Zimmerman followed Martin, first in his car and then on foot. Once again though do you believe that going to the store is the same as deliberately following someone?
I am going to weigh in on the height and weight difference and at the risk of sounding like an internet tough guy I think I can talk about this with some knowledge as someone who has done a lot of competitive martial arts including mixed martial arts. Weight is an advantage but unless both fighters are reasonably close in shape it isn't much of one. In a situation where you have one fighter who is much smaller but in better condition versus one who is larger but out of shape I would generally say the smaller guy wins. Martin appears to be in fairly good shape while Zimmerman doesn't so I am willing to say Martin probably had an edge on Zimmerman physically. Also yes you can break someone nose without breaking your hand. I have no trouble accepting that Martin knocked Zimmerman down with a punch to the face. The question is whether he did it first and / or was unprovoked.
I don't understand the relevance of the question. Zimmerman has a right to walk in his own neighborhood. Both are legal actions.
This is what I think happened too. They found Trayvon face down with his arms underneath him. That's consistent with somebody who gets shot and falls forward. If Martin was on top of Zimmerman, he would have rolled the body off and Martin would be on this back or side. Maybe I watch too much tv, but I also think at that close a range, their would be some of Trayvon's blood on Zimmerman. Here's the police report, btw, Trayvon is listed at 6ft, when did 6'3" become his accepted height? http://www.sanfordfl.gov/investigation/docs/Twin Lakes Shooting Initial Report.pdf Also, the police apparently did take Zimmerman's clothes and his gun that night.
Michelle Malkin apologizes for using fake photos of Martin. Honestly. The photo looks nothing like Martin. Apparetly, she got the photo from StormFront, a white supremacy bbs, and thought it was really Martin. http://twitchy.com/2012/03/25/why-t...paign=7e5931ece6-UA-142218-2&utm_medium=email
