It doesn't matter if it was organized or not. We don't know what three rounds meant. All of that is irrelevant. I don't think anyone is insinuating that Martin is looking to get in a fight with everyone that crosses his path. What is relevant is Martin is not a stranger to fighting.
There would have been no altercation had GZ not actively pursued TM. That much is clear. This is not a case where GZ was walking down the street humming show tunes and eating an ice cream cone when he happened to encounter TM. He actively pursued TM and it was enough to make TM apprehensive. Was TM an angel? No. Was GZ? No. In fact, GZ had a restraining order against him for domestic violence and had also previously been arrested for assaulting a cop. Lets not forget that GZ was apparently predisposed to violence also.
Even assuming that the assault occurred, unless you are a psychologist, neither of us are qualified to know at what point such apprehension rises to the level to trigger a fight or flight response.
If you beat someone up, NOT on your own property, because you THINK they were following you, without trying to resolve the situation verbally, would you be arrested for assault?
Like I said, searching the back yard for pests. There were break ins in the area and he saw someone he thought was suspicious so he checked it out. He called the police and followed the guy because he was frustrated that the kids always get away before the cops get there. His 911 call doesn't sound like someone who wants to fight or kill, rather it reads like someone who is determined not to lose track of a suspicious character. That is not the same as poking a bee hive. If GZ is telling the truth, there would have been no altercation had Trayvon not attacked GZ. You can confront someone without violence. Trayvon allegedly chose to attack and his violence was met with violence.
Just saying he is far closer to Brandon Jennings than to Steve Urkel which is the image that was originally conveyed. This was a strapping young man "checking out houses" in this neighborhood not an awkward teen. People also run away just to avoid detection. Then, it is entirely possible, that Trayvon saw an opportunity (as he got a closer look and saw a chubby guy not to be feared) and seized the chance to beast on him. This is the kind of thing that GZ reported and the injuries seem to bear it out. How do you think GZ got his wounds? According to reports, TM's only wounds were the fatal gunshots.
It comes off to me as just a casual way to describe a rumble in which he made a comeback-- framed like an MMA event.
The fact that the kid is unarmed is irrelevant here. The neighborhood watch in a community that had been dealing with break ins saw a person he thought was suspicious. He called 911 and pursued the individual to make sure he could lead the police to the kid. He told the police to call him so he could tell them where he was. His intent was to get the kid caught, not to kill the kid. I hope my neighborhood watch wouldn't just go "eh, guy was probably a criminal but he is out of sight now, so out of mind!"
I was involved in my neighborhood watch. I wasn't carrying a gun, and I was instructed to not confront someone I thought was "dangerous" but rather to call 911, provide a description, then disengage. Which is what the 911 person was advising when "we don't need you to do that". Furthermore, I would NOT want someone in my neighborhood watch carrying a gun, worst, discharging a gun in my neighborhood. The life I might be saving might be my own. Or one of my kids. Again, law enforcement is trained to do, and responsible for the actions that killed Martin.
A couple of things. 1. Martin weighed about 20 pounds less than Brandon Jennings. Stop telling people to think he's like Brandon Jennings. He wasn't a professional athlete. 2. There's evidence that he wasn't running to avoid detection that he knew someone was following him. 3. GZ's injuries really weren't that severe. 4. GZ got his injuries at least most of them in a physical confrontation with TM. That doesn't mean that TM started that physical confrontation.
I'd rather no one discharge a gun personally. That said GZ wasn't firing a gun to stop Trayvon from trespassing or breaking into someone's home, he fired a gun, allegedly, to defend his own life.
Fify. All the conservatives on this board want to GZ to get off. All the liberals want him to go to jail. I think the outcome of the trail will depend the makeup of the jury. I think people have made up their decision one way or the other. The amount of evidence is limited. The only guy who knows what happened is GZ since TM is dead. It sets of a terrible precedent. If you want to go kill someone just follow they get them to hit you and shoot them.
I don't "want" him to get off. I don't know all the facts. I'm only arguing against the presumption of guilt that is in this thread.
The problem is that all of the facts will never be known. All we have is what GZ says happened. Of course, there appear to be significant logical holes in his story. It isn't like GZ's word is dispositive. He is going to have credibility problems. People tend to take the word of a guy who has had violence problems in the past with a grain of salt.
Not only that. He's been caught changing his story/lying to the police and interviews already. At one point Zimmerman claimed that Martin punched him and he fell back. Then the next day when he's reenacting the incident for Police, he says that after being punched he moved forward and stumbled. Zimmerman has credibility problems. But I think all of the witnesses and people should be able to have their statements examined just like people have examined Zimmerman's. There could be other inconsistencies which may help one side or another. That's why I think it can't be certain who did what unless there is a trial. Even then it will only be a best guess, but at least it will be more to go on.
Plus all that shadiness when he was talking to his wife in code about their bank accounts, and when they lied about their wealth in the bail hearings. Zimmerman is a slippery dude. The only thing that's indisputable in this case is that Zimmerman created a bad (ultimately fatal) situation when he ignored the orders of the 911 dispatcher (and the common-sense rules that govern neighborhood watches everywhere).
