
I have wanted to comment on this case since it was brought to the attention of the nation but I didn't want to publish a knee-jerk reaction. I wanted to wait until the trial was completed and people had their opportunity to respond to the outcome before I spoke. This case is a big deal because a 17 year old unarmed kid/young man (which ever makes you feel better) died as a result of whatever happened out there that night. Now that the case is over and all of the evidence has been presented, we can come to a rational conclusion about what was the most likely truth about what happened that night.
First off, we don't have any direct statements from Trayvon as to his version of what happened that night. We have to piece together Trayvon's version of events from other sources which means that the that information's strength/quality is somewhat diminished. Likewise, on Zimmerman's side, the strength/quality of his statements about what happened that night are also diminished because he clearly has something at stake - his life. So let's begin our review of what took place from Zimmerman's point of view first.
According to Zimmerman:
-There had been a recent rash of robberies/burglaries in his neighborhood prompting him to seek to establish a neighborhood watch program of which he was the captain.
-In his capacity as the captain of neighborhood watch he often reported suspicious persons to the police and had reports of suspicious persons reported to him by neighbors.
-On February 26th, 2012 at around 7/8pm Zimmerman says he decided to go purchase groceries so he left his home headed for the Target department store.
-It was a rainy night. While driving through his neighborhood headed to the store Zimmerman noticed a young, hooded possibly Black male, walking through the neighborhood in the rain and found him suspicious.
-He then called the non-emergency police line and reported the incident.
-During the call he described the person he saw as someone who appeared to a male teenager and when asked by the dispatcher he said the suspicious person appeared to possibly be Black.
-During the call he declared to the dispatcher that "these ass holes always get away".
-During the call Zimmerman says "shit, he's running" and immediately afterwards can be heard exiting his vehicle and he admits to doing this with two flashlights but only to find an address and street sign because he wasn't familiar with what street he was on.
-Zimmerman had been out of his vehicle for a minute or less when the dispatcher asked him if he was following the suspect to which Zimmerman said he was. The dispatcher then told Zimmerman that they (the police) did not need him to do that and Zimmerman said okay.
-The dispatcher asked Zimmerman where he wanted the police to meet him and he initially told them to meet his near the mailboxes at the clubhouse but then changed that by asking the dispatcher to have the police call him when they arrived so that he could tell them where he was. Zimmerman ended the call shortly thereafter.
-The dispatcher asked Zimmerman for his address and he didn't want to give it because he said he wasn't sure where Trayvon Marting was at the time. -According to Zimmerman he was now headed back to his vehicle when Trayvon came out from a bush and confronted him asking if he (Zimmerman) had a problem with him.
-Zimmerman told Trayvon that he had no problem with him and Trayvon responded that "you do now".
-Zimmerman then reached for his cell phone in his jacket pocket with his head down and as he looked up Trayvon Martin struck him in the nose and then numerous flurries of blows to the face and head.
-Zimmerman fell to the ground and Trayvon mounted him, grabbed his head and begin beating it against the concrete.


-Zimmerman began crying out for someone to help him as he went in/out of consciousness.
-Eventually, Zimmerman's jacket raised exposing his handgun and Trayvon attempted to reach for it while declaring to Zimmerman "you're going to die tonight".
-Zimmerman hurried and drew the weapon, pointed it up at Trayvon and shot him one time in the chest.
-Zimmerman rolled over on top of Trayvon and held him down because Trayvon was still struggling and saying to him "you got me".
-Eventually a neighbor came out and asked if he wanted him to call the police and he told him no, call my wife and tell her I just shot someone.
-The police and the paramedics arrived and Zimmerman was cleaned/bandaged on the scene but refused further medical treatment (a hospital visit).
-Zimmerman was taken to the police station to give a statement about what happened and was released after doing so.


So that's Zimmerman's version of events according to his attorneys although he has given more than one version of events to different people at different times. One of his best friends testified to a version of events Zimmerman told him that he used to write a book about the incident in which Zimmerman says that Trayvon actually grabbed the gun and he had to wrestle it away from him before firing the fatal shot.


One of Zimmerman's statements to police also doesn't have Trayvon as jumping out from a bush but rather simply walking up and encountering him. There were also inconsistencies in the story he told in an interview on Fox TV network with other statements he'd given previously.
According the Trayvon (based on an assemblage of the known facts)
-Trayvon Martin was visiting his father and spending time at his father's girlfriend's house who just happened to live in Zimmerman's neighborhood when he decided to go to the store for the son of his father's girlfriend and himself.
-Trayvon walked to the local 7 Eleven convenience store and purchased a can of Arizona iced tea and a bag of Skittles.

-On Trayvon Martins way home he was talking on his cell phone to good his friend, Rachel Jeantel, using a wired head piece with the mic built into the cable.


-During the phone call, once he returned to the apartment complex, Trayvon reports to Rachel that he's being followed by a "creepy ass cracker" and Rachel warns him that he might be a rapist.
-Trayvon told her he was going to try to lose the man by getting home in a hurry from the mailing area.
-They continued to have idle chatter when Trayvon announce to her that the "nigga is still following me".
-Rachel told Trayvon to run but he said no because he was close to the rear of the home his was visiting but then he complained again about the man still following him.
-Trayvon then said he was going to try and lose Zimmerman by running away from the area behind the home he was visiting and that's when the phone call disconnected.
-Rachel called Trayvon back and asked where he was. Trayvon said he lost Zimmerman and was again near the back of the home he was visiting.
-Trayvon was breathing hard and the next thing she heard was Trayvon saying "oh shit, the nigga is behind me".
-Rachel then heard Trayvon ask Zimmerman "why are you following me".
-Rachel then heard Zimmerman breathing hard as if from running reply to Trayvon "what are you doing around here".
-Rachel called to Trayvon but what she heard was the sound of the wired mic bumping up against his chest followed by the sound of wet grass squishing.
-The last thing Rachel heard before the phone call disconnected for the last time was Trayvon yelling to Zimmerman, "get off of me"!
-According to Rachel she could hear what sounded like Trayvon running eventually and later being yelled at by Zimmerman.
What do we really know to be absolutely true based on the evidence and statements made by both sides?
1 We know that Trayvon Martin left his soon to be stepmother's house to get snacks for himself and his soon to be step brother on the night of the incident.
2 We know that George Zimmerman also left his home on that night and encountered Trayvon on his return home.
3 We know that Trayvon was on the phone at the time with his friend Rachel.
4 We know that Zimmerman followed Trayvon.
5 We know that Trayvon ran and that Zimmerman chased him.
6 We know that Zimmerman was carrying a gun and two flashlights.
7 We know that there had been recent incidents of crime in the area and that Trayvon fit the profile of the suspects.
8 We know that Zimmerman was head of neighborhood watch and was responsible for reporting suspicious activity.
9 We know that Trayvon was there legitimately and had committed no crime.
10 We know that Zimmerman was told by the dispatcher that it was not necessary for him to follow Trayvon.
11 We know that Zimmerman refused to be taken to the hospital after only being cleaned up and bandaged by paramedics.
What can we determine about what happened based on common sense and some questionable statements?
1 It sounds more likely than not that Zimmerman was out patrolling the neighborhood rather than on his way to shop for groceries at Target. While that's possible, it just doesn't sound likely that someone would leave out to grocery shop at a department store rather than a grocery store, without his wife, armed with a gun and two flashlights.
2 Zimmerman stated in later statements to the police that he stopped following Trayvon when the dispatcher told him to do so yet on the 911 tape he can clearly be heard running after being told they didn't need him to follow Trayvon and Rachel's testimony confirms that he was running.
3 Zimmerman told the dispatcher that Trayvon took off running near the mailboxes where he parked confirming that Rachel was telling the truth about Trayvon running and making it more likely that Zimmerman pursued.
4 Zimmerman jumped out of his vehicle very quickly after noticing that Trayvon took off running yet he had time to grab two flashlights, suggesting that he was driving around using one light as a spotlight (like police) and the other was on his person as a backup weapon.
5 Zimmerman was wearing a long jacket and said that his gun was not only in his holster beneath the jacket but that the holster was inside of his pants beneath his shirt and jacket and also positioned on his right rear - not his side.
6 It is more likely that Zimmerman had his flash light and gun at the ready (like a police) when he approached Trayvon or at least that he drew it soon after asking him what he was doing in the neighborhood because Trayvon clearly struck him as a result of some action Zimmerman took. According to Rachel, Trayvon asked him why he was following him. According to Zimmerman, after a verbal interaction with Trayvon, he reached for his phone and was struck by Trayvon. It's more likely that he reached for and drew his gun and that's what inspired the "fight for you life" reflexive punch from Trayvon. They then, more than likely, began to wrestle for control of the gun at which point it would be reasonable for either or even both of them to be screaming for help.
7 It is more likely that Trayvon was the one screaming for help as on the 911 tape you can clearly hear the person yelling for help being silenced by the gunshot.
8 We know that it is more likely than not that if Zimmerman was having his head repeatedly pounded against the concrete after a flurry of blows that took him off of his feet, he would not have had the presence of mind to refuse hospital service even if he had mustered enough to get off a life saving shot. Zimmerman not only had the stamina to survive that beating and not need real medical attention but he was able to go to the police department that same night and given a couple of lengthy interviews and statements to police and not even stagger a little.
9 We know that Trayvon was shot in the heart and that his lungs had filled with blood. He could therefore not breath let alone speak though Zimmerman claims that he not only spoke but that he was still struggling which is why he mounted him to hold him down after shooting him. That just doesn't make sense to me. I think that's a lie Zimmerman told to cover up for something else. I think perhaps Zimmerman shot Trayvon and mounted him to search him for a weapon - something he could use to justify what he had just done. That's why Trayvon was not laying in the position that he was reportedly initially in immediately after the shooting. Trayvon was on his stomach with his hands beneath him when the police came though he was originally on his back being mounted supposedly by Zimmerman. Zimmerman turned his body over searching his waste line for weapons.
10 Every time Zimmerman told his story - key points changed - as if they had been altered or upgraded to sound more plausible. This is just another way of saying he was lying and people lie to cover up wrong doing.
11 Trayvon might have swung first, standing his ground in the face of an armed stalker, but Zimmerman is guilty of murder.
In this situation it is difficult for anyone to fully hate George Zimmerman for his actions because while he might have been a little over zealous I don't think anyone believes that he'd set out after Trayvon thinking he was going to kill him. It appears that he just wanted to get the bad guy and profiling went wrong this time. The issue is that you don't get a pass on taking a life rather by mistake, the result of not thinking things through or fully intentional. Murder is murder is murder - even when it is not premeditated. The jury of 6 women - five of which were White - none of which were Black, disagreed. In about 16 hours they decided that Zimmerman was not guilty of even manslaughter.
Zimmerman never took the stand in his own defense.

Everyone is trying to make this case about "stand your ground". The only application of Stand Your Ground law on this case is in the fact that Trayvon was standing his. This case was about racism from the moment that Zimmerman decided to get out and chase this particular suspect down with his gun and flashlights although he had never done that before. This case continued to be about race when the police decided not to even truly investigate the incident. They didn't even bother calling the last number dialed on Trayvon's cell phone even though the last number called was minutes before his death. It is racial bias that allowed the ME and the police to allow the body of an easily identifiable newly 17 year old kid to sit in the morgue as a John Doe for days before notifying the parents. It's racial bias that allows the police to think it's okay to just let a man go without arrest or even a 24 hour hold even though he just killed a kid and they have nothing but his statement as evidence of what happened. It is racial bias that allows the prosecutor's office to decide it's okay to just let this case go and not to prosecute in until the feds had to force them to do something. It is racial bias that allows an all female, pretty much all white jury to decide this case and it's because of racial bias that juror #b37 says that Rachel Jeantel's testimony wasn't credible but that everything had to be tested against what Zimmerman said or it's wrong. Zimmerman is free on racism and if I were him I would find Klan town America to spend the remainder of my years.
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