Zimmerman verdict: Not Guilty.

[smax]

How many other bad decisions were made and how many of them were made by Trayvon? How ever many bad decisions you can think of that were made by Trayvon; There's no way those were good ideas! Jeez, what the fuck was that shithead thinking?!?!

The point is simply that Zimmerman provoked this incident by pursuing a matter that he neither had the authority nor qualifications to pursue.

That type of conduct, by mere citizens, should be harshly discouraged by our legal system.

Basically, in Florida, you have some basic right to be a vigilante. That's what it all boils down to.

---

Yeah, right? We pay cops to do things like that.

This guy was just a volunteer. He should have become an official cop. Instead of a trial we would have given him a medal for heroism.

Or, perhaps Trayvon would have reacted differently to being questioned by an official police authority, and a confrontation would not have ensued, and a man would not have died.

Instead, Trayvon was questioned by someone with no more police authority than he himself, and probably wasn't all that happy about it.

I know I don't want any of my neighbors questioning me. How about you?

[Tiberius]

Do you have any links to articles that can verify this?

Reuters reported the prelude: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/2...8H20120425

---

People posting in this thread keep referring to the incident in the words of Zimmerman as if they are what actually happened. Especially when referring to the dialogue.

The dialogue he had with the police was all recorded and accurate transcripts were released. The dialogue he may have had with Trayvon is irrelevant because nobody can prove or disprove it. Other evidence was used to reach the verdict.

One YouTube video that covered the court case described Zimmerman (with Treyvon on top of him) as being unable to breath, thus impairing him. Yet the audio clearly showed him repeatedly yelling "Help!". Funny, but if you're breathless you also can't speak... and his shouts didn't sound like someone who was struggling to speak.

So, was the YouTube video making that claim, or was Zimmerman? Can you link to sources if it was the latter? If it was the former, I don't think I have to explain why your point is moot.

According to Zimmerman, while trying to shuffle his body so that his head was on the grass rather than the pavement, Treyvon saw his gun, said "you're going to die tonight, motherfucker" before reaching for the gun. Zimmerman, however, got to it first and shot him.

Now. Imagine that scenario and ask yourself how Treyvon saw the gun but failed to get to it before Zimmerman, given everything that Zimmerman was saying to him. That simply doesn't make any sense. Zimmerman is a liar. But you'd expect him to be a liar as he was defending himself against a very serious charge. And he succeeded.

Clearly though, Zimmerman did get to the gun first. We have eye-witness testimony that Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman, so even if it doesn't make sense to you, all the evidence seems to suggest it happened.

Above everything else, I'd like to know why someone isn't allowed to walk home at night (in whatever manner they please) without being followed and ambushed by some fuckwad whose inability to physically encounter someone relies on them using a gun to defend them self.

1) Evidence suggests he wasn't followed.
2) Evidence suggests he wasn't ambushed; even the prosecution's witness denied this.
3) Using a gun for self defense is legal in the situation Zimmerman was in.

His 911 call said nothing about Treyvon doing anything illegal or approaching illegality. His crime was that he was in the wrong place, at the wrong time with the wrong skin colour.

Zimmerman said in the 911 call that people had been breaking into houses in the area. Those people were reported numerous times as young African Americans. Trayvon was a young African American, and according to Zimmerman, he was looking into people's houses. Whilst Trayvon may not have been doing anything illegal at the time Zimmerman reported him, you are allowed to report suspicious people to the police, especially if they match the description of people who have committed illegal acts.

There is no evidence Trayvon was targeted by Zimmerman for his race, other than the fact that young African American men were the suspects in the burglaries. Zimmerman has no history of racism; in fact he mentored African American boys in the past, and was one of the only people to stand up for a homeless African American man who was being beaten up by the cops.

---

That's the point, it should be illegal for mere citizens to take matters into their own hands as Zimmerman chose to do. That's why we pay the authorities.

We don't know whether Zimmerman did take matters into his own hands though. He told the police dispatcher that he had lost sight of Trayvon. That is all we know. Anything else is based on either Zimmerman's testimony or that of Trayvon's friend; none of which is concrete.

Reporting suspicious behavior may be a person's civic duty, but confronting those suspected is not only unwise, it's obviously extremely dangerous.

Again, no evidence he did this.

[Rahul]

Or, perhaps Trayvon would have reacted differently to being questioned by an official police authority, and a confrontation would not have ensued, and a man would not have died.

Instead, Trayvon was questioned by someone with no more police authority than he himself, and probably wasn't all that happy about it.

I know I don't want any of my neighbors questioning me. How about you?

I don't mind my neighbors asking me questions. We're a friendly bunch down here in Texas for the most part. I chat frequently with most of my neighbors. And I wave at all of them when I see them.

No matter what though, even if a stranger walked up to me and barked at me, the LAST thing I'm going to do is physically assault them.

I don't know about Florida, but I live in Texas. Assaulting strangers before you make sure they aren't carrying a concealed weapon is very likely to be a death sentence on the attacker.

Whether or not the guy bothering you is the neighborhood watch.

[Minimalist]

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-ju...evelopment

Again, I hope our European cousins can access this. It will be lost on the redneck yahoos over here, anyway.

[smax]

Or, perhaps Trayvon would have reacted differently to being questioned by an official police authority, and a confrontation would not have ensued, and a man would not have died.

Instead, Trayvon was questioned by someone with no more police authority than he himself, and probably wasn't all that happy about it.

I know I don't want any of my neighbors questioning me. How about you?

I don't mind my neighbors asking me questions. We're a friendly bunch down here in Texas for the most part. I chat frequently with most of my neighbors. And I wave at all of them when I see them.

No matter what though, even if a stranger walked up to me and barked at me, the LAST thing I'm going to do is physically assault them.

I don't know about Florida, but I live in Texas. Assaulting strangers before you make sure they aren't carrying a concealed weapon is very likely to be a death sentence on the attacker.

Whether or not the guy bothering you is the neighborhood watch.

I doubt very much that you would like it if a perfect stranger came up to you and started asking questions and treating you as if you are a likely suspect in a crime.

If you are okay with that, more power to you.

Personally, I don't like people assuming I have bad intentions, and I like being questioned along those lines even less. However, if it's a police officer, I'll accept that he has a job to do.

[Rahul]

I doubt very much that you would like it if a perfect stranger came up to you and started asking questions and treating you as if you are a likely suspect in a crime.

Hell, one time me and one of my buddies had a stranger walk up to us and tell us that if we didn't leave his neighborhood he was going to get his gun and shoot us. And we weren't even doing anything.

We said "Ok", shook his hand, and left.

Over my lifetime there have been several times when strangers engaged me in conversation out of the blue with less than a curteous manner. I've never attacked a single one of them.

Are you saying that if a person walked up and did nothing other than talk to you, no matter how he talked to you, that you would physically assault him?

[Gilgamesh]

The point is simply that Zimmerman provoked this incident by pursuing a matter that he neither had the authority nor qualifications to pursue.

That type of conduct, by mere citizens, should be harshly discouraged by our legal system.

...

The point is simply that Trayvon provoked this incident by attacking Zimmerman.

That type of conduct, by mere citizens, should be harshly discouraged by our legal system.

Yeah, how dare mere citizens confront other people.

[smax]

Hell, one time me and one of my buddies had a stranger walk up to us and tell us that if we didn't leave his neighborhood he was going to get his gun and shoot us. And we weren't even doing anything.

We said "Ok", shook his hand, and left.

So, in a "free" country, it didn't bother you that someone with no legal right to territory was telling you where you could and couldn't go?

Also, it didn't bother you that you were offered a lethal ultimatum?

Over my lifetime there have been several times when strangers engaged me in conversation out of the blue with less than a curteous manner. I've never attacked a single one of them.

Are you saying that if a person walked up and did nothing other than talk to you, no matter how he talked to you, that you would physically assault him?

Absolutely not. But, let's be clear, we aren't talking about casual friendly conversation here, we are talking about hostile questioning of another individual who has the same level of authority and rights as the man questioning him.

Let's be even more clear: I'm not, at all, concerned about the actions of Trayvon, who is now deceased. I am, however, concerned about the actions of a man who is still alive and played a critical part in the death of the deceased.

Had this incident involved a police officer, and not a mere citizen, my position would very likely be different.

Then again, had this incident involved a qualified authority such as a police officer, there probably wouldn't be much of an incident to discuss at this point.

[Tiberius]

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-ju...evelopment

Again, I hope our European cousins can access this. It will be lost on the redneck yahoos over here, anyway.

John Oliver pretty much misrepresented all of the facts in this case in a matter of minutes. That alone is impressive. That segment had everything: the "order" for Zimmerman to not follow Trayvon, the child-like photo of Trayvon from years ago, accusations of racism, not at all mentioning the fact that Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman beating the crap out of him.

I'm sure it all made for wonderful comedy, but it's by far the worst compilation of the facts I've seen yet.

[smax]

The point is simply that Trayvon provoked this incident by attacking Zimmerman.

No, the point is that Zimmerman should have left the police to do their job.

Yeah, how dare mere citizens confront other people.

Exactly.