Zimmerman verdict: Not Guilty.

[Creed of Heresy]

Great. I went to go and find the compilation from the police footage parts that showed Zimmerman's face when the cops came after the incident and the video has been taken down. All I can state is that the video, from what I could see, distinctly lacked Zimmerman showing any kind of abuse, and it was from that that I drew my conclusions. THAT SAID, I hadn't seen that image from CNN either, nor the ones that follow after it, and the ones that follow showing the cuts across the man's skull look much worse than what was initially implied to be the case.

I'm glad you accept that you didn't have all the facts right.

Well I was relying on outdated information, so yeah, my facts were inaccurate. I found the video, but looking closer, you CAN actually see the cuts and blood. They just weren't visible on the one I first found, likely due to a low-quality upload compression.

That said, I'm still wondering what the hell instigated this situation to begin with. This wasn't a bad part of town. Hell, the kid's gmail account has several bits of correspondence with universities from college applications. You can't honestly tell me that because he was wearing a fucking hoody and was walking around late at night with a fucking can of arizona iced tea in his hand that this fat-ass really thought that warranted him starting shit that resulted in a fucking fist fight, nor that it warranted him shooting the kid to death.

There were reported break-ins in the neighborhood, which was why Zimmerman was out patrolling in the first place. He initially reported Treyvon because the guy was out in the rain, walking around, and looking at the houses. From the police transcripts of the phone call, Zimmerman doesn't describe the guy holding ice tea, but rather holding "something", so it's unlikely he even saw it was a beverage.

Yeah, that's what I've read, too. Seems he had a reason to be suspicious, although that still doesn't explain why he felt the need to actually confront the guy. It's not like it was a crime in progress; a confrontation was not necessary.

No matter what, even with the physical damage I can see, it's STILL not enough to convince me. I've been in MUCH worse fights than that, come out looking worse, and I didn't feel the need to pull a gun on the person who I was fighting with, even if they kicked the shit out of me. And, seriously, this guy had to shoot to kill? Are you serious?

Firstly, it isn't about what you've been involved in. If Zimmerman felt his life was in danger (and his injuries certainly look like he was getting a good beating), then he has the right to defend himself against his attacker. Secondly, your words "shoot to kill" are unnecessary and just you putting more unneeded emotion into this discussion. There is no evidence he shot to kill. The evidence suggests he shot to defend himself against an attack.

This is a large part of the reason I think that there should be a mandatory training program instated for anyone wanting to buy a guy; you must demonstrate you can determine where to shoot to disable, wound, or kill even in close quarters, before you can own a gun. Seriously, if he'd shot low, at the legs, he could've easily stopped the kid without practically guaranteeing his death. A bullet to the legs will put someone down surprisingly quickly. Even if he hadn't, the realization he was being shot at would've sent the kid running. This is why you don't give guns to people who have no experience with them, who have no idea what power they are holding in their hands. Again, I must ask, if he thought he was confronting a person who was robbing peoples' homes, what the fuck did he expect was going to happen when he confronted the guy?? He CLAIMS the kid was looking into peoples' homes. He also said the kid was coming towards him, then turned and ran away after investigating him sitting in his car staring at him. And then he gives chase. He's not a fucking cop. He had no business pursuing the kid. You have to admit that much.

Also, consider this... In this same state, only DAYS PRIOR, this happened: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-5743...ing-shots/

Yeah. So, a woman fires WARNING SHOTS at her ABUSIVE HUSBAND, and gets 20 years.

Zimmerman shoots a kid to death without firing any warning shots of his own...gets off scot-free.

I'm gonna say this again: BULLSHIT!

I agree with you; what happened to that woman was a travesty and should never have happened. If Zimmerman had got 20 years (or more) for murder, it would have been a travesty too.

You forget that just because I support the outcome in this case, does not mean I support the outcome in similar cases.

I'm not saying you support the outcome in other cases, Tib, I'm saying that the ruling in this regard is bullshit because it's similar circumstances except the defendant was a woman who was being beaten by her husband, she DIDN'T shoot him to death, and yet somehow gets 20 years when this guy gets off scot-free. I'm just comparing what a level of bullshit this is between these two cases, and what the underlying problem is; we've got a weird set of double-standards at play. Some guy goes off and oversteps his bounds in his role in a community watch program, pursues a guy, starts getting the shit kicked out of him and somehow is justified for pulling the trigger when he started the situation to begin with, and then there's the thing with the woman. That's what I'm more pissed about than anything else; if this other woman was guilty, then THIS guy should DEFINITELY be guilty.

I'm pissed about the justice system itself...or the lack of justice, anyway. This is ass-backwards as all fuck. THAT is why I am so pissed off, THAT is why these posts are so emotionally charged.