Zimmerman verdict: Not Guilty.

[Manowar]

With "Stand your ground" , I can't see why anyone is surprised. I called this from the beginning. If people would forget their emotions it would open your eyes to this verdict

manowar

[Isun]

He should have been convicted. This never would have happened if he hadn't been stalking Trayvon. As it is, Florida leglized murder so I wasn't surprised by the verdict.

[Creed of Heresy]

Hear, hear!

Wow...you guys are pretty violent to be so ardently against violence...with violent people like you roaming about and screaming for mob justice it's no wonder law abiding citizens need to arm themselves for protection...

And you are pretty firm on your stance on narrowly defining things as much as is humanly possible.

This guy was previously a law abiding citizen. And he got off on the plea that he was doing this for his own protection. Except that the guy he shot was unarmed.

Your move.

[NoraBrimstone]

I never thought he deserved a charge of 2nd Degree Murder, Manslaughter seemed more convincing. But the jury saw the evidence and reached a verdict, they could be wrong obviously but I see no reason to doubt their judgement.

Manslaughter wouldn't really make much sense, considering he had a gun. If he went after him with a gun, he obviously had some intention to shoot the kid right from the off. That makes it premeditated murder.

[popeyespappy]

It's been a long time since this all kicked off, so I haven't listened to it in a long time, and I can't check it at work; but I'm sure I've listened to the call where they told him not to follow him. I'll have to look that up when I get home tonight.

There are numerous transcripts available online.

The actual words were "We don't need you to do that."

I also heard that the police dispatcher testified that they do not give orders out over the phone as a matter of policy. It takes quite a lot of messing around with semantics to argue that "We don't need you to do that" is an order, in my opinion.

The Sanford 911 operators don't give orders because they have no authority to do so. They are not sworn police officers. The Seminole County Department of Public Safety Emergency Communications Center is staffed by emergency medical dispatch technicians not cops.

[Psykhronic]

I never thought he deserved a charge of 2nd Degree Murder, Manslaughter seemed more convincing. But the jury saw the evidence and reached a verdict, they could be wrong obviously but I see no reason to doubt their judgement.

Manslaughter wouldn't really make much sense, considering he had a gun. If he went after him with a gun, he obviously had some intention to shoot the kid right from the off. That makes it premeditated murder.

He had a gun because of how seriously he took his position as a neighborhood watch dude, and it's America - people walk around armed. You can shoot someone in Florida with the stand your ground law and I do not believe it states the "attacker" has to be armed as well. Not saying it's right, but that's what the jury was dealing with.

[Tiberius]

And he got off on the plea that he was doing this for his own protection. Except that the guy he shot was unarmed.

For the last time, "unarmed" does not mean someone cannot attack or hurt you. Being punched hurts. Being kicked hurts. If you are tackled to the ground and being punched in the face, and in fear for your life, you are entitled to defend yourself.

Manslaughter wouldn't really make much sense, considering he had a gun. If he went after him with a gun, he obviously had some intention to shoot the kid right from the off. That makes it premeditated murder.

Oh come on, the guy carried a gun all the time. Does that mean every time he leaves his house he is looking to murder someone? No.

The key thing is intent. If Zimmerman wanted to murder the guy, why didn't he shoot him before the struggle? He was clearly quite a way away from Treyvon when he called the police. It makes no sense to allow Treyvon to get within punching distance before taking a shot if the entire thing was premeditated.

Just having a gun is absolutely no grounds for accusing the guy of premeditated murder. Guns can, and often are, used for self-defense.

[Creed of Heresy]

Except he WASN'T being tackled to the ground. He claimed, in court, that afterwards his face was bloodied from the attack. The thing was the kid had just gone to the gas station for some snack food and this community-watch guy who wanted to flex his nuts started in on him. The kid was probably stoned; according to screenshots of his email inbox from a KKK hacker who had been trying to have a good hyuck over this showed that he and his friends were heavy weed smokers. The kid had the munchies, this grown-ass man with a stick up his ass probably started in on him, the kid probably told him to get out of his face, and the guy shot him. Why do I suspect this? Well, the guy said he had been bloodied and beaten badly and had used a gun to defend himself. Nevermind that Zimmerman was twice Trayvor's age AND SIZE, but the video from the police car where Zimmerman can be seen, his face isn't cut up at all, there's no blood, no evidence he was in a struggle.

But, yes, Tiberius, do tell me more about how a guy twice the size of the UNARMED person he shot really was in danger and fearing for his life. I call bullshit on your statement in entirety.

Seriously. Look at pictures of the murderer and his victim [I'm not calling Zimmerman anything other than that because that is exactly what this guy is, a murderer.] and tell me you think he really was justified in shooting someone who was unarmed because he felt his life was in danger by a scrawny black teenage pothead. Yes. Go ahead and tell me that, with a straight face.

[A Theist]

Wow...you guys are pretty violent to be so ardently against violence...with violent people like you roaming about and screaming for mob justice it's no wonder law abiding citizens need to arm themselves for protection...

And you are pretty firm on your stance on narrowly defining things as much as is humanly possible.

This guy was previously a law abiding citizen. And he got off on the plea that he was doing this for his own protection. Except that the guy he shot was unarmed.

Your move.

And you are pretty firm on your stance on narrowly defining things as much as is humanly possible.

...and you're not?

This guy was previously a law abiding citizen. And he got off on the plea that he was doing this for his own protection. Except that the guy he shot was unarmed.

...Zimmerman is still a law abiding citizen who was defending himself and the jury concurred...the guy he shot was on top of him pummeling his face in and slamming his head on the sidewalk...people can easily be beaten to death without being armed...(especially when their face is being pummeled and their head is repeatedly being slammed on the sidewalk).

[Tiberius]

Except he WASN'T being tackled to the ground. He claimed, in court, that afterwards his face was bloodied from the attack. The thing was the kid had just gone to the gas station for some snack food and this community-watch guy who wanted to flex his nuts started in on him. The kid was probably stoned; according to screenshots of his email inbox from a KKK hacker who had been trying to have a good hyuck over this showed that he and his friends were heavy weed smokers. The kid had the munchies, this grown-ass man with a stick up his ass probably started in on him, the kid probably told him to get out of his face, and the guy shot him. Why do I suspect this? Well, the guy said he had been bloodied and beaten badly and had used a gun to defend himself. Nevermind that Zimmerman was twice Trayvor's age AND SIZE, but the video from the police car where Zimmerman can be seen, his face isn't cut up at all, there's no blood, no evidence he was in a struggle.

But, yes, Tiberius, do tell me more about how a guy twice the size of the UNARMED person he shot really was in danger and fearing for his life. I call bullshit on your statement in entirety.

Seriously. Look at pictures of the murderer and his victim [I'm not calling Zimmerman anything other than that because that is exactly what this guy is, a murderer.] and tell me you think he really was justified in shooting someone who was unarmed because he felt his life was in danger by a scrawny black teenage pothead. Yes. Go ahead and tell me that, with a straight face.

This is what my original point was. People either ignore evidence surrounding the case, or they choose not to look at evidence that contradicts their initial opinion.

There are plenty of photos of the injuries that Zimmerman sustained:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/17/justic...-injuries/

Size also isn't an indicator of strength, nor is age. From other photos of Zimmerman, it appears the guy is physically out of shape. Sorry, but if you aren't strong and are out of shape, you can easily be overpowered by someone smaller than you, especially if you are knocked to the ground and the attacker is on top of you.