George Zimmerman found not guilty. The prosecution failed to prove their case beyond a shadow of a doubt.
One person knows the truth.
41 Thoughts to “George Zimmerman found not guilty”
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My spouse and I said the exact same thing a few minutes ago.
Zimmerman got a fair trial. Doesn’t mean he is innocent. I believe he is morally responsible and the court decided he wasn’t criminally responsible. There is no crime for being morally responsible.
Not sure what finding him guilty would have done anyway.
@Moon-howler
“Not sure what finding him guilty would have done anyway.”
Well, if the evidence HAD SHOWN that he was guilty….finding him so is proper.
Otherwise, finding him guilty would have just satisfied the race baiters.
The prosecution didn’t convince me he was guilty. Not sure how it could have possibly convinced 6 jurors who have a higher threshold than I do for ‘shadow’ of a doubt.
Only Zimmerman knows what really happened that night. I am not even sure he does at this point. Too much time has passed, two many different accounts, etc. I am not comfortable with the second guessing from either ‘side.’
I think fair trial is about as good as it gets. Zimmerman’s life will never be the same, and not in a good way. Martin will never have a life. It was just a tragic event all the way around. Sending Zimmerman to jail would accomplish nothing, in my mind. This way he doesnt even get to be a martyr.
Mark O’Meara’s statements following the verdict have not been helpful. This isn’t over
I guess I wonder what I would expect my child to do if he were being followed by a stranger. Would I tell them to wait to see if he was good or bad? Trayvon tried getting away and Zimmerman continued to pursue him. I do believe that Trayvon Martin cold clocked him first, he was after all, a newly turned 17 year old. Did Zimmerman at one point believe his life was in danger, probably, he was getting his ass kicked.
At that point, nothing is clear cut. Did Trayvon Martin see the gun at some point and believe Zimmerman was a bad guy, very possibly. We will never know. All we know is that a 17 year old kid who went out to get skittles and an iced tea is dead.
There was no good ending to this trial. I do think it is a travesty that George Zimmerman will be able to legally own a gun, THAT I believe is wrong. I wonder if he would have been so brave to get out of his vehicle and follow Trayvon Martin had he not been armed. Considering his lack of fighting skills, I kind of doubt it.
I agree with you Elena (mark that one on the calendar) except for one detail most seem to leave out, and that is that Zimmerman had lost sight of Martin and was heading back to his truck when Martin decided to return and confront him. Had Martin not decided to confront Zimmerman, then it would have ended differently. A 17 year old “child” (hell I had to register for the draft when I turned 18, geesh) who was truly scared would not have returned to confront someone who was following them.
It is truly a remarkable day!!!!!!!!!!
SA: we don’t know who first confronted whom. That’s a fact not in evidence. We know Zimmerman’s story. We don’t know any other story because the only other person who knows what happened is dead. I suspect his story, could he communicate it, would be different. Zimmerman didn’t have to be carrying a gun, and didn’t have to get out of his truck, even if one accepts as true the other elements of his version of events.
The moral responsibility comes from Zimmerman having been, of the two people directly involved, the one who was in the best position to have avoided the death. The inside of his head caused this. He made bad decisions that resulted in a tragedy. I’m not sure that a 17 year old being stalked bears any moral responsibility for the event, even if he did make the decision that he had to attack his pursuer (I have no idea whether this is what happened, but there’s no way of knowing who initiated the first direct contact so I can understand a jury not believing there was enough evidence to convict). Neighborhood watch organizers should strongly discourage, if not prohibit, their volunteers from carrying firearms. If Zimmerman had not been armed, he might have been better able to discipline himself to confine his watch activity to calling in the suspicious character.
Having said all that, the verdict was probably correct in the sense that criminal convictions require, quite properly, a very high degree of certainty.
Once again, I agree with Scout.
2 Decades ago I had to sit though a trial where I knew the story….it also involved someone very close to me. As I sat there listening, I realized there would be no conviction because the prosecution simply had not presented the evidence to convince the jury beyond a doubt. Its hard to remove one’s self from what we think to be the right story.
As I listen to all this nonsense about the Justice dept being called in, etc, I start thinking about how unAmerican that really would be. you can’t keep trying someone until you get the desired outcome.
@Elena
regarding the gun…he wasn’t convicted. How can you take a gun from someone who wasn’t convicted?
He could also just go buy another one.
I wouldn’t have voted to convict him either. The evidence wasnt presented. Not sure it was there even. There are no easy answers, here, that’s for sure. I am not sure that these high profile cases ever really turn out as they should.
Thinking about Casey Anthony….not so sure the evidence was there either….although we all knew in our minds that she was guilty.
“Stalked” or “followed”? Big difference unless you believe that Zimmerman was ‘following’ Martin with ill intent in mind other than trying to see what Martin was up to.
the difference between the words isn’t significant, SA, in this context. Zimmerman believed that he was “following a suspect”. To Martin, who didn’t know why this guy was on his tail, it looked like “stalking”. But the word isn’t important. If I were in Martin’s position, I would have thought it very creepy indeed and I would have been actively evaluating my flight-or-fight responses. My point is that, even if one accepts Zimmerman’s version of events as to how the confrontation started, it was not an irrational response on Martin’s part to confront this guy.
Again, that doesn’t mean the jury got it wrong. I am only speaking to the point that Zimmerman, even if one accepts his version of events, through better decision-making, had total control over whether that situation devolved into a homicide, as opposed to a call in to the police dispatcher.
@Elena
“Trayvon tried getting away and Zimmerman continued to pursue him.”
Actually, there is no evidence to this. All evidence points to Zimmerman staying near the vehicle and the “T” intersection of the sidewalk that Martin ran down.
Martin had over 2 minutes head start while Z talked on the phone with the cops and Z told them that he no longer knew where Martin was.
Martin was 400 feet from “home” and told his girl friend that he was “in back of his father’s house.” So, why did he apparently return?
It is a tragic event. Only Zimmerman knows the truth and if he is telling the truth, too many people do not believe him. Especially with the way the press was presenting the trial and the evidence.
Then there was the live coverage of the trial. Sorry Cargo, it was what it was. Much of the problem goes back to how this case was handled in the beginning. There had to be a national call to arms before anyone would act and even attempt to hold Zimmerman accountable.
Its over now. Lots of people, including Mr. Howler, all think they know more than anyone else. I finally told him that its a shame that the prosecution didn’t realize how much he knew about the case because they sure could have used his first hand eye witness OPINION.
I believe that it was clear that Zimmerman was morally accountable but it couldnt be proven that he was criminally accountable from the evidence. Efforts to drag more out of this case simply disrespect the fact that we are a nation of laws. We can’t keep trying the guy until we get the desired outcome.
The most striking thing about this case to me is the utter lack of forethought by George Zimmerman. It seems that he had little inclination or ability to understand how following somebody on a dark, rainy might would make a reasonable person nervous and defensive. Clearly he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I am thankful that PWC rejected his attempt to become a police officer.
On the other hand, Trayvon Martin’s texts would seem to indicate he was inclined to look for a fight. He seemed very interested in learning punches and holds to take down an opponent. So he was certainly able to defend himself, but witnesses stated that Trayvon had become the aggressor at the time of the shooting.
So the tragedy to me is that with a little foresight and self-control, there were opportunities for both parties to reduce tensions and alter the chain of events. Even though the correct legal verdict was probably reached, Zimmerman was not blameless. And even though Trayvon was tragically killed, he was not without blame either (in my opinion).
Kelly, I am almost going to agree with you with a qualifier or two. Most kids that age, especially boys, exibit that kind of bravado. (posing, big-assing, etc etc) I don’t think we know what happened or what was going through Trayvon’s mind. That part will always remain a mystery. Did he become the aggressor? There were no eye witnesses. The only eye witness who really shed any light was the dude who said Martin was on top of Zimmerman. But we don’t really know what led up to that point where the dude saw him.
I stand by Scout’s opinion and agree with some of what you have said. Red letter day????!!!!
I am glad Prince William County rejected Zimmerman’s application to be a police officer here
Another aspect of Zimmerman’s story checks out, and works against the argument that he was racially profiling Martin. He said he was suspicious because the guy appeared to be on drugs. In fact the tape of Martin at the 7-11 shows him moving VERY slowly, long weird pauses in fishing for change in his pocket; any reasonable person would think he was quite likely stoned.
To me the story about the incident is less interesting or important than the story of how this isolated incident became a national phenomenon.
There are a lot of aspects to this of course, but here’s one people should focus on more. What good was served by Obama’s injudicious remarks? I would say none; I would say he helped inflame the level of current sentiment. There’s some karmic justice to the way he’s now got another now-in decision on his plate about whether to file federal charges.
I keep saying over and over again : Obama is a very poor leader. He leads his followers to the middle of nowhere.
It was already inflamed. In fact, Obama was being criticized for NOT commenting.
I disagree about Obama. However, in both cases, we each have an opinion.
What I think screams PROBLEM is that the cops had the body of Trayvon Martin for 3 days without contacting his parents. They had his damn cell phone.
It could have all been avoided if Zimmerman hadn’t been trying to hotdog it and be Georgie Bad-Ass. However, he stood trial. He was found not guilty. No, he isn’t innocent, but there was not enough evidence to put him in jail from 10 to 30 years. Time to move on. We can’t keep trying the guy until some jury gives up and convicts him.
We have to teach our kids, black, white, hispanic and asian, especially our boys, to not make people think you are up to no good. I know I had many a conversation with my own boys about this very subject. I know one was a cop magnet for several years.
No happy ending here. No fan of George Zimmerman but he stood trial. It should be over. Nothing will bring back Trayvon.
The other big picture thing that I see here, that validates my world view, is that everybody wants to be a victim. Rational arguments are lost in the desire for every person in America to feel put upon. If this one case, which it was always obvious would never truly be understood to everyone’s satisfaction, can fill that need in the black commuinity, then it goes on to serve that purpose. Black people have the same need to perceive themselves as victims that white people exhibited over the OJ Simpson verdict.
In the early part of the trial, CNN was wall-to-wall with it. FOX News was more likely to be talking about the IRS scandal at any given moment. each channel’s base hungers for stories where their viewers are able to feel oppressed and victimized by some nebulous entity.
I understand that Obama was under some (possibly self-imposed) pressure to say something. I understand too that he personally wants to communicate the black experience to white America, thinking he can bring us together – and probably saw this as one of his “teachable moments”. (Which I really resent. He is a pompous individual).
But that doesn’t excuse what he did. He was injudicious to speak that way about this case. I can’t remember another sitting President having the temerity or lack of caution to pipe in carelessly about a case like that.
And he did validate the idea that this case was an important national story. And he did help to validate the idea that this is a case that left-wing Americans should focus on.
And – this was ill-conceived. Lack of leadership. it should always have been obvious that Zimmerman would probably be found Not Guilty. So – now what?
Was Obama really such a fool that he thought white America was sitting waiting for his teachable moment – that we were going to start shedding tears for Treyvon Martin, lionize him as a black jesus figure ala Tupac Shakur, and start to think more like Obama does? I think that’s probably what was going on in his head. He’s a bit of an imbecile. When you become President, you are supposed to represent all the people. Not use some incident you don’t understand as a platform to talk down to white America.
Someone with vision and leadership ability would have thought this through a little better, and seen that this is not the case to use as a platform to berate white America.
@Rick Bentley
VICTIM? I’m not a victim! You’re picking on me! You hurt my feelings! Society is out to get us non-victims! I demand recompense! Its all your fault! I demand that you stop your attempts to classify me as a victim because it…it….well, it’s JUST MEAN. Boycott!
I’M GONNA SUE SOMEBODY!
“We have to teach our kids, black, white, hispanic and asian, especially our boys, to not make people think you are up to no good.”
I talked briefly to my grandson – who is tall and black – about the case as a warning to not make sudden movements or take chances when in a dangerous situation. i was prompted towards this by watching him play violent video games (superhero fights) which reward sudden movement and reward throwing the first blow.
Then later we turned on the TV, to watch a science show. (“Through the Wormhole – GREAT show. On par with “Cosmos” from decades ago). The TV happened to be on CNN as I turned it on. Within 5 seconds, I heard some guy use the n-word 3 times. Pretty wild to me. As is Nancy Grace’s utterance of “f***ing c**n”. CNN is in my opinion trash television. Their coverage of this trial has been sensationalistic and irresponsible.
I didn’t watch CNN. I cannot stand Nancy Grace. Why did she say that? Was she sanctioned?
You were wise to have that talk with your grandson. Did it take or will you have to keep repeating? I think each race has its own stereotypes, especially when dealing with cops. They see thousands and do draw conclusions based on their observance.
I haven’t clicked on the story. She was apparently talking about the possibility that Zimmerman said that during his non-emergency call. He clearly didn’t, but CNN is apparently still claiming that he might have. You know, in storytelling it helps to have a clear narrative – add a touch of racism to a villian you’re creating.
I think the talk took, not that I ever expect him to drop-kick someone the way he does in that game he’s currently playing. He appears totally distracted but can remember hours later exactly what i said, lingusitically precise. We talked briefly about the case, which i was glad to hear is not something that 12 year olds are paying much attention to. I tend to give him both sides of a controversial event and in a light understayed way (believe it or not) tell him what I think, labeled as opinion.
That’s good of you. It’s also not the easiest thing to do either.
I didnt realize individuals could be brought on on civil rights charges unless they were convicted of a crime. I guess that is what bothers me. I was fairly supportive of Zimmerman being arrested and going to trial. However, I watched about 3/4ths of it and I wasn’t convinced that Zimmerman killed martin in cold blood. The evidence just wasn’t there and what was there was conflicting.
Only one person knows. Zimmerman. Not even sure he knows. At any rate, he was aquitted. That should be the end of it. They can’t keep trying the guy until they get a conviction. That’s not how it works. Zimmerman’s life is pretty well crapped up anyway. The fact that in this country he has to stay in hiding reminds me of the Taliband anyway.
The theory on the civil rights laws, as I understand it, is that some states or localities are prejudiced against minorities and cannot be relied on for fairness, or impartial juries/trials. Hence the creation of a “civil right’ as something that can be violated and prosecuted by the government. It doesn’t exactly replace or supercede the existing state-driven criminal justice system. It’s an add-on created to catch instances where the locality doesn’t deal with a situation well due to racism/prejudice. An example where these laws worked perfectly was the Rodney king beating. Locality found the police innocent; federal Government subsequently stepped in not for the crimes inherent in the beating but for “violating his civil rights”.
The trouble with this is, the FBI has investigated this at length, including interviewing dozens of Zimmerman’s neighbors and coworkers, and didn’t find evidence that he was prejudiced in any particular way. The original case investigator you may recall felt the same way. Without a racial component to the case, it’s not a civil rights matter. i suspect we’re hearing about the FBI investiagtion at this point because the Obama administration is signaling that it’s not going to prosecute in this manner at the end of the day.
I doubt there’ll be a civil trail either. Zimmerman doesn’t have money to sue for; also, Treyvon Martin would come under more scutiny in a trial I assume. Good chance the kid was stoned that night. Reasonable chance he was scoping out homes to burgle.
I do feel bad for Zimmerman, who seems to have been a mess even before this incident and media storm. He’s not well-equipped to be at the center of this. His brother is though – good grief that guy is articulate. He can run rings around people.
Another Osbourn High School graduate isn’t he?
I know neighbors and people like that really liked the Zimmerman kids.
@Rick Bentley
http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/04/zimmerman-demanded-discipline-in-2010-race-related-beating-for-officers-who-investigated-martin-shooting/
Zimmerman pushed to have Sanford police disciplined over abuse of a homeless black man when the NAACP wouldn’t act.
yep….racist…. The feds are not going to have an easy time finding a federal civil rights case. Now… a private one can go ahead….but they still would have to prove civil rights violations and perhaps bring up more of Martin’s actions to show that Zimmerman was unjustified. I don’t know if they want to do that.
Surely the documentation exists of Zimmerman’s efforts since the Daily Caller says it was a public demand. without documentation, consider it is from the Daily Caller, I call bullshit. By the way, I am not calling for a civil rights investigation.
Well like they say, opinions are like noses, everyone’s got one. I’d like to post mine about the case. Like others have said, there simply wasn’t enough evidence to convict, and that is what it is.
Some are ignoring the fact that no one would be dead if one asshole with bad judgement was walking around with a gun. Yes it’s his right, but what one does with that right is up to the individual. But getting ones ass beat while holding a gun legitimately ramps up the fear of getting killed. By your own weapon. And people tend to feel more threatened when a guy is accosting them AND has a gun. Makes you more likely to want to beat his ass, I’d assume.
Sad story all the way around, but it looks like poor judgement was displayed by both young men, and one can agree or disagree with who’s judgement was more egregiously poor.
Stupid fat fingers. “WASN’T walking around with a gun”
@Moon-howler
Actually, that was just one media outlet that had it. I just picked on at the top.
@Rick Bentley
The obvious difference between black people and white people is that black people ARE victims! Victims of slavery, segregation, unequal loan practices, unfair hiring practices, unfair voting laws targeted at minorities, and on and on.
White people can be victims, too, but not solely because of race. There’s a difference.
@middleman
Really?
Tell that to the recent white victims of Trayvon Martin protesters.
Yes… there has been and continues to be unfair treatment.
However, none of that applies to Zimmerman.
Cargo, if you can’t see the difference between long-term, systematic, government sanctioned victimization of a racial group and some black protesters acting out on white people, I can’t help you. I’m frankly amazed that you even went there…
middleman, EVERYBODY is a victim.
“White people can be victims, too, but not solely because of race.” Of course white people can claim race-based victimhood. We’ve all heard and had these arguments before. The piece of that that particularly flared up in this case is the preumption you can get from some people, when you have conflcit with a non-white person, that you’re motivated by racism.
I have no idea what you’re trying to say, Rick, but of course white people can claim victimhood, just like I could claim that I’m Stevie Wonder! That don’t make it true!!