Boy I think this jury and the courts in Florida were foolish to release a verdict of not guilty on a Saturday night, when tempers were already on the brink.
I have to say I was shocked by the verdict . I will admit to not following the court case closely; basically because I thought it was an open and shut case -
Maybe Cilla can explain to me how an armed man who stalked an unarmed teenager and provoked a confrontation and then shot and killed said unarmed teen can claim self defense?
If the teen had broken into Zimmerman's house and he shot him in his house, even in his own yard , I would get it....but this set of facts, in my mind, just don't add up to a not guilty verdict
For me this was an eye opener and if I, a person living several States away, with absolutely no stakes in this situation, can feel this absolutely shocked, outraged, shaken and angry at this verdict, I cannot imagine what wrath is going to be unleashed in Florida
I hope I am wrong and cooler heads will prevail
The way the evidence came in...Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch captain. There had been break ins in the community by young black males. He saw Trevon and he called it in as suspicious. He did follow him but there was no evidence he was the one who started a confrontation other than asking who he was and what he was doing there. Trevon told his friend a creepy cracker was following him. Then the phone call ended. There was about 4 minutes between that moment and when neighbors started hearing the fight. Trevon could have walked the 100 yards to his door, but apparently didn't. His friend told him to run, but he said he wasn't going to. The only eye witness (most were ear witnesses) saw Zimmerman on the ground with Trevon straddling him and punching him in the face and slamming his head into the ground. The witness called 911, but didn't go help despite seeing and hearing George yelling for help.
There was expert testimony about the impact of having your head slammed into the cement etc. The state never really rebutted that and by the end were basically admitting that Trevon was on top, but saying if he was on top Zimmerman couldn't have reached for his gun. Zimmerman had a broken nose and cuts on the back of his head consistent with his story. The police said the back of his clothes were wet as if he had been on his back in the grass. The state never really rebutted this.
There was also expert testimony on the ballistics that showed Trevon was leaning over Zimmerman when he was shot.
This wasn't a stand your ground case. It was a self defense case. If George Zimmerman reasonably feared great bodily injury or death he was justified in using deadly force to defend himself. The jury found that he was justified. It wasn't about race. Even the state didn't argue it was racial profiling, they argued he was profiled as a criminal.
If you watched the trial, I don't think you'd be surprised. Even the lead detective said he believed George Zimmerman.
