The Zimmerman Trial

[DallasApple]

He slowed down so much, he started going in reverse.

According to who? the guy trying to not be convicted of murder?

 

[DallasApple]

Who gonna win? Smith & Wesson or Arizona Ice Tea?

This is getting kind of boring.I think I will go polish my gun and fix a glass of tea.

 

[Poisonshady313]

The evidence is the Trayvon 'ran" from him.AWAY from him.At some point slowed down I guess and thought he had lost him.According to his GF .

When you start running, and you're half a minute away from where you're going... why not just get there? 4 minutes passed from when Trayvon started running and the beginning of the altercation. How the hell was Zimmerman going to catch up with him when he didn't even know which way Martin went?

He wasn't a mile away when he started running... and he wasn't shot right in front of his house.

The way you're trying to say it was that Martin ran, thought he lost him, but sneak attack Zim showed up and pounced.... makes not one bit of sense.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I love how the absence of knowing what really happened is used by both sides to bolster their own argument while dismissing the other side. This topic is a great primer on human psychology.

Perhaps. I think it's also a primer in social psychology as well. For me, what has interested me most has been the national conversation on gun rights, racism, the state of Florida, and neighborhood surveillance in gated communities. Had a jury of all women who were initially at risk of a hung jury before deliberating together on the evidence to come to a unanimous verdict.

The side conversations on who is actually on trial, who threw the first punch, who is more racist, why the other side is so wrong are all what I find more revealing about us as a people.

I heard a lot of similar conversations after the Rodney King trial, and the L.A. riots that followed the verdict.

I think the only reason I haven't come to a decision on what my own informed opinion is of the jury's decision is because I really haven't followed the trial itself. In other words, I don't consider myself informed enough to be confident either way.

 

[Awoon]

This is getting kind of boring.I think I will go polish my gun and fix a glass of tea.

Thata girl.

 

[Poisonshady313]

According to who? the guy trying to not be convicted of murder?

According to the phone records that show he had 4 minutes between the time he started running and the beginning of the altercation.

The neighborhood wasn't that big. And the T is only approx 70 yards from where Martin was staying. A teenage football player could have ran that easily in less than a minute.

What threat did Zimmerman really pose when he was in his car while Martin was already running down a footpath where the car couldn't go? Especially when Martin had ample time to get home while Zimmerman was still trying to figure out where Martin was?

The only conclusions are that Zimmerman is Superman, or at least an unsuspecting star of track and field who could run one hell of a sprint... and then drag Martin all the way back to the T so that he could shoot him (no physical evidence on Martin to suspect he was dragged anywhere)...

Or that Martin turned around to take care of some unfinished business.

Which seems more likely?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Perhaps. I think it's also a primer in social psychology as well.

Absolutely. Even moreso.

I think the only reason I haven't come to a decision on what my own informed opinion is of the jury's decision is because I really haven't followed the trial itself. In other words, I don't consider myself informed enough to be confident either way.

Likewise. However, from what I do know - obtaining enough objective information to even form a reasonable conclusion seems difficult if not impossible - as is the case with many trials.

 

[Revoltingest]

I think the only reason I haven't come to a decision on what my own informed opinion is of the jury's decision is because I really haven't followed the trial itself. In other words, I don't consider myself informed enough to be confident either way.

There is no more powerful position to take than to recognize one's
own ignorance, & to eschew claim to more than one knows.

 

[I.S.L.A.M617]

I think the only reason I haven't come to a decision on what my own informed opinion is of the jury's decision is because I really haven't followed the trial itself. In other words, I don't consider myself informed enough to be confident either way.

I wish more people were like you rather than hopping on whatever bandwagon their preferred media outlet told them to.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I wish more people were like you rather than hopping on whatever bandwagon their preferred media outlet told them to.

I once saw a documentary called "Hot Coffee" that utilized the case back in the 90's of the older lady who settled with McDonalds over the hot coffee that spilled in her lap, and the initial jury awardings were just enough to cover medical expenses (which the pictures were graphic, to say the least), and even though the jury decided to attribute 20% responsibility to the lady for her personal negligence, they felt $2.9 million was appropriate punitive damages against McDonalds because of their negligence to follow through with 700 burn complaints in that same year, and for not ensuring the coffee at their establishments were at a holding temperature of 180 degrees F (the coffee that burned the lady was near boiling).

The media picked up on the story and ran with it, creating a frenzy against frivolous lawsuits, demonized her even though punitive damages were lowered to $600,000 instead of $2.9 million, and she and McDonalds settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

I've also personally and professionally been the focus of media's desire to create scandal for my work on stage. It's really easy to distort things to create an interesting story for people. I say there's no such thing as bad press (my career actually benefited even when I was targeted for sexualizing suicide in a performance and my personal life was called into question in the press).

Thanks for the compliment. I'm not perfect, I'll admit, since I don't always go unbiased with this stuff either, and I can get caught up in the stories created from time to time.

 

[-Peacemaker-]

I've also personally and professionally been the focus of media's desire to create scandal for my work on stage. It's really easy to distort things to create an interesting story for people. I say there's no such thing as bad press (my career actually benefited even when I was targeted for sexualizing suicide in a performance and my personal life was called into question in the press).

I'd rather make my own judgement on the matter. Got any videos?

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I'd rather make my own judgement on the matter. Got any videos?

LOL

I don't, actually. I could probably approach the former company and see if they have the performance run archived in their library, but I haven't had the desire to find it and convince them to make a copy for me for my own repertoire collection. The dance piece was called "Scenes from a Ledge", and I was teetering and tottering up in the air while wearing a black negligee, and danced suggestively while finding myself always by the edge of a tall heavy stone bench.

I remember none of that scared me until the very end of the piece, when I would sprint and leap off the bench right toward the audience and the stage goes to pitch black right as I would jump in the air. I was always worried through the entire two week run that I was going to fly off the stage. :cover:

Some people really loved that piece and gave the choreographer major props (I was the soloist, not the creator). And then other people felt it was horrific and sent a disturbing message to people who are suicidal and depressed. Plus, the fact that the suicide was very sexualized gave people the idea that we were saying that suicide itself is very sexy and we love it.

Man, they really missed the point. I'm so surprised the reviewer who was featured in the local press gave such a superficial view of it....and I remember working with this lady reviewer on a previous show 4-5 years prior to that performance!

Anyway, I gave you a picture as well as I could of it. Enjoy!

 

[Galen.Iksnudnard]

I think the only reason I haven't come to a decision on what my own informed opinion is of the jury's decision is because I really haven't followed the trial itself. In other words, I don't consider myself informed enough to be confident either way.

It seemed that the majority of the trial was set up to establish the guilt of a dead teenager, rather than actually prove or disprove Zimmerman's guilt.

Of course it was going to be hard to convict a white male for killing a black child, especially given it was an all-white jury in the deep south. The jury should have been more diverse in my opinion.

Trayvon Martin’s mom: Jurors didn’t see my son as human | The Raw Story

 

[I.S.L.A.M617]

It seemed that the majority of the trial was set up to establish the guilt of a dead teenager, rather than actually prove or disprove Zimmerman's guilt.

Because there was no evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and the defense has no obligation to prove innocence.

Of course it was going to be hard to convict a white male for killing a black child, especially given it was an all-white jury in the deep south. The jury should have been more diverse in my opinion.

George Zimmerman isn't white, and the jury wasn't all white; there were just no black jurors. I suggest you check your facts. But I do agree that the jury should have been more diverse (a little testosterone and at least ONE black juror wouldn't have hurt). However, a more diverse jury would only have made it harder for Zimmerman to file an appeal based on jury selection, and other than that really wouldn't have helped or hurt the case. Either way, the reason it was hard to convict Zimmerman was lack of evidence, nothing more. Everybody knew coming into the trial that there was insufficient evidence to prove Zimmerman's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but the prosecution went for a long shot by trying for a cheap victory based on an emotional appeal. Thankfully, the jurors decided based on evidence rather than emotion, and I have gained back a little bit of faith in our justice system.

Trayvon Martin’s mom: Jurors didn’t see my son as human | The Raw Story

That's a little dramatic... People are very aware Martin was human; it was the depiction of him as some kind of saint that didn't sit well with most people on the other side of the issue. The kid was a punk; if you look into his history there's no denying it.

 

[Poisonshady313]

It seemed that the majority of the trial was set up to establish the guilt of a dead teenager, rather than actually prove or disprove Zimmerman's guilt.

I guess that means the prosecution did a terrible job. It was their job to prove Zimmerman's guilt. They couldn't do it. But what you're suggesting is they didn't even try? Or do you blame the defense attorneys for doing their job well?

It was nobody's job to disprove Zimmerman's guilt. If the prosecution cannot prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the verdict is not guilty.

As for the guilt of a dead teenager... probably not the way I'd phrase it... but do remember that Zimmerman was claiming self defense.

Of course it was going to be hard to convict a white male for killing a black child, especially given it was an all-white jury in the deep south. The jury should have been more diverse in my opinion.

If you actually look at the evidence, none of that racial crap matters. The prosecution didn't prove their case.

Trayvon Martin’s mom: Jurors didn’t see my son as human | The Raw Story

That's just stupid.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

It seemed that the majority of the trial was set up to establish the guilt of a dead teenager, rather than actually prove or disprove Zimmerman's guilt.

From my understanding, I have seen it as being the court of public opinion has been trying to establish the guilt of Martin or the guilt of Zimmerman, more than anything else. I haven't been following the trial, just the commentary.

Of course it was going to be hard to convict a white male for killing a black child, especially given it was an all-white jury in the deep south. The jury should have been more diverse in my opinion.

I knew it was a jury of all-women, but I am unaware of their race. However, I agree that there should have been more diversity with gender with the jurors.

However, having lived in Florida and having family still living in Florida, the state resembles little of the Deep South in the U.S. You might find some pockets close to the northern border in rural areas that's close to Georgia, but by the time you get to Orlando all bets are off when it comes to belonging to the Deep South.

And by the time you go to South Beach in Miami, it's like a different country altogether. So geographically, Florida is a very different animal in the U.S.

Trayvon Martin’s mom: Jurors didn’t see my son as human | The Raw Story

As a mother of three teenaged sons all between 16 and 20 years old, my heart bleeds for Trayvon's mother. His parents grief had to have been at many times insurmountable. And to relive their sons death repeatedly over and over again, as well as listening to the rage from Zimmerman's public supporters and the rage from Martin's public supporters....at the end of the day she has to deal with the fact that her son is dead from the story that he son was a violent racist out-of-control young black man who either had it coming, or that her son is dead from the story that he is the victim of a hate crime.

All the same, she goes to bed at the end of every day knowing her son is dead.

FWIW, Martins mother dealing with shock over the verdict is completely understandable. If I were in her shoes, I would probably feel the same way. I hope Maritn's family is able to find some peace, because my heart does go out to them.

 

[Revoltingest]

Breaking news....Iran's justice experts weigh in to criticize the verdict....
Iran

 

[I.S.L.A.M617]

LOL the Iranians demanding justice?

 

[Wirey]

Breaking news....Iran's justice experts weigh in to criticize the verdict....
Iran

Iranian justice expert? Is that like Canadian tanning bed?

 

[Pagan_Patriot]

Hahaha Iran