Most of the evidence in The People vs. George Zimmerman has been released. The only thing that appears to be missing are Zimmerman’s statements to the cops and some of the gory autopsy photos and pictures of the body at the scene. Here are 46 color photos taken by the police. I don’t see the point of trying to recreate the wheel so if you want a detailed discussion of what’s in there see Talk Left or Tom Maguire at Just One Minute.
Long story short – there’s not a damn thing in there that disputes Zimmerman’s claim of self defense.
But I don’t want to talk about the evidence. I want to talk about no evidence.
From the beginning of this case there have been people who rushed to judgment and proclaimed that Zimmerman stalked and executed Trayvon Martin because of the color of his skin. Many of them still cling bitterly to that belief.
There is no evidence that Zimmerman focused on Trayvon because of his race. It is irrelevant that Neighborhood Watch guidelines say not to carry weapons – Zimmerman was on his way to the store, not patrolling the condo complex. It was not a crime for Zimmerman to get out of his vehicle and follow Trayvon. The fact that this tragedy may have been “avoidable” is also not relevant to whether or not a crime was committed.
Much has been made of the Sanford PD’s “failure” to arrest Zimmerman on the night of the shooting or in the weeks that followed. That is wrong. First of all, “failure” implies a duty not performed. The police do not have a duty to arrest unless a warrant has been issued or if they have probable cause to believe a crime has been committed.
Not all killings are crimes. If a store clerk shoots a robber or a homeowner blows away a burglar, the police would not normally arrest that person. Although this case is less clear-cut, the same principle applies. Contrary to what some people seem to believe, the court system is not about determining what really happened.
The court system is intended to determine whether guilt beyond a reasonable doubt has been shown. Guilty people go free every day due to a lack of evidence. The decision whether or not to bring charges is in the exclusive power of the prosecutor. The police merely gather evidence and make recommendations. If the police arrest someone the prosecutor must file charges within two working days or the person is released.
I have seen numerous people suggest that there has been some kind of massive cover-up in this case. There is no evidence of that, nor does it appear that there were any major investigative errors.
Trials are all about evidence, not speculation. Nonetheless, some people keep asserting theories of what “must” have happened based on absolutely no evidence at all. They insist that Zimmerman is guilty because he initiated the incident. But they have no evidence to support their theories.
Zimmerman claims that Trayvon confronted him and then attacked him. There is no evidence or witness that contradicts that claim. Some people claim that Trayvon was defending himself from a stalker. Let’s assume for a moment that Zimmerman caught up to Trayvon and confronted him. Let’s even speculate that he grabbed Trayvon’s arm and tried to detain him.
Trayvon would be justified in using reasonable force to escape. What is reasonable? Punching Zimmerman once and knocking him down would be reasonable. Jumping on top of him and pummeling his would not be reasonable.
But that scenario is just speculation anyway. There is no evidence that is how the incident took place. Even if you totally disregard Zimmerman’s version of events there is no evidence that Zimmerman initiated the altercation.
If a jury views all the evidence and concludes that the most likely scenario is that Zimmerman is guilty but that it is reasonably POSSIBLE that he is innocent, they must vote to acquit. In order to convict they jury must agree that there is no reasonable explanation of the evidence except guilt.
I don’t expect this evidence release to change any minds. There are none so blind as those who will not see.
Filed under: Crime Tagged: | People v. George Zimmerman
I am going through the evidence right now. I am on page 20 of 183 pages. A lot of the questions that have been raised about this case have already been answered, like why the cops didn’t check Trayvon’s phone – they tried but they didn’t know the passcode.
Would they need a passcode if the phone were still on ? I thought he was talking to his girlfriend “when GZ jumped him” ?
Many phones timeout after some preset number of seconds or minutes to be in a standby, and if the user has setup a passcode and locking, then it would also be in a locked state.
Thanks DT, me and my phone aren’t that smart. I can see why a teenager would want that feature though dang those snoopy parents
This is how I tweeted your post.
Tried to “Like” this post, but it didn’t ‘take’.
Something up with WordPress? Again!
If you’re logged into wordpress, it should work fine. But there is often something wonky about wordpress.
Thanks Dandy. But it appears, that in order to “like” – now all of a sudden – I have to activate JavaScript. Bummer! – as I’m on an old slow ‘non-updateable’ computer and activating JS makes it impossible for me to get access to any site that displayes YouTubes.
I have seen numerous people suggest that there has been some kind of massive cover-up in this case. There is no evidence of that, …
Something massive happened!
ABC edited a 911 call, only pictures of 12 year old Trayvon shown, only mug shots of Zimmerman the white Hispanic were shown. The original sheriff had to step aside, the original DA had to step aside. Al Sharpton closed in and said arrest Zimmerman or I will call for civil disruption, Obama went on national tv to add to the myth of Trayvon and coverup his true nature. NBP put a bounty on Zimmerman’s head and our Justice Department did nothing. Another national news organization showed deliberately obscured views of Zimmerman head and said “see,no evidence of injury”. Finally, an indictment was issued that was immediately described by people whose opinion I trust as a travesty. And now we hear that the FBI says they may charge Zimmerman with a hate crime?
That is massive enough for me, and they were not just trying to rail road Zimmerman, they were after all of us too – black and white.
What they tried to do to us American citizens should never be forgotten or swept under the carpet by saying: I have seen numerous people suggest that there has been some kind of massive cover-up in this case. There is no evidence of that, …
.
I was referring to an official conspiracy to cover-up a murder. Of course there is no motive for the cops to do that except racism.
I was suggesting that when we say there was no police coverup (which I agree) and do not mention (at every opportunity) the Huge Conspiracy by the media and politicians and the whole black victim retinue we are focusing where they want us to and enabling them to sweep their perfidy under the carpet.
Great post. Everything I’ve seen and heard indicates it more likely that Zimmerman’s version of events is more likely. Unless there is some bombshell video recording of something very different, I don’t see how the prosecution hopes to get a conviction. I’m guessing all they have is spin and spit and venom and race baiting and drummed up public opinion, and the hope it will help them move the jury past what they should do.
The attorney for the Martin family keeps pushing that there are inconsistencies in Zimmerman’s various police interviews and 911 tapes. And that because there are inconsistencies, he’s lying about everything and thus you must convict. From what I’ve heard, he seems pretty consistent. The attorney never said there was evidence yet to be seen that changes everything. Not that he necessarily would even if there were. If that’s all they have, this is a rather pathetic prosecution, and it will be a similar pathetic civil suit to follow.
There are always inconsistencies. If three witnesses give the exact came story they are lying.
My latest tweet is cracking me up (ssshhh don’t tell the klown)
I’ve been had!
There is a lot of stupid out there. One moron at Buffoon Juice said that when this is over Zimmerman will get “wingnut welfare.”
How stupid is that? Zimmie is a Democrat!
Someone else said that the mortician is more reliable than the medical examiner.
I wonder if he stays a Democrat after this.
The only cover up has been the msm covering Al and Jesse’s nasty racist rhetoric as honest discussion. The DOJ asking the FBI to look into a hate crime is more dishonesty. The pandering to PC has gone crimminal.
Great comment from Jeralyn – and much in line with the factual (thanks!) posts myiq has previously written about investigations et al in relation to this tragic killing. Excerpt:
I really don’t think there is any evidence against Zimmie to be found. I think it happened pretty much just like he says.
That seems the most obvious and likely explanation of events. Unless there is a bombshell of other information, it seems a pretty slam-dunk self defense case, with no need for even the stand your ground laws.
Oh, I absolutely agree. And I get the distinct impression that so does Jeralyn. But many of her (self righteous) commenters with their preconceived opinions (that Zimmerman is guilty), not so much.
There’s been sniffing and sneering from long time commenters at the nerve that she, a defense lawyer, dares to see this case from – oh, the humanity! – a defense lawyer’s viewpoint. And many – BTD included! – have, while clutching their pearls and in obvious disgust, ‘removed’ themselves, if not from the blog entirely at least from reading and commenting on posts about this case.
The saddest part about this is that I doubt any of them would have reacted that way, if at all, had this been a case where two people of the same ‘colour’ had been involved. That’s really sad.
A lot of people in this country, both white and black, have a lot invested in the whole white guilt thing. They have built entire world views around it. They need for there to be horrible racism behind every bush, or a shitload of their ideology just crumbles.
Did Obama admit to drunk driving?
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/flashback-obama-admitted-drunk-driving-too/550306
The drunken driving I believe, but …
… intimation of danger that would come upon me whenever I split another boy’s lip ….
Right. So Barry did it more than once? lolololol
He sounds like he went around smacking people in the face. I don’t see it – he doesn’t seem the type – I would more easily imagine him egging on someone else, kwim.
It’s true that he broke a kid’s arm in Indonesia – supposedly a biking accident.
I know. It was a regular habit with him, when people saw BarryO coming, they crossed the street. :eyeroll:
btw, I’m following you now (crissinaz <— me) I've got to find elliesmom & add her too.
Hey! Followed you back!
You’re going to be bored following me lol, I just plan to follow!
A Patsy (J.Lumley) avatar puts you high on my list.
lol, how can you not love Patsy?
Maybe if you’re Saffron.
Geesh, the media is just unbelievable. After all the hype, editing, and trying to promote hysteria, last night they were trying to analyze what made everybody lose their minds over this case. Uh, I don’t know, maybe you guys reported false info, spread hysteria, and instigated the whole thing?
I had thought that my respect for the press/media had reached an all-time low prior to the Zimmerman shooting.
I was wrong. They outdid themselves.
Plausible:
http://melissablogs.com/2012/05/17/barack-obama-birther/
very.. best explanation I’ve seen
I think she nailed it.
Geesh, these people aren’t blind, they actually see things that aren’t there. Several comments on the internet today lead me to believe people are actually addicted to their feelings of self righteousness and persecution because they can’t seem to let go of this idea that Zimmerman was a racist.
THIS.
Exactly.
Thanks for the breakdown myiq. I agree, there is not much (if any at all) evidence that it didn’t happen just as George said it did. And a lot of evidence that supports his version.
BTW, is there any info in there about the timestamp on that 7-11 video? Because I remember reading somewhere that it took place 40 minutes prior to the shooting. If so, then that gives credence to George’s claim that Trayvon was wandering around the neighborhood in a suspicious manner, poking around houses, rather than just walking straight home on the sidewalk. It doesn’t take 40 minutes to get from the 7-11 to home.
LOLOLOL.
Paper thin tissue of lies continued to shred in Obama bio evolution:
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/18/dystel-biography-submission-guidelines-obama-kenya-fact-checking-error
“The fact that this tragedy may have been “avoidable” is also not relevant to whether or not a crime was committed.”
Excellent point, thanks. It’s too easy to fall for the argument that it is.
The “avoidable” argument also never seems to apply to Trayvon. Zimmerman should not have been carrying a gun, Zimmerman should not have gotten out of his car, but Trayvon had every right to walk around in a suspicious manner, and apparently to get into a fight with Zimmerman. All the responsibility and avoidability is put on Zimmerman, while Trayvon is perceived as having the right to do anything he wants.
Of course the whole thing was avoidable, most tragedies are, but young men aren’t well known for their common sense and avoidance of conflicts.
Yes. Another very good point, thanks.
When Trayvon doubled back into the store after paying for his purchase, what was he doing then? I saw the longer video which shows him after that and he didn’t appear to take anything.
Well, WaPo is still doing their best to misrepresent and stir the pot. They say today that one witness (ZOMG!!) hears a man yelling, “I’ve got a gun!”.
Wow, sounds bad, huh? So was George chasing Trayvon and threatening him with the gun? He had his gun out already?
Um, nope.
How did they miss it? I don’t think they did. I think they wrote that quote while deliberately editing out “take my gun from me” or the fact that it was addressed to the police, AFTER the shooting.
http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2012/05/the-wapo-on-the-zimmerman-evidence-are-they-kidding.ht ml
Gawd, I wish you had like buttons for the comments cuz I’d like every one.
LOL!
LOLOLOL.
There’s also a new parody account that’s pretty funny “BS Barack Obama Says” @bsobamasays
Mitt appears to have struck a nerve with his kind words for Bill Clinton.
Robert Reich is furious:
http://marketplayground.com/2012/05/18/robert-reich-how-odd-that-mitt-romney’s-smitten-with-bill-clinton/
That is the perfect snapshot of Reich’s psychology: defensive to the point of making tactical errors. Example:
And he’s serious. These are his selling points in rebutting Romney. At least we finally have an admission that Obama owns the bail out. I’d go further and say so does Bush, but the Obama campaign and admin keep saying the bailout happened before he took office and insisting it’s Bush’s, not his. But Americans have not forgotten that he’s the one who ran back to Washington and co-chaired that meeting with Bush, agreeing to hand out half of the bailout after he took office. Which he then proceeded to do, no strings attached indeed.
But these are not things you want your “advocates” to be focusing on.
Bailing out GM with no strings attached? Um, except for all that billions in taxpayer money used to buy off UAW that will never be paid back.
The no strings attached reference (in Reich’s comment & in mine) to the Wall Street bailout.
Reich’s response is proof of the biggest error that the left makes: They assume they know what conservatives believe. And they assume that their ideology is pretty much: “Give the Big Corps everything they want.”
It is not. Nothing could be further from the truth. No one who has spent any length of time talking with or reading actual conservatives could possibly think that. Those things he lists that Obama did? That, in his opinion, ought to make conservatives jump for joy, and so Reich is now very confused? Those are the very things that conservatives are most pissed at him for.
Conservatives don’t want govt to “do good things for business” in the sense of handing them advantage and govt goodies. They want them to STOP propping up certain entities with favors, while crushing others with taxes and regulations. They want fair competition with govt as umpire, not a player in the game.
Lefties like Reich get confused, and find conservatives irrational, because they insist on comparing their actions and statements to a caricature that exists nowhere but the lefty’s own head. And when the actions/statements don’t match the caricature, they pronounce conservatives stupid or illogical. Because they have never bothered to understand what those people actually think and believe.
It’s that utter blindness that defeats the left, time and again. You cannot persuade people if you start out with ZERO understanding of where they are coming from.
Exactly. Well said. I’ve been finding the very same thing since my eyes were open to the corrupt, anti-democratic, bigoted behavior of the Democratic party machine.
Of course many Republican’s have precisely the same blindness of the left. Just the mention of Obama as a socialist is enough to see that. And that’s often because he promoted the Heritage Foundation/Romney health care bill written by the insurance industry. Crazy.
I’ll go further to say it’s in both parties interest to have their members blind and convinced the other side is evil. It makes them all think there is a big difference and they have a choice. And of course it keeps them distracted from the fact that their own side isn’t doing what they want. The lesser evil argument.
Dandy, a great many of the rank-and-file on BOTH sides want remarkably similar things. I differ with conservatives on how much service the govt can be safely and responsibly expected to provide, but not on my opposition to crony capitalism, govt. thumbs on the scale, spending like there’s no tomorrow, and many other things.
Most Americans want reasonable, transparent, efficient, responsive, fiscally sound govt that does not overstep its bounds and overly intrude on the lives and businesses of the average person. TPTB in both parties spend a lot of time trying to convince us that only our tribe wants that, not the other tribe. The reality is that almost all of both tribes want that, and if we’d all turn our ire on our own politicians rather than “the devil” of our fellow Americans of another tribe, we’d shake this country.
http://weaselzippers.us/2012/05/18/video-black-panthers-join-justice-for-trayvon-martin-protest-held-outside-houston-court-after-jury-acquits-cop-in-beating-of-black-burglary-suspect/#comment-709644
it is going to be a long hot summer.
really good one. Just use his own words, he will keep giving ammunition
LOL! That is a GREAT ad. I keep trying to tell the R’s to MOCK these bastards. It’s like kryptonite. They can’t stand it. Glad to see some are getting that.
Absolutely. Don’t bother with Wright. Don’t even bother with some of the crazier things Obama or his buddies have done. Just use his words and make them look like the idiots they are. That is their achilles heal. They really and truly think they’re smart and cool and are on the right side. That is their weakness.
ROFL! That’s beautiful!
Uh, oh … AZ messing with Obama, won’t put him on the ballot, and this was before Kenyagate:
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2012/05/18/ariz-secretary-state-threatens-remove-obama-ballot/
MIQ2XU
were you planning to go to Chicago this weekend????? It will be a mess
David Burge @iowahawkblog
#NotSatire Anarchist “Clown Bloq” vows to cream-pie Chicago cops http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1179447–clown-bloq-descends-on-nato-summit-in-chicago #WhereHaveYouGoneRichardJDaley
OMG, be careful, myiq!
OT, but an aspiring author who was a client of the literary firm at the same time as Obama says that policy was to submit your own bio:
Also, the firm’s website even today, in laying out guidelines, specifies that bios are submitted by the authors.
I find it interesting that in her statement re: her “fact-checking error”, she never says who gave her the erroneous info that she failed to check. If Obama submitted that bio, then she is technically truthful to say it wasn’t fact-checked properly. Probably because one would assume the author himself knew where he was born.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/18/dystel-biography-submission-guidelines-obama-kenya-fact-checking-error
I find it even curiouser that the press doesn’t seem to think that the question of “How it happened” is at all relevant nor do they seem to think that Obama should be asked directly.
Yup.
The agent wouldn’t agree to an interview, and only issued that “my fault” statement.
Remember when Obama said the Rezko land deal was a “boneheaded mistake” – press was same way – oh, that’s settled then!
Military men have occassion to submit a photo and bio for a printed program for guests at retirements, promotions, changes of command, awards and other ceremonies.
Over the years, I was my husband’s “fact-checker” which usually meant
adding a child, updating their ages and number of years married. The tricky part was “where was I from”…..VaBeach where my parents settled, or Brooklyn, NY where I was born. Maybe Obama got confused too? But it did specifically say “born in Kenya” and it went uncorrected for years.
correction: should have read military personnel, men AND WOMEN !
It’s always the coverup that gets them. I think it’s obvious that Obama wrote that as part of his made up background to make him seem cool. He’s been caught. What will take him down, or at least make him look like a lying fool, is the coverup.
Driscoll at pj media thinks there has to be a stronger reason than “looking cool”, and points to it probably being linked to some kind of college diversity thing (like Warren).
http://pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/2012/05/18/barack-obama-a-composite-kenyan/
At the end of that article is a link to this post
http://www.bookwormroom.com/2012/05/18/is-regents-of-the-university-of-california-v-bakke-a-1978-case-rejecting-academic-racial-quotas-the-smoking-gun-behind-obamas-kenyan-identity/
Which is about how the SC decision of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) 438 U.S. 265 in 1978 may have been the factor that made Obama decide he was going to list himself as Kenyan and not just AA.
abc news finally runs the story eh
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/born-kenya-obamas-literary-agent-misidentified-birthplace-1991/comments?type=story&id=16372566
Nice post. Very well presented.
Facts are facts. Unfortunately, the court of public opinion is carried out without rules. Hysteria and theories tend to overcome when people don’t like facts.
This is getting too funny
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/18/did-elizabeth-warren-plagiarize-pow-wow-chow-recipes
Sad. She should have put down that shovel long ago, and this might have blown over. Now the hole she dug for herself is enormous.
LMAO! This is a good ad for coal country. My favorite part is the before and after Obama website:
That will have a big effect in western PA and OH. Obviously WV and KY, but Obama has no chances there now anyway.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/18/John-Wolfe-Interview
this guy is running against backtrack in Arkansas and not doing too badly He might even win. He really makes sense and is not a joke
campaign slogans for joe
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/18/conan-obrien-floats-awful-new-campaign-slogans-for-joe-biden/?utm_source=Raw+Story+Daily+Update&utm_campaign=f4c336fb94-5_18_125_18_2012&utm_medium=email
zimmerman could face double jeopardy
http://www.examiner.com/article/double-jeopardy-looms-for-george-zimmerman-the-trayvon-martin-case
this is one of the saddest things I have read. These fears are real and not supposed to happen in this country
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/dershowitz-no-jury-would-convict-zimmerman-of-murder-unless-afraid-new-black-panthers-might-kill-them/
I saw Benjamin Crump on TV (in a few places) this morning. They call him the Martin family attorney, but he has no actual involvement in the criminal trial. He’s basically a spokesperson.
He said it doesn’t matter who threw the first punch because Zimmerman “profiled” Martin first. That’s crap. Even if GZ followed Martin solely because he was black, it is not a crime for a private citizen to watch someone for 10 minutes. The first one to throw a punch was the first one to commit a crime. All evidence seems to indicate that was Trayvon Martin.