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July 2nd, 2013
12:45 AM ET
Did Zimmerman prosecution overreach?
After the first day of the second week of George Zimmerman's trial wraps up legal analysts Mark Geragos, Sunny Hostin, Danny Cevallos and Jeffrey Toobin discuss the evidence presented so far and whether or not the prosecution should have gone for a second-degree murder charge.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Crime & Punishment • Danny Cevallos • George Zimmerman • Jeffrey Toobin • Mark Geragos • Sunny Hostin • Trayvon Martin |
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Zimmerman is innocent
Where was the right of Trayvon Martin? Its a free country, he had the right to walk around in a free country!! He was followed by a creepy guy and feared for his life. Did anyone talk about Trayvon's right to defend himself and stood his ground??
Gated community. Gated for a reason. Has nothing to do with a free country. There is such a thing as private property ... which means you're not allowed without permission. What right did Martin have to defend himself. He was not being attacked. He was the attacker. Being followed doesn't give you the right to go nuts on someone.
The guy is innocent. Hopefully the poor dude will be able to get his life back after having been dragged through the mud.
It's so obvious that Sunny Hostin has decided that Zimmerman is guilty! No matter what, she is quick to side with the prosecution! Seriously, do we need all of these talking points? Can't we just watch the trial without biased opinions from people who have already decided who is guilty and who was innocent?? Sheesh!
I agree – I now change the channel if she is on. She is so biased and one-sided.
The fact is that at every concealed carry course I have been present in (2 courses) as well as in speaking with numerous colleagues who own firearms and carry concealed permits (formerly US Army Special Forces 2005-2012), these courses have two points they stress to everyone: 1) If/When you fire your weapon in self defense at another person, shoot to kill. This ensures there is only one side of the story. 2) You can legally use deadly force based on Stand Your Ground (in FL) if you can articulate that you feared for your life and had to defend your life with use of deadly force, in these cases specifically by firing a weapon. Therefore, to say that Zimmerman did not understand these two concepts or that he was never exposed to them – based on my experience with firearms, my understanding of escalation of force, and my primary knowledge of concealed carry courses – I would find it very hard to believe Zimmerman did not know this. Everyone knows this. If people were ignorant to this application of the law, then the only logical explanation, which makes no sense practically, would be to say that they accept the risk of going to jail for murder if they in fact use their weapon to kill someone. That makes no sense, everyone carrying a concealed permit (in FL) is very attune to Stand Your Ground laws.
Growing up in NYC, I've seen plenty of fights on the playgrounds and heads hitting concrete and Zimmerman's head was not pummeled into the concrete. No way! I guarantee that Nurse sitting on that jury will be able to tell the difference.
I find it very offensive that Zimmerman said this was "God's will". Zimmerman needs to take responsibility for his actions and not lay that responsibility at God's door. That is a cowardly and dishonest thing to do. Oh, I'm not responsible, God is.
Really?
It's very troubling to me that Zimmerman is being portrayed as the victim currently. He is able to wake up and see another day. Trayvon Martin is DEAD. A 17 year old boy has been taken from this world due to an over zealous individual. He can not defend himself or give his account of what happened. No one has mentioned the idea of Martin defending himself. This young man was not committing a crime. I have yet to hear from Zimmerman as to what crime Martin was committing to validate Zimmerman's aggression. YES, he was the initial aggressor. Martin was walking home from the store minding his own business. So what if he was wearing a hood, it was raining. If you noticed someone following you at night, I'm sure anyone of us would be in defense mode. Zimmerman had no reason to stop this young man. He was advised to stop following the young man. He did not identify himself so Martin could advise him his Father lives in the community. I'm disgusted at the notion Zimmerman is being portrayed as the victim here. This was a senseless death that could have been avoided.
Isn't this the fundamental, underlying problem with the whole criminal justice system.. Can't we develop a system that lets No one who's guilty get off and No one who's innocent Ever go to jail?? This is at best – Totally inefficient and cumbersome.. A complete waste of time and resources.. We can do Better than this ridiculous "Circus"!!
Gosh! Zimmerman was so "out of it" that he got in ONE shot straight to the heart. This guy is really bad news. I'm relieved the police dept turned him down. He would be one awful cop. His judgement is so poor. He couldn't see Martin as a youth on his cell going about his business. He was too busy entertaining his own wild imagination to take a good look and observe the obvious. What a miscalculation that resulted in a young boy dead. One last note, of course Zimmerman was banged up, apparantly Martin was defending himself. Yet he lives and the boy died. Zimmerman was NEVER going to lose that fight and he KNEW that.
The only overreach is the 24/7 coverage by CNN. Talk about "ridiculous."
I tune in every night to watch your program on the day's events for the Zimmerman trial and I am now going to stop as I am so tired of Mark Geragos hijacking the program all the time no-one else gets their opinion across as he is always interrupting or yelling now I know he is a good lawyer and has won many cases but he has lost many high profile cases as well and he is just plain annoying and Anderson you just smile and let him get away with it, I would like to hear other opinions and not just his the arrogance is disgusting. Boot him off!!!
If Zimmerman had listened to the dispatcher and not approach Martin would Zimmerman be on trail now and would Martin not have gotten shot by Zimmerman? Second, I heard that Zimmerman's excuse for getting out of his car is that he was checking his location, If Zimmerman had been doing this neighborhood watch thing for years wouldn't he know the area he patrols very well.
Mark Geragos gets 10 out of 10 – I think those twitter threat twits should appreciate that they live in a democratic country. They are why everyone should consider carrying a gun.
I hope everyone is watching just how bias the news networks have become, especially CNN. Every headline is negative towards Zimmerman and suggesting outcomes far different than the trial itself has shown. All the defense has to show is a reasonable doubt, which I believe they have shown time and time again, The slant I have been witnessing by the media is scary.
Zimmerman said something which I know is a complete lie . He said that Treyvon said to him "Homey" Treyvon would not have used that word. Only to his friends or someone he knew. And kids (especially teenagers) have their own language it's not racial or meant to be bad. I think that everyone who are so critical forgot the slang that they used to use in their day and even now, especially with their friends. And what makes anyone think Zimmerman didn't hurt himself after the fact. Surely knowing that he would have to prove self defense. And mentioning God is only for all the Christians to be on his side. What a cheap shot at God. I hate to have the punishment for that.
If I had someone sitting on top of me hitting me like Mr Martin did to Mr Zimmerman I would fear my life. Question is how long would Mr Martin be able to keep hitting him before he would have let him up if in fact Mr Zimmerman would have been able to get up. I would say self defense because only Mr Martin would know how long he would of kept doing what he was doing to Mr Zimmerman. I surely don't believe Mr Zimmerman had any intensions on shooting the boy. If it were happening to me yes I would have feared for my life.
Had Zimmerman left him alone to begin with he wouldn't have to feel he was "losing" a fight he was NEVER in danger of losing because he carried a loaded gun. He interferred with a young boy and killed him. It was the boy who was self defending. The "source" of the entire incident was Zimmerman. Anything coming after that was a direct result of Zimmerman's choices and a young boy died. Zimmerman says it was "God's will". What a coward, he won't take responsibility for his choices instead he places it at God's door.
Are you forgetting the fact that Zimmerman was the initial aggressor by following this young man. He wasn't committing a crime. He was walking home. Did you ever think that Martin may have feared for his life because someone was following him at night??
I believe there is a nurse on the jury and surely she has seen variations of head injuries, and will offer her expertise when the jury deliberates. Why would Zimmerman be scared if he had a gun? Also, I too have taken Criminal Justice courses and students review cases. Zimmerman knew what to say because he had been primed.
The prosecution has done a good job of poking holes in Zimmerman's videotaped testimony. While I do not believe he attempted to kill Trayvon, I certainly believe he is a wannabe cop who took matters into his own hands.
Why did Zimmerman not introduce himself to Trayvon Martin, letting him know that he is the neighborhood watchman???
Zimmerman referred to Martin as a suspect. Apparantly Trayvon was already guilty of "something" in his wild immagination. Zimmerman said he did not state he was a neighborhood watch because he was "scared". Why on earth would he be a NW if he's a scared man with a loaded gun? And why should he be scared when he's the one tracking this boy?
Cutting through all the minutiae of the Zimmerman trial thus far, and during the rest of the trial yet to happen, the bottom line here is that because a fight happens and you are LOSING does not give a person the right to pull the trigger. I am a proponent of the concealed weapon.
The cuts and scrapes that Zimmerman received were so minor compared to what I had as a kid growing up; whether it was a fight I was in (city girl here) or a game of tag gone wrong.
Stop fighting if you can't win.
Zimmerman followed in his car, got out of his car, followed, got in a fight, was LOSING and fired. Zimmerman had enough sense to move his hand before he fired?????
My husband was in the military, he told me if you have a gun while confronting someone you will never scream for help even though you get beat up, unless your gun is taken away from you.
Also if you have a loaded gun on you, why would you be "scared". I don't believe he was scared. I believe he has very poor judgement and because of that a young boy lost his life.
Zimmerman added so many lies to his story he couldn't remember. From 911 to providing police statements over and over...he couldn't figure it all out. There is no way he shot Trayvon and then the kid sat up and said 'oh, you got me."
And then, all of the things Trayvon could have said, Zimmerman chooses "Well, you got a problem now Homie" ?? Really? Stop watching old movies!
Zimmerman felt confident with that gun and he was going to make a point of showing him his wannabe-cop experience.
I believe it is G. Zimmerman's voice on the 911 call. in the video of his re-enactment for police the day after the incident he said he called numerous times for help. At that time I doubt he was aware that the cries had been recorded on a 911 call and that they might become a pivotal piece of evidence. Very unlikely that he had the foresight to lie about this.
Zimmerman's judgement & choices are very poor. Doubtful he has foresight other than what he knows of police procedures to seek to now get off with a self defense claim. This man pursued an unarmed teen going about his business and when the teen struck back and he was losing a fight he shot him dead. You don't get to shoot and kill someone just because he's kicking your butt.
Sonny Houston, can you say wrongful conviction?
I pray for the Martin family, and know they can take comfort in seeing their son again when Jesus returns and there is a better place for us all, at least that is what I believe, that we will all see our loved ones again. I feel the Zimmerman "family" suffers as well, as they did not commit murder, their son did. It makes me sick the way young men of color are being gunned down by over zealous vigilantes. I'm sick of the real reason (RACISM) being swept under the rug in this day and time. I KNOW it's so because I'm in a unique position to see it first hand. I'd have more respect for 'some" people, if they were just honest. People think racism is over or better but it's all the same as its always been, it just has a new face and manner. I have proof of it.