A medical report that was not referenced in the state’s charging affidavit states that Zimmerman sustained a broken nose, two black eyes, and two cuts on the back of his head.That makes it sound like Frazier is advocating conviction not based on the legal standards, but on the practical goal of controlling the public's emotions. What did Frazier actually write?
The new forensic facts challenge the second-degree murder charge, which, to stick, requires a jury to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman acted with malicious recklessness in causing Trayvon’s death, says Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor whose criticisms of the prosecution stepped up as the state’s evidence was revealed.
Given the new evidence, “the prosecutor is at least guilty of willful blindness,” says Mr. Dershowitz in a phone interview....
Medical examiners found that Trayvon had THC, the euphoria-inducing compound found in marijuana, in his blood – a potentially salient fact given that Zimmerman told a dispatcher he thought the man he had spotted “was on drugs or something.”...
The report also revealed the FBI findings from one of the most controversial tenets of the case: whether a voice that can be heard screaming for help during a 911 recording was Trayvon or Zimmerman. The FBI was unable to conclusively determine whom the voice belonged to, and was also unable to corroborate suggestions that, at one point, Zimmerman uttered a racial slur.
According to police, Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s dad, said he didn’t believe the voice crying for help belonged to his son. When asked, Officer Chris Serino wrote: "Mr. Martin, clearly emotionally impacted by the recording, quietly responded 'no.' "
The stakes in the case are high. It set off national introspection over so-called Stand Your Ground laws, which critics call “shoot first” laws. Zimmerman is likely to argue his use of that law in a special “mini-trial” to precede a jury trial, in which a judge can dismiss the case outright and shield Zimmerman from civil liability.
Others, meanwhile, worry what impact an acquittal or hung jury could have, sparking columnist Mansfield Frazier at the Daily Beast to suggest that the legal system has a responsibility to help avoid a “large scale racial calamity.”
If this case goes all the way to trial, it’s a train wreck waiting to happen. The time is now for strong hands to take the helm and steady the ship of state—not to mention our national racial, political and legal discourse. The paramount concern has to be to avert a large-scale racial calamity....O'Mara has a professional obligation to represent his client, not the overall good of the nation. Frazier seems to think he's the voice of reason, but he's calling for the subversion of the legal system. Frazier likes the fact that Zimmerman is "in isolation right now" so he's kept away from "the more rabid right-wingers from getting inside his head and convincing him to take the case to trial, based on the belief that no matter what the evidence shows, in Florida at least one juror will never vote to convict. Unfortunately, this reasoning is not crazy. The South, after all, is still the South."
To my mind, the government offers Zimmerman a plea deal that has him back on the street within this decade, and he accepts it quietly. That seems like a conclusion most reasonable Americans could live with....
If [Zimmerman’s lawyer, Mark] O’Mara were successful in brokering such a resolution, he should be viewed as nothing less than a savior. A protracted murder trial of George Zimmerman is the last thing this country needs right now. America can only dodge so many racial bullets, and a not-guilty verdict in this case could very easily turn the racial cold war into a very hot one.
What?! What about the ordinary legal analysts who don't think the prosecution can prove the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt? There's absolutely nothing rabid, right-wing, or Southern about that opinion.
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 207 of 207harrogate said...
But this is all different than saying right now, you're not paying attention at all if you don;t see black gangs roving everywhere looking for white people to attack. Lots and lots and lots of people are paying attention and have seen nothing of the sort.
Oh really?
The racial elements of that crime fed much of the outrage - the victim was white, and the attackers were all black. In Thursday's reported assault, Guglielmi said the 19-year-old victim was white and the attackers were all juvenile black males.
How many examples of this would you like for me to provide for you, since this story only has two examples?
Kudos to professor Dershowitz.
"How many examples of this would you like for me to provide for you, since this story only has two examples?"
Gee, Jay, that's a good question! How many "examples" do you think it would take to demonstrate the presence of a "race war" in the United States?
Relatedly, how difficult would it be for you to actually read other people's posts? Would it be equal to the effort you'd need to expend to get your ideologically pretentious head out of your ass?
Shanti Shanti Shanti
You know, harrogate is right.
It isn't a race 'war', since only one side is fighting and killing ....for now.
When people are finally tired of the PC blinders and excuses for the targeting of one race by another and the violence and death becomes more and more overt, they will not stand for it anymore and defend themselves.
Unless steps are taken to curb what is happening and the media quits encouraging the violence by tacit or by overt approval: Then it will really be what Obama wants and harrogate is too blind to see.
"Gee, Jay, that's a good question! How many "examples" do you think it would take to demonstrate the presence of a "race war" in the United States?"
Roughly as many as it takes to prove the "War on Women".
The insanity is that the special prosecutor grossly overcharged Zimmerman to make headlines, and has close to a zero chance at a conviction on 2nd Degree Murder. Asserting that Zimmerman getting out of his vehicle to tail Martin until the police arrive constitutes a depraved heart or gross negligence, etc., just won't fly. Zimmerman had every legal right to be where he was, and to do what he did.
And, that doesn't even get to the self-defense claim. The only real question there is whether it is strong enough to survive the immunity hearing. Again, almost no chance that it won't suffice at trial - the state would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman did not have a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury (or that Martin was committing a forcible felony). The problem for the prosecution there is that they have almost no evidence to contradict Zimmerman's story. Maybe the well-rehearsed testimony of Martin's supposed girlfriend who surfaced a month later, but so far, she seems flaky as she can be, and even if credible, can only testify to what exactly she heard over the phone, and none of her conjectures. The physical evidence mostly supports Zimmerman's story, etc.
In other words, if the issue were Zimmerman proving self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, he would have a decent chance at doing so. But the burdens are reversed, and the state has to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, and right now, doesn't have a prayer.
(From a technical/legal point of view, proof of self defense, per se, is slam dunk - all relevant and admissible evidence so far, including forensics and autopsy, points to Martin throwing the first punch. The legal issue is whether deadly force was justified in Zimmerman's self defense).
So, this liberal whack job wants Zimmerman to take a hit for the team, spending a decade in jail just to appease the black community. Maybe he, himself, should volunteer to do the time for Zimmerman, and then to provide Zimmerman with protection for the rest of his life (since he would no longer be allowed to own a gun) and to vote as Zimmerman wishes (because he would lose the right to vote too).
This is a common thread with liberals - that everyone else is supposed to sacrifice for the benefit of the community, as they see that benefit, yet, somehow they invariably exempt themselves.
I’m still trying to resist the urge to say that Zimmerman will either be acquitted or have the charges dropped (there’s always the possibility that the prosecutor has some damning evidence that hasn’t been made public yet) but it’s look like (a) Zimmerman shot Martin in self-defense and (b) the prosecutor over-charged. Short of an as of yet unrevealed eye witness (unless the girlfriend is more credible than reports have suggested) or video of the encounter showing the Zimmerman had in fact attacked Martin without injuring him, I don’t see how Zimmerman doesn’t walk.
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