George Zimmerman declared not guilty of second-degree murder

[Jason]

Justice has prevailed. The prosecution was ill-prepared for this. They most likely would have gotten away with a manslaughter charge if they filed one.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I feel that there was a lack of evidence, while I may not agree that morally the verdict was right, it was certainly the right move by the jury.

[hypehat]

Justice has prevailed? Really? Please explain how being able to shoot an unarmed child dead and get away with it, even being waved home by the cops that night, is in any way an instance of justice.

There was a lack of evidence because the cops are bigots too, and had no interest in prosecuting the case. If there hadn't been a media outcry they might never have done. I mean, the cops were so blasé they sent George Zimmerman home that night after perfunctory questioning. Everything about this sucks.

TRBB, you really are a rightwing parody, aren't you? At least now u know yr right to shoot children is enshrined in the law now. Man, fuckin humanity.

[alf wiedersehen]

Justice has prevailed? Really? Please explain how being able to shoot an unarmed child dead and get away with it, even being waved home by the cops that night, is in any way an instance of justice.

There was a lack of evidence because the cops are bigots too, and had no interest in prosecuting the case. If there hadn't been a media outcry they might never have done. I mean, the cops were so blasé they sent George Zimmerman home that night after perfunctory questioning. Everything about this sucks.

TRBB, you really are a rightwing parody, aren't you? At least now u know yr right to shoot children is enshrined in the law now. Man, fuckin humanity.

That was the closest thing I could find to applauding.


Edit: I withdraw my contempt toward The Real Beach Boy.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

While I agree, calling this "justice" is a joke in itself...
This case proves that Florida needs to take a good look at it's judicial policies.
Zimmerman, in Florida, was not guilty, but ONLY because of their RIDICULOUS self-defense laws. 

[Jason]

Justice has prevailed? Really? Please explain how being able to shoot an unarmed child dead and get away with it, even being waved home by the cops that night, is in any way an instance of justice.

There was a lack of evidence because the cops are bigots too, and had no interest in prosecuting the case. If there hadn't been a media outcry they might never have done. I mean, the cops were so blasé they sent George Zimmerman home that night after perfunctory questioning. Everything about this sucks.

TRBB, you really are a rightwing parody, aren't you? At least now u know yr right to shoot children is enshrined in the law now. Man, fuckin humanity.

I said "justice has prevailed" specifically because there was no way to prove Zimmerman was guilty of second-degree murder. There was a much better chance of proving his guilt of manslaughter instead of second-degree murder. I am not defending Zimmerman by any means. Yes, he was clearly wrong.

And "At least now u know yr right to shoot children is enshrined in the law now." is such a straw man I don't even know where to begin.

[hypehat]

If you're not defending Zimmerman, don't say 'justice has prevailed!' When he gets off. You can see the confusion?

[hypehat]

Posting on the phone, but my last point could essentially be summed as 'murder is essentially legal in the state of Florida with this ruling.' And as FOTM says, that's down to their ludicrous gun laws.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Justice, as a system, has prevailed, as terribly flawed as it is.

Morally, this is pretty disgusting.

[Jason]

If you're not defending Zimmerman, don't say 'justice has prevailed!' When he gets off. You can see the confusion?

I said that specifically for three reasons. Firstly, justice absolutely goes both ways, which leads to my second reason - there was no way that the prosecution could prove second-degree murder with the presented evidence. They absolutely should have gone for an aggravated manslaughter charge, not a second-degree murder charge. Aggravated manslaughter? He absolutely would have been found guilty. And he didn't even use "stand-your-ground" laws as part of his defense. The prosecution leapt too far. The outcry was so great; I can't blame them.

Zimmerman is by no means a winner. Not by a long shot. He'll end up being taken to civil court and he'll very easily lose. This brings me to my third reason. While he may not go to prison, his life is effectively over. And he'll have to live with what he did for the rest of his life.

[Eireannach]

The state's case was a total disaster from the start.  George Zimmerman is a douchebag.  Florida is a joke.  No one wins in these situations, but it would be nice if the media would shift their outrage about the death of one black teenager in Florida.  Where is the wailing and gnashing of teeth at the never-ending string of murdered black teens and young adults in Chicago?

[drbeachboy]

He was tried by a jury of his peers. The jury was instructed on what they could consider when determining guilt or innocence. Opinions mean nothing. Based on the facts presented by the prosecution, the jury came to a verdict of not guilty. No justice system is perfect, but I for one would not want to be tried in any other fashion. The jury did the job that they were sworn to do.

[pixletwin]

[rab2591]

The state's case was a total disaster from the start.  George Zimmerman is a douchebag.  Florida is a joke.  No one wins in these situations, but it would be nice if the media would shift their outrage about the death of one black teenager in Florida.  Where is the wailing and gnashing of teeth at the never-ending string of murdered black teens and young adults in Chicago?

Black vs black shootings in the inner city don't bring in big ratings though.

This entire incident was a disaster: Zimmerman disregarding nearly every rule pertaining to conceal/carry. NBC editing the f*cking 911 call making Zimmerman look like a complete racist. The prosecution going for the big catch instead of a reasonable charge. The justice system prevailed, though I do not believe justice prevailed.

Many of us have probably been on a jury, some of us have had to decide whether a man spends a good chunk of his life behind bars - when the prosecution doesn't give sufficient evidence or overblows the charges there is nothing the jury can do.

[grillo]

Jeez, you folks on the left sure are bloodthirsty! On the other hand, calling the 'justice system' anything other than a horrible joke is itself a horrible joke. Any system where the police, the lawyers and the judges work for the same side (the state) is obviously absurd. A system where putting someone either to death or in a cage is somehow justice for anyone, including the victim and family, makes no sense.
Of course Zimmerman should be made to pay for killing another individual, but how about actually recompensing the injured parties?
Since no one can bring the dead back to life, Zimmerman should instead pay the family a sum of money equal to the potential earning of the deceased over what would have been his natural lifetime plus whatever other amount a third party arbitrator finds acceptable. At least then the family would have something for their loss and Zimmerman would pay a real price, besides the obvious ostracism that come with being a known killer.

[drbeachboy]

Jeez, you folks on the left sure are bloodthirsty! On the other hand, calling the 'justice system' anything other than a horrible joke is itself a horrible joke. Any system where the police, the lawyers and the judges work for the same side (the state) is obviously absurd. A system where putting someone either to death or in a cage is somehow justice for anyone, including the victim and family, makes no sense.
Of course Zimmerman should be made to pay for killing another individual, but how about actually recompensing the injured parties?
Since no one can bring the dead back to life, Zimmerman should instead pay the family a sum of money equal to the potential earning of the deceased over what would have been his natural lifetime plus whatever other amount a third party arbitrator finds acceptable. At least then the family would have something for their loss and Zimmerman would pay a real price, besides the obvious ostracism that come with being a known killer.

I take it that you are not from this country or you would know that a civil case can address what you state at the end of your post. This all comes down to the difference between criminal "Reasonable Doubt" and civil "Preponderance of Proof" cases. The civil case can only come about if the family files a civil suite.

[grillo]

I am indeed 'from this country', I just find this 'country', and frankly all countries, to be ass backwards when it comes to government being the arbiter of anything. How can an organization that is defined by being a monopoly on that which it prevents all individuals from doing (force being its primary tool) ever be anything but a joke?
Gotta go to work but look forward to more later!

[drbeachboy]

I am indeed 'from this country', I just find this 'country', and frankly all countries, to be ass backwards when it comes to government being the arbiter of anything. How can an organization that is defined by being a monopoly on that which it prevents all individuals from doing (force being its primary tool) ever be anything but a joke?
Gotta go to work but look forward to more later!

Huh? What government in this world has nothing to do with their country's justice system? Even a civil or small claims court case has government involvement. You cannot have kangaroo courts meating out justice. You can't have vigilante groups doing that either. In our country, the government is the body that makes laws, and they enforce that those laws are carried out and followed.

[Mike's Beard]

Justice has not prevailed because Zimmerman has walked away scott free. The charge should have been for manslaughter which he would have been nailed on. Instead the Courts, media and the family and it's lawyers all attempted to portray Martin as a racial martyr and go for broke with a second-degree murder charge. No doubt that racist clown Jesse Jackson is getting himself worked up into a lather over the verdict.

The real lesson here is that roaming Neighbourhood Watch groups are an accident waiting to happen and this stuff should be left to the Police.

[drbeachboy]

Justice has not prevailed because Zimmerman has walked away scott free. The charge should have been for manslaughter which he would have been nailed on. Instead the Courts, media and the family and it's lawyers all attempted to portray Martin as a racial martyr and go for broke with a second-degree murder charge. No doubt that racist clown Jesse Jackson is getting himself worked up into a lather over the verdict.

The real lesson here is that roaming Neighbourhood Watch groups are an accident waiting to happen and this stuff should be left to the Police.

The jury was instructed that they could go with the lesser charge of manslaughter and still the prosecution could not prove that beyond a reasonable doubt. Neighborhood Watch Groups are good, but you can't have those volunteer people carrying guns. The optimal word there being, Watch. You watch and report, not confront, and/or take action. That Florida law allowing guns needs to be repealed, or this type of thing will most definitely happen again.

[Mike's Beard]

Justice has not prevailed because Zimmerman has walked away scott free. The charge should have been for manslaughter which he would have been nailed on. Instead the Courts, media and the family and it's lawyers all attempted to portray Martin as a racial martyr and go for broke with a second-degree murder charge. No doubt that racist clown Jesse Jackson is getting himself worked up into a lather over the verdict.

The real lesson here is that roaming Neighbourhood Watch groups are an accident waiting to happen and this stuff should be left to the Police.

The jury was instructed that they could go with the lesser charge of manslaughter and still the prosecution could not prove that beyond a reasonable doubt. Neighborhood Watch Groups are good, but you can't have those volunteer people carrying guns. The optimal word there being, Watch. You watch and report, not confront, and/or take action. That Florida law allowing guns needs to be repealed, or this type of thing will most definitely happen again.

You are right, if Zimmerman thought the kid looked suspect he should have gave the word to dispatch and left it at that. In fact he was told not to aproach Martin but thought he was Charles Bronson. OK so anywhere else a manslaughter charge would have been a given but it seems Florida is second only to Texas in 'shoot first, ask questions later' culture.

[JohnMill]

If you're not defending Zimmerman, don't say 'justice has prevailed!' When he gets off. You can see the confusion?

I said that specifically for three reasons. Firstly, justice absolutely goes both ways, which leads to my second reason - there was no way that the prosecution could prove second-degree murder with the presented evidence. They absolutely should have gone for an aggravated manslaughter charge, not a second-degree murder charge. Aggravated manslaughter? He absolutely would have been found guilty. And he didn't even use "stand-your-ground" laws as part of his defense. The prosecution leapt too far. The outcry was so great; I can't blame them.

Zimmerman is by no means a winner. Not by a long shot. He'll end up being taken to civil court and he'll very easily lose. This brings me to my third reason. While he may not go to prison, his life is effectively over. And he'll have to live with what he did for the rest of his life.

My first thought when I heard the verdict would be it would probably be best for Zimmerman to apply for a passport asap and move to some foreign country.  It may be his only chance at some relative privacy and sanity given the fact that if he remains anywhere in the United States he will be continually hounded by the media and those crying outrage at the moment.  My second thought was the outrage.  In cases like this my personal feeling has always been that unless you are directly affected by the outcome of the trial, you really need to concern yourself with you and yours.  I'll never understand the throes of people who take to the streets wasting valuable days of their lives hollering and shouting about something which at the end of the day has very little bearing on their day to day life.  Others may disagree but that is how I see it. 

[rab2591]

Pretty good perspective on the Justice for Trayvon rallies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sL2f0PoqME

[Dunderhead]

bloo-bloo-bloo rip traybon, all he wanted was skittles a-bloo-bloo-bloo.

[Dunderhead]