Zimmerman's lawyers: George called Trayvon a fucking punk, not a fucking coon, before shooting him

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Sanford, Florida (CNN) -- George Zimmerman told his lawyers that he whispered "punks," not a racial slur, in the moments before he shot Trayvon Martin, his lawyers told CNN Thursday.

Some people interpreted the police recording of Zimmerman's call to 911 as evidence the fatal shooting was racially motivated.

Zimmerman lawyers Hal Ulrig and Craig Sonner told CNN their client told them he said "These f---ing punks always get away."

Forensic audio expert Tom Owen, who analyzed 911 recordings, agreed that the garbled word that raised controversy was "punks," not the racial slur some people said they heard

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/05/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

[MADem]

1. Did he give the word a little flair? "Poonks" perhaps?

He must be taking lessons at the Limbaugh school of elocution....Rushbo loved to make Sandra Fluck's last name rhyme with either "kook" or "fuck"--and quite ostentatiously, too?

I don't buy it. The only "punks" he reported/called 911 on were the "punks" of the non-Caucasian persuasion.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

10. He said it like one of the Beatles..."fookin poonks"...it was a term of endearment

Then he put a bullet in Trayvon's chest and started working on his "story."

[MADem]

11. Yep, I think that's probably closer to what happened than even he wants to admit. nt

[Junkdrawer]

2. 2nd Degree Murder in Florida: Murder with a Depraved Mind

Murder with a Depraved Mind occurs when a person is killed, without any premeditated design, by an act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind showing no regard for human life.

http://www.richardhornsby.com/crimes/homicide/second-degree-murder.html#Definition

[Warpy]

3. They're just trying to avoid having a hate crime sentence

tacked onto whatever he's getting for manslaughter. You can hardly blame them, the word was very unclear. Perhaps someone out there can clean up the tape, but honestly, who cares? He shot a kid who had a perfect right to be where he was and who was armed with a cell phone, Skittles and iced tea.

[Cali_Democrat]

4. So what was Martin doing that made him a punk in Zimmerman's eyes?

Oh that's right....walking while black, carrying skittles and an iced tea and talking on the phone.

[Initech]

5. From the "you're not helping" file.

Just keep shooting yourself in the foot there Zimmerman.

[JoePhilly]

6. Does not really help his case.

It demonstrates that Zimmerman had already judged Martin and found him guilty of something.

Zimmerman was determined not to let this "punk get away" ... even if that meant killing Travon.

Time to plead manslaughter.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

12. He's establishing "intent."

If he said "Fine, outstanding, well-groomed, quite likely articulate and talented African-American teenaged male...they always get away," my thoughts...as a legal professional determined to get at the justice behind this case...would be centered on "Get away from what, George?"

[JoePhilly]

20. Exactly ... George was trying to "capture" this "punk"

Given that ... George was never "defending himself" ... rather, George had decided that he was going to do what actual law enforcement personnel had failed to do ... "catch this punk".

George is the instigator of all of the activity. He is the individual who forces the situation.

And in the end, he "catches the punk".

[csziggy]

7. I don't care what he said - Trayvon Martin screamed and begged for his life

For OVER forty seconds before Zimmerman shot him. In my opinion that forty seconds makes it premeditated murder. That forty seconds must have been an eternity to Trayvon Martin.

http://www.sanfordfl.gov/investigation/911/call3.wav

It's on the recording of the 911 call - FORTY seconds which was only stopped by the shot. Someone attacking another person does not scream for help for forty seconds. Someone being held at gunpoint might.

[anti-alec]

15. First degree murder - with depraved indifference

That's what Zimmerman should be facing.

And a date with the needle (assuming Florida ever clears their 300+ death row inmates backlog)

[COLGATE4]

26. You're mixing the 2 things. First degree murder

is with premeditation. Second degree is with depraved indifference.

[Brickbat]

8. Really, when it comes down to it, it's the whine of "they ALWAYS get away!" that is the point.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

17. Exactly...

...Zimmerman's "defenders" are so busy stumbling over themselves looking for an ideal, "innocent" rhyme to "coon" while sidestepping the part of the call that clearly shows he was pursuing Trayvon and had him in the figurative...and ultimately literal...crosshairs.

[Solomon]

9. I know what i heard and i heard it clearly

"fucking coons", that's what he said I heard a CNN analysis where they are now claiming he said "fucking cold". Then the host checked the weather for that day and says it was "unseasonably cool that day.

I'm sick to death of the bullshit.

[Mariana]

13. It still seems to me that it indicates malice

along with "these assholes". Zimmerman was angry at Trayvon when he went after him, that's for sure.

[madokie]

14. No matter he murdered Trayvon

Georgie boy is going to go down for a long long time

[arbusto_baboso]

16. So, that's BETTER?!?!?

Seriously. What kind of fucktard thinks that makes any goddamn bit of difference?

[SamG]

18. Oh YES, so much better, because

punks can be black or white or brown or yellow or red.

[arbusto_baboso]

21. And all equally as vulnerable to bullets.

Especially when armed only with Skittles.

[SamG]

25. All punks carry Skittles! I never ate one...

I was in a CVS drug store today waiting for my $35.99 prescription for 6 pills! That's right, six antibiotic pills for an infection over 5 days, $35.99. I could have bought 26 boxes of Skittles for the same price, at $1.69 a box.

I bet that the cost of production of these pills was like $1.25., less than the retail price of one box of Skittles.

So why do I make this comparison?

While I waited for my prescription box of pills, I went to the candy isle, to find out what a box of Skittles looked like.

[dkf]

31. Some wanted this tried as a hate crime murder so yes it's better.

It's obvious to me that the jury pool will have been irretrievably tainted by all the supposed expert they are hearing from now. How can anyone on a jury really separate all this from what they would learn at the trial?

[Algebra Palin]

19. that actually makes sense.

he said 'fuckin punks' after martin ran.
that really speaks to his mindset; captain mall ninja was really looking for a confrontation.

[MrSlayer]

22. This is phonetically impossible.

You clearly, clearly hear the "oooon" sound which sounds nothing like the "unk" sound. They would have been better off going with the "goon" theory because this is absolute, obvious bullshit.

[pokerfan]

37. Even cold is more plausible than punk

I think the lawyers are trying to muck the waters to the point where people will believe anything. Float a different theory every day until you reach the point that they will then say, "See?! No one knows what was said. It's just a matter of opinion."

Tomorrow: "My client clearly said 'fucking cantaloupe.'"

[Life Long Dem]

23. Punk

3.
b : a usually petty gangster, hoodlum, or ruffian

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punk

Related to HOODLUM
Synonyms: bully, gangbanger, gangsta, gangster, goon, gorilla, homeboy, homey (or homie), hood, hooligan, mobster, mug, plug-ugly, punk, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, thug, tough, toughie (also toughy), yob [British], yobbo [British]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoodlum?show=0&t=1333657376

Sounds more like a message this lawyer is trying to send or portray.

[bluesbassman]

24. Makes it as bad. Trayvon committed no crime that Z saw so he stalked him.

That makes him a vigilante at best based on his assumption that Trayvon committed a crime. He abandoned his status (which was tenuous at best) as a neighborhood watchman the minute he stepped out of his vehicle. So if he did mumble "punks" that goes to establishing that he had already determined Trayvon as a criminal and he acted accordingly which disqualifies both SYG and any defense that he was acting in an official capacity as a neighborhood watchman as those responsibilities absolutely DO NOT authorize confrontation.

[HopeHoops]

27. Oh yeah, that makes things SO much better. I feel relieved now.

The kid's still dead. "Coon", "punk", "asshole", "slacker", who cares - Zimmerman murdered him.

[guitar man]

28. Bullshit

There's no p sound at the start of that word. I've spent a lot of time mixing and editing live multitrack recordings and have had to chase down and fix a lot of "p pops" I'm vocal tracks. I know what a p looks like on a waveform display and there's no p there. Lying assholes

[Oilwellian]

35. Indeed

I took the audio into Sony Vegas and you can clearly hear the hard "C" sound. Was it you who posted the short audio clip of just the words "fucking coons?" I remember someone here posted it a while back but didn't save it. You can clearly hear the hard "C" in that as well.

[guitar man]

36. Could have been

There have been a few clips posted, I think I posted this one before. I did a little noise reduction and eq to the section in question

http://soundcloud.com/jftm4931/911-clip-1

[WeekendWarrior]

29. Oh, I see...

...So that makes it okay to profile and shoot the guy.

I get how that works.

[rucky]

30. His legal team is trying to keep the feds out of it. n/t

[Solomon]

32. Yep. if they can just get the feds out of it, they're

back to controlling the investigation.

[rustydog]

33. Oh well then THAT settles it, The shooting was justified... NOT!

Your client is a murderer.

[NNN0LHI]

34. Definition of punk

punk/pəNGk/Noun: A worthless person (often used as a general term of abuse).

[Ruby the Liberal]

38. I'm sure it was intended as a term of endearment.

[CBHagman]

39. Remember the so-called friend who said the word was "goon" and that...

...he understood it was a term of endearment?

[applegrove]

40. I heard the 'clarified' tapes on CNN. Still sounded like Coon to me.