The Most Important Question in the Trayvon Martin Case is Being Ignored...

[Junkdrawer]

If the Sanford homicide detective had simply been allowed to do his job, Zimmerman would now be in the slammer and none of us would have heard the name Trayvon Martin.

Instead, Police Chief Bill Lee and State's Attorney Norm Wolfinger personally intervened and set Zimmerman free with NO CHARGES.

Why?

Bill Lee and Norm Wolfinger said it was the Stand Your Ground law. When the release of the 911 tapes made that seem unlikely, Bill Lee's racism came into question. And when Zimmerman said "These guys they always get away." referring to a black teenager, Zimmerman's racism came into question. (to say nothing of the less certain "fucking coons" aside.)

Now the media is focusing almost exclusively on the guilt or innocence of Zimmerman. Important question, hopefully one that will be tried in open court. But again, the question I can't get out of my head is "Why was the homicide detective overruled and Zimmerman set free?"

[uponit7771]

1. Doesn't this go all the way up to States attorney? A lot of people carrers etc are on the line

[Junkdrawer]

3. Which probably explains why Zimmerman is still free.

Lots of "what the hell do we do now?" being kicked around for sure.

[amandabeech]

32. My understanding is that the state is investigating.

They won't be saying anything while the investigation is ongoing, so I don't expect to hear anything for another week or so at the earliest.

The FBI has been investigating as well.

I've also read reports that the State is investigating the Sanford police department, but I have not seen anything really reliable on that point.

But I think you're right. "Lots of 'what the hell do we do now'" because the Sanford police probably botched the initial investigation. The Sanford police chief and prosecutor will have a lot of explaining to do to someone before this is over, and my guess is that the FBI will be that "someone" in a denial of civil rights prosecution.

[Baitball Blogger]

17. And the worst of it, is that Chief Bill Lee will be commended for following orders.

Just you wait and see.

[intheflow]

4. No, the most important question that's being ignored is

why wasn't Zimmerman arrested for stalking a kid walking down the street? He was obviously the instigator, deciding to follow a kid who was completely in his rights to walk on any public street despite the fact the police told him to not get out of his car and follow the kid. Stand Your Ground does not apply to stalking. That's really the only question about Zimmerman that needs to be asked.

Of course, your question is a good one, too. But it all starts with Zimmerman's behavior. That's the genesis from which the rest of the clusterfuck sprang.

[CBHagman]

7. Best summary I've read in a while.

He was obviously the instigator, deciding to follow a kid who was completely in his rights to walk on any public street despite the fact the police told him to not get out of his car and follow the kid. Stand Your Ground does not apply to stalking. That's really the only question about Zimmerman that needs to be asked.

Of course, your question is a good one, too. But it all starts with Zimmerman's behavior.

Some news report (I forget the source) made a point of saying that Zimmerman was not obliged to obey the 911 operator who told him they did not need him to follow the youth. But I'd say it's Functional Human Behavior 101 to know that someone just walking down a sidewalk to an unknown destination does not need to be followed, and definitely not with a weapon.

[Kaleva]

12. Zimmerman having a gun on him may be irrelevent.

He was licensed to carry a concealed weapon. While the Sanford PD didn't encourage people who were in the Neighborhood Watch program to be armed, there is no law that prohibits them from doing so, as long as they were licensed to carry a gun.

As I read these threads and posts about Florida law, it appears to me that what took place before the final confrontation doesn't matter much as neither Zimmerman or Trayvon were breaking any law. What matters is what took place at the final confrontation.

If Trayvon attacked Zimmerman and knocked him to the ground, Zimmerman could respond to that with force; including deadly force. If Zimmerman attacked Trayvon and then shot him in the ensuing struggle, then he'd be guilty of murder. Zimmerman supposedly told police that when he reached into his pocket for his cell phone, Trayvon then attacked him. Trayvon could have thought Zimmerman was reaching for a weapon and punched him in self defense but that's just speculation on my part as Trayvon is dead and can't give his side of the story.

Both men can't claim self defense. One was the aggressor in the final confrontation.

[PotatoChip]

19. "Both men can't claim self defense. One was the aggressor in the final confrontation"

By all accounts (including that of Zimmerman himself) it can be concluded that Zimmerman was the aggressor based on the fact that he chose to follow Trayvon. The very act of following someone *is* one of aggression imo, and I doubt I'm the only one here who sees it this way. But for the fact that Zimmerman exited his vehicle to see where Trayvon was going, there would never have been a physical confrontation.

[mainer]

20. Zimmerman having a gun on him IRRELEVANT?

tell that to the dead kid.

[Kaleva]

24. What law did Zimmerman break by having a gun on him?

According to second hand reports about what Zimmerman told the police (we don't know exactly what Zimmerman said), Trayvon didn't see the gun until the two men were engaged in a scuffle.

According to one article I read, The Sanford PD doesn't encourage people who are in the Neighborhood Watch program to carry guns but they can''t prohibit it either (as long as they are licensed to do so) because it isn't against the law.

[Flying Squirrel]

45. Oh, you`re really stretching.

If someone knocks you down, you have the right to shoot and kill them? I don`t think so. You have the right to have them prosecuted for assault. But simply being hit and/or knocked down (if that`s what really happened, and we don`t know) doesn`t in itself pass the test of making a person reasonably believe their life is in danger. I believe the key word here is reasonably. Your average large man getting knocked down by a younger, smaller unarmed man would not reasonably feel that his life was in danger.

[spin]

55. It is not the size of the dog in the fight ...

it's the size of the fight in the dog.

A good little fighter can beat the crap out of a much larger but less skilled opponent. A street fighter can beat a black belt as while he only knows a couple of tricks the street fighter can be damned good at them and the black belt often has never seen such tactics in a dojo. A street fighter doesn't just fight to win, he fights to kill or be killed.

Note: I am not defending Zimmerman or saying that Martin was a street fighter. I am merely pointing out that sometimes the larger fighter doesn't have as much of an advantage as you suggest.

Let's assume Zimmerman was sucker punched by Martin, taken to the ground and had his head slammed repeatedly into concrete or the ground. Zimmerman might have been disoriented and feared that Martin would find his concealed weapon and used it to kill him.

Forensics and the results of the ongoing investigation will probably be the determining factors in if Zimmerman ends up facing a jury.

Having said all that, it is my opinion that if Zimmerman ignored the instructions from the dispatcher, continued to follow Martin and then confronted him in an aggressive manner, he should be arrested and prosecuted. If that was actually what happened it is quite possible that Martin felt threatened and had good reason to feel that Zimmerman intended to seriously injure or kill him. Zimmerman was considerably larger than Martin. Martin would be able to argue (if he had survived) that he was the one who had the right to stand his ground and defend himself.

We will know far more details of the incident in the near future. Right now all we can do is speculate. That is often a fool's game. Hopefully the investigation will be fair and unbiased and our legal system will work to ensure justice is served.

[Kaleva]

56. I agree with what you say. SYG, IMO, is the problem here.

I dare say that in most states, Zimmerman would be sitting in jail now for at least the charge of manslaughter.

"Since its passage in 2005, the "stand your ground'' law has protected people who have pursued another, initiated a confrontation and then used deadly force to defend themselves. Citing the law, judges have granted immunity to killers who put themselves in danger, so long as their pursuit was not criminal, so long as the person using force had a right to be there, and so long as he could convince the judge he was in fear of great danger or death. "

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/stand-your-ground-law-protects-those-who-go-far-beyond-that-point/1222930

[csziggy]

47. What IS relevant are the forty second of screams for hep before the gunshot

Two audio experts have said that the screaming was NOT Zimmerman. If Trayvon Martin was screaming for help for FORTY seconds, that is sufficient time for Zimmerman to decide whether or not to shoot, no matter what had happened prior to that forty seconds.

The period of time in which Trayvon was NOT being aggressive makes this first degree murder. Forty seconds being at either end of a gun is an eternity. Zimmerman had the choice whether or not to shoot Trayvon and he made the decision to shoot to kill.

[Baitball Blogger]

18. The way the stand your ground rule is written, it specifically

talks about an individual's right to be in the area. The way it's written, it sounds like Trayvon had the right to defend himself

[Kaleva]

26. But both can't claim self defense. One was the aggressor.

One could argue that both had the right to be there (altough Zimmerman ought to have known better because of his training). If that's the case, then what's important, IMO, is who struck the first blow.

[Baitball Blogger]

30. The man wearing the gun lost his right to SYG when he became the aggressor.

Agree.

[Liber-AL]

50. The first blow? What does that have to do with anything?

Under SYG, Trayvon would have been justified in striking GZ first if he felt threatened. Who is going to wait until an attacker makes the first strike?

Since Trayvon's body did not have any marks on the hands or knuckles, he likely used the can of soda to strike his pursuer, if he struck him at all.

[sylvi]

23. Unfortunately, Zimmerman's behavior

Unfortunately, Zimmerman's behavior that night probably doesn't rise to the level of "stalking" under Florida law:

"Any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses, or cyberstalks another person commits the offense of stalking, a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083."

[url]http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0784/Sections/0784.048.html[/url]

I'm no lawyer, but the keyword here is probably "repeatedly", as in, "on more than one occasion".

[amandabeech]

33. Yes, repeatedly is the key.

Say you and your significant other break up. If he calls you a couple of times or knocks on the door a couple of times, that's not stalking. But if he calls you repeatedly in the middle of the night and follows you around on the weekend, he's probably stalking.

[Liber-AL]

51. The beauty of the word (repeatedly) and the beast of the definition:

After reviewing the Florida Statues shown in your link, I noticed that 784.048 (1) (b,) seems to define "repeatedly" as applicable to Florida state law:

“Course of conduct” means a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose. "

Interpretation is crucial here. Perhaps the Florida Supreme Court would be the ultimate authority to decide if GZ's actions warrants the application of the above rule. The writers of this law included the phrase "however short" in the law and thereby invalidated any necessity to violate the statute by following or harassing someone for days or weeks.

I think it would be reasonable to say that the series of acts instigated by GZ on the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin would satisfy the legal definition of the word "repeatedly."

1. Spotting and trailing Martin in his vehicle.

2. Getting out of his vehicle to follow Martin further.

3. Chasing Martin.

4. Approaching Martin , engaging and shooting him.

[EFerrari]

25. Except that question doesn't get to the other cases of similar behavior

by this same police department, where there was a black victim and the department tried to make the case go away. One of those cases brought down the last police chief, iirc.

[amandabeech]

34. But Zimmerman was not involved in those earlier instances and those didn't involve Martin.

However, the earlier cases may be important in an investigation of the Sanford police department and prosecutor's office for civil rights violations.

[EFerrari]

35. Exactly. The earlier cases didn't involve Zimmerman or his family (that we know of)

or Martin. But the rough outlines are similar enough to provoke a comparison and to get attention from DoJ Civil Rights.

[amandabeech]

53. I agree that the DOJ should investigate the Sanford PD and the prosecutor's office.

I think that investigating the institutions is actually more important in some ways than going after Zimmerman on a civil rights violation.

Zimmerman is done. I do not believe that he is likely to shoot or kill anyone else, even if he is not put behind bars.

However, the Sanford PD and prosecutor can and will continue to produce problems. They're not done, and their problems could cause more deaths and miscarriages of justice in the future.

[spin]

52. If Zimmerman confronted Martin in an aggressive manner ...

and refused to back off, he should not be able to claim self defense.

In my opinion as a Floridian with a Concealed Weapons Permit, Zimmerman lost the right to claim self defense if he ignored the advice of the dispatcher, continued to follow Martin and then confronted him.

Unfortunately I don't know all the details of the incident and there now are several version of what happened that night.

Trayvon Martin case: George Zimmerman's evolving narrative

With slight variations, George Zimmerman's family members and his media adviser have told a story that paints Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was shot by Zimmerman while walking home from a local 7-Eleven with candy and iced tea, as the aggressor in their fateful confrontation on February 26th.

The differences are subtle, but potentially important, particularly if a case against Mr. Zimmerman ever goes to trial.

Story 1: The confrontation at the SUV

***snip***

Story 2: The confrontation on foot, and what Zimmerman reportedly told police

***snip***

Story 3: following Trayvon on foot, "between the town homes"

***snip***

Story 4: Trayvon "tried to take Zimmerman's gun"

http://www.thegrio.com/specials/trayvon-martin/george-zimmermans-evolving-story.php

If Martin would have survived the incident he might well have been able to claim a stand your ground defense for his actions. Assume that Zimmerman had confronted him aggressively and flashed or drawn his weapon. Martin would have had good reason to fear for his life. (Note: brandishing a weapon is illegal in Florida.) If Martin would have attempted to disarm Zimmerman and during the struggle the firearm discharged wounding or killing Zimmerman, Martin's actions should have been legal. However it is quite possible that if that had happened Martin would have been arrested and prosecuted. The authorities would probably have approached such a result far differently than they handled the current situation. Of course all this is merely speculation. I hope the results of the ongoing investigations will be released soon. The forensic results will be extremely important.

I've legally carried a concealed firearm for 15 years in Florida. While I was never a person to look for a fight, ever since I started to carry I have avoided any and all confrontations.

If I ever find myself in an encounter with an angry or aggressive individual I plan to simply walk away even if it makes me look like a coward. The only time that I would ever consider drawing and using my handgun would be if I was attacked or about to be attacked by an individual who I had good reason to believe desired to seriously injure or kill me and had the capacity to do so. He would have to be armed with a weapon such as a gun or a knife or be much larger and in far better physical condition than I am. I also carry pepper spray as a nonlethal option. The last thing in the world that would ever want to do is to shoot another person.

I should point out that I don't really ever expect to find myself in a life or death fight and I am not paranoid or fearful. Like many other people, I simply like to be prepared. I wear my seat belt on short drives and have a fire extinguisher 10 feet from where I am sitting. I have enjoyed target shooting handguns for over 40 years. It's far from uncommon for people with my background to have carry permits.

At this time with the information that I have gleaned from the news, I feel Zimmerman is a cop wannabe. A carry permit does not make you a cop nor should it.

[citizen blues]

5. That's a question.....

that I've been wondering too.

[dkf]

6. The fact that you don't know why by now is a sad indictment on the media's duty to inform...

Police can and do arrest suspects without probable cause, but judges must then order their release from jail. Senior Judge O.H. Eaton Jr. said that happened at least once or twice every weekend he was on jail duty reviewing Seminole County arrests for the previous 24 hours.

When that happens, police can rearrest the suspect, and prosecutors are free to file charges. But they must bring the case to trial within 175 days of arrest, according to Florida rules of criminal procedure.

That ticking clock is often an incentive for prosecutors to hold off on an arrest, they said. It gives them more time to collect evidence — for example, to get ballistics tests done if a gun is involved or to have fingerprints analyzed.

Prosecutors almost always demand more evidence than cops.

Though an officer needs only probable cause to make an arrest, prosecutors typically want enough evidence for a conviction — enough to convince a jury beyond every reasonable doubt that the suspect is guilty.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/the-search-for-probable-cause-against-george-zimmerman-2284653.html

[JHB]

14. The "ticking clock" part is true. It's the "collecting evidence" part...

...that doesn't appear to match up with that interpretation for the departent's actions.

I won't speculate on what they may or may not have in their posession in terms of physical evidence, but from the descriptions given by nearby residents about police behavior while taking their statements (e.g., "correcting" them as to who did what) and what the police told Martin's family after the fact, there is nothing to indicate the delay was due to the need to collect evidence. This makes the "they didn't arrest him because they just weren't going to" scenario loom much larger.

[pinboy3niner]

22. Witness spoke on CNN again yesterday: Police turned away info

This eyewitness said the larger man was on top and the cries for help came from the teenager, but police told her 'Well, if it makes you feel any better, the person that was yelling for help is alive."

Witness, Zimmerman attorneys address key questions in Trayvon shooting
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002528498

[ThomThom]

15. but how many weeks has it been 6, 7, 8

Is 2 months enough time to gather the evidence?

[Junkdrawer]

39. That's just not credible:

1.) The crime scene was poorly secured and there was no indication of a search for evidence until the FBI came in

2.) The Sanford police ignored critical witnesses and tried to change the testimony of others

3.) That strategy leaves a potential flight risk free

4.) Bill Lee defended his and the SA's "No crime here" claim until the Mayor and Council voted "No Confidence"

But feel free to try that "Poor soul, you're uninformed" strategy again. Or better yet, sell it to Robert Crump.

[behrstar]

8. Vee vere just following orders

is a shitty defense. Cops in this country seem to be wandering farther towards facism, IMHO.

[nadeltanz]

9. Wolfinger and Lee

The trick is Wolfinger and his office said they had nothing to do with the decision and claim it's not standard operating procedure for the Police to even ask their permission. The Sanford Police tell the Martin family Wolfinger made the decision. It looks this is the way the 2 Offices work to keep the Public in the dark as to who made the decision. Corey may decide not to reveal what happened. These folk protect their own for the most part. However, some in the Public realize that the Judicial System in this Country and all across it is broken as in corrupt. It takes the Public to correct this corruption, and that is why the Media covering this from all angles extensively, is most important.

[Kaleva]

10. Florida has a "Right to a speedy trial" law

If Zimmerman would have been arrested and charged that night, the clock would have started ticking as the state would then have 175 days to build it's case and bring the matter to trial.
Despite what some may say, SYG makes this a complex case and there's precident for that.

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. Despite what you may believe, homicide detectives do not make ultimate charging decisions

Anywhere in these United States.

Homicide detectives are often overruled.

[Junkdrawer]

28. The homicide detective was overruled on the ARREST decision:

See the video here:

http://www.hlntv.com/video/2012/04/02/trayvon-shooting

Also:

...

The family says they want to know why the State Attorney's Office chose not to bring charges against George Zimmerman.

"It's one of those things," said Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump. "He's the state attorney, he came there. But I understand they also have other people who do this on a regular basis and for whatever reason he came that night and so we're trying to have this whole matter investigated because we just cannot understand how George Zimmerman was not arrested for killing an unarmed teenager."

In a letter to Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roy Austin, Crump said he wants to know why the Sanford police chief, Bill Lee, and Wolfinger overruled the lead homicide investigator on the case.

The letter said that lead homicide investigator, Chris Serino, filed an affidavit about his findings of Zimmerman.

"More poignantly, Mr. Serino filed an affidavit stating that he did not find Zimmerman's statements credible in light of the circumstances and facts surround the shooting," wrote Crump.

...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46923638/ns/local_news-orlando_fl/

[alcibiades_mystery]

40. Charge and arrest are identical in this case

As they are in many cases. In some cases, of course, the suspect is arrested, then the DA decides the charges based on a review of the evidence. So, somebody arrested for hitting another person in the police officers view can be charged with many things, but the arrest decision had already been made. In other cases, whether to charge at all is a condition precedent to any arrest, as it appears to have been in this case. For instance, determining whether a charge of fraud can be sustained will often come before a decision to arrest a suspect: the charge is a condition for the arrest (note: the officer(s) condicting the fraud investigation don't get to decide whether to arrest or charge in such cases). In such cases, the decision to charge and the decision to arrest are in essence the same decision. That was the case here. So responding that the detective was "overruled" in an arrest decision doesn't really make a difference. The arrest decision is the charging decision in this case, and vice versa. The point stands.

[Junkdrawer]

41. Why was the homicide detective prevented from re-examining the suspect?

It seems many unusual things happened that night that are now being sold as business-as-usual.

Sorry, not buying.

[alcibiades_mystery]

46. Now THAT *is* unusual

That a homicide detective wasn't the one to decide arrest and charge, however, is NOT unusual.

It's not clear what you're not buying. I'm not selling anything.

[janet118]

13. Since Zimmerman was handcuffed and taken to police station . . .

it seems like the police on the scene thought there was enough probable cause to consider him a suspect. I think the questions are: What took place inside the police station that night? Who was called and by whom? Why was Zimmerman not required to turn over his clothing and his gun to authorities? Why wasn't Zimmerman required to go to the hospital to have his injuries documented? It's not just that he was released. It is the fact that evidence wasn't collected from the person who shot the unarmed victim. It doesn't matter when the decision to prosecute is made if vital evidence is allowed to be compromised or destroyed.

[amandabeech]

36. I read that the Sanford police took the gun into evidence,

which would mean that Zimmerman does not now have the gun.

[janet118]

57. Good . . . I hope that they did a competent job collecting the rest of the evidence

because if they didn't, 2nd degree is going to be hard to prove.

[amandabeech]

58. I still think that second degree is going to be difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

This prosecutor has gone overboard in her charge before. She charged a 12 year old with adult murder, and I don't believe that the case has been resolved. It's been at least two years, if not more, and justice has not been served. I read about it in a NYT article.

I just read on US News and in the Seattle Post Intelligencer that the prosecutor must prove that Zimmerman did not act in self defense in a hearing before the judge only before the case can go to a jury trial. Unless the prosecutor has something that has not been leaked, I don't think that will be easy under Florida law. The coroner's report might have something in it, and it is possible that there is incontrovertible evidence that Zimmerman started the fight, or that he went nuts and shot the kid, but the evidence has not been leaked.

Nobody but the prosecutors and investigators really know what happened with the Sanford PD, and I'm not sure we'll know unless the Justice Department investigates them under civil rights laws.

The noise to signal ratio in the media and on the internet has been very high with this case IMHO.

[Baitball Blogger]

16. We're so way ahead of you.

Lots of threads have discussed this very situation. Why was Norm Wolfinger at the police station that night? He is a good ole boy's good ole boy. So we have concluded that his phone records should be examined to find out who made the call.

Possibilities lead to his father, Robert Zimmerman, who was a magistrate from Virginia. Also, the grandfather was C.I.A.

[EFerrari]

27. The corruption in the Sanford system doesn't begin with

the Zimmerman family who weren't involved in the other two similar cases, one where a homeless person was attacked by a police officer and another where a man was shot by a security guard who happened to have a dad on the force. In both of those, there was a minority victim, no arrest was made and it was only under a lot of pressure that the perps were charged later. (I think I have the basics straight, anyway.) One of the perps turned out to be the chief's son. In the other case, the shooter was the son of another officer.

Sanford has problems.

[Baitball Blogger]

29. It's not just Sanford.

But, Sanford is deep enough into the problem to trigger national attention. You need to add Norm Wolfinger into the formula. Local problems have been kept local because too much gets buried.

[EFerrari]

31. That's right. Who knows what other problems have been enabled

by the office of the State Attorney.

[Junkdrawer]

37. In the beginning WE discussed it, and some of the media discussed it. But now..

it seems we're being diverted into a minute-by-minute examination of Zimmerman's guilt. Interesting, but let's not get diverted away from what make THIS case different from the hundreds of other gun-deaths: the Police chief and States Attorney personally intervened and prevented the homicide detective from making a seemingly no-brainer arrest. WHY?

Also, I'm becoming less and less interested in theories and more interested in making sure that someone in authority be held accountable. For example: Did Lee and/or Wolfinger listen to the 911 tapes before making their decision? If not, why not? If they did, how could they ignore the obvious questions raised?

[Baitball Blogger]

38. I feel like I've been waiting for fifteen years to see authority figures in this county held

accountable. Look, they form inside, political circles in this county. They reward those who push their hidden agendas. Usually it means ordinary people used like operatives. They become the authority within their own Homeowner Associations, where they lie, outright lie, to take control of the decisions that are made within the Association. But these deceptions are necessary to expedite the agenda of the local political circle. However, not everyone is fooled by these operatives so the circle of co-conspirators widens. Cabals are formed where necessary to steal the Association resources from the unsuspecting neighbors without any worry about outside legal interference. You can't get lawyers or the State Attorney's office to help you when you catch on to the intrigue, because these are politically connected crimes that often have to do with community development operations. But they are crimes.

Why would you expect them to do less at all levels of a criminal justice investigation? They have been the final authority on everything.

So, my suggestion to you is keep your outrage on high alert, because this needs sustained national attention or it's going to get swept under the rug, like everything else that happens here.

[bart95]

21. why are you defending the police?

they've already been tried in the media, and convicted

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. It was asked early on

And yesterday the fact that dad is a retired judge came to light.

Oh and Wolfinger now claims that meeting never happened.

[Junkdrawer]

43. All just business-as-usual dontcha know...

And you thought the defense of Zimmerman was vigorous. Put pressure on Wolfinger and watch what crawls out of the woodwork.

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. Local politics is the protection of a power structure

Like my town look at the Sanford city concil and it's make up. Then look at the population ratios. It will be more than self evident.

[csziggy]

48. Zimmerman's first defense attorney, Craig Sonner, was a prosecutor under Wolfinger

According to what I have read, though I can't find the link. That is an interesting association!

[EmeraldCityGrl]

49. This interview I found disturbing because of what is said near the very end...

The witness has their attorney with them. At the end of the interview the attorney tells
the interviewer, she asked more questions in this interview than the new SA asked
when she interviewed this witness.

Also note how the police officer that came into her home the night of the murder tried to
influence her opinion that Trayvon was the one screaming. He tells her, "the person that was
screaming is alive." Chilling, just chilling.

The interview aired yesterday.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/04/07/ac-trayvon-martin-eyewitness.cnn

[Junkdrawer]

54. Dontcha know? They need more than 175 days to develop all the evidence...

and THAT"S why Zimmerman wasn't charged that night.

Look upstream. That is not only being sold in the Florida media, but right here.