The public outrage and presumptions of guilt on the part of Zimmerman came from the underlying circumstances:
Z got out of his car, with a gun, and confronted Martin because he suspected him of some wrongdoing, which many presume was based in some part on Martin's race or his dress. If I recall correctly, it came to light that there had been break-ins in the neighborhood, and Z believed black youths had been seen. He apparently thought he had stumbled on "those people."
So the end result -- Martin's death, was completely avoidable but for Z's assumptions and presumptions, and his notion that he should carry a weapon and go around guarding his neighborhood from anyone he felt didn't belong.
The problem with convicting Zimmerman in front of most any jury in most most any state, was that
1) *Ordinary self defense laws* permit the use of deadly force based on a reasonable fear of imminent great bodily harm, AND
2) No one, and no clear forensic evidence, could contradict Z's story that Martin knocked him down and commenced beating him senseless. Z. also told police Martin threatened to kill him.
The way gun laws work, almost everywhere, is that you can get a license and carry one. The way self-defense laws work, almost everywhere, is that if you are, say, pinned down and believe you are about to be subject to severe injury or death, you can respond with deadly force. There is not a lot of law that allows for who "instigated" things or caused the initial problem to begin with. Once someone is in "reasonable fear" of being greatly hurt, they can use deadly force.
"Stand Your Ground" was mentioned in the jury instructions, but was not raised by Z, nor did any of the facts bear on that law. If Z was pinned and unable to flee as he said, the generic self-defense laws in effect anywhere would allow him to defend his life with a gun. "Stand Your Ground" only takes away the obligation to flee if you can safely do so. "I was pinned to the ground" eliminates applicability of that law entirely.
My personal take is that the biggest problem is allowing people to walk around with weapons, with no special responsibility to avoid *putting themselves* in a situation where they might then claim the need for deadly self defense. I think it is entirely possible Martin was beating Z up after Z's creepy stalking behavior. But I don't think he was going to kill him via punches to the face. If there was a legal reason for Z's defense to lose, in my opinion it was in the question of whether he was ever in "reasonable fear" of losing his life or suffering great bodily harm. He was receiving an ass beating, not a murdering.
The other problem with carrying guns is -- assuming again for a moment Z's story was true -- once the gun "appears," someone is likely to get shot. Z claimed Martin saw the gun in the shoulder holster and grabbed for it.
But once it was in view, didn't they both HAVE to grab for it? You can't have a gun sitting there in the middle of a fight and simply let it be. A deadly weapon automatically escalates any physical conflict into life and death.
Of course, because of the lack of evidence, it's possible Z was even worse than he appears, and executed Martin for no reason. But absent that evidence, a jury had no business making such an assumption, no matter how much contempt they may have had for Zimmerman.
For what it's worth, I spoke to several attorneys casually about the case, and they felt the same regarding the inapplicability of SYG and the overall lack of evidence to refute Z's self-defense story.
So here we are. A person can a) carry a gun almost anywhere, and b) shoot anyone they somehow come to "fear," even if they instigated the situation. We couldn't have a better recipe for people who don't like or don't trust certain "types" of other people to end up killing them, in my opinion.
But it wasn't because "Floriduh," and it wasn't because the jury was racist, and it wasn't even the stupid, should-be-repealed Stand Your Ground nonsense. This is the law everywhere. If we don't like it, we ought to do something about it.
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