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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsZimmerman straight up lied in the court room when he gave his "apology" to the Martin family today
His "apology":
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002588295
In the 911 call, the dispatcher asks how old Martin looks. Zimmerman said he looks like he's in his late teens:
911 dispatcher:
How old would you say he is?
Zimmerman:
He’s got something on his shirt. About like his late teens.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=585534
Zimmerman is a liar and a sociopath.
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LAGC
(5,330 posts)I can't believe Zimmerman's lawyer is letting him speak. He's only digging his hole deeper...
Whisp
(24,096 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)Too many lies and not any truth.
The detective on the case never believed him and filed an affidavit requesting a manslaughter charge. He questioned Zimmerman's story and this was before they even checked Trayvon's phone records which really tighten up the time line.
Clearly there were some significant inconsistencies in his statements. It will all come out in court.
Rex
(65,616 posts)immediately after the murder, cannot be ignored in a court of law.
Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)Started out his appearance in court and the public with a whopper. Stupid and unnecessary on his part.
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)That is more than a 30% difference between Zimmerman's age and the oldest a "late teen" can be.
xtraxritical
(3,576 posts)
barbtries
(31,349 posts)jeez there have been more stories out coming from him or his representatives. it must be part of their strategy, or it is just his own personal pathology.
Initech
(109,254 posts)My mom is an elementary school teacher - we were discussing this case and she said her students use that all the time when they get in trouble - doesn't surprise me in the least that Zimmerman is doing the same.
leftyohiolib
(5,917 posts)karnac
(564 posts)View one of course is at a distance while he was stalking/following/observing martin. AND talking to the 911 dispatcher. Frankly more reality based.
View two is when they are both up close and personal at the losing end of a fight or angry confrontation.
Of course there is a third view after Martin is dead. Pure unadulterated, sobering reality. But too late.
It makes a difference.
Case in point...
When I was in high school i was chatting with my friend in the locker room when he was suddenly attacked and punched to the point of being knocked out. I was shocked and and actually did nothing to help him till his aggressor ran off. His attacker looked huge and angry to me. 6 foot or higher.
Luckily someone else saw him run out of the Gym and he was promptly arrested within an hour.
When I was asked to identify him in the Deans office I actually was shocked to notice how small he actually was(around 3 inches shorter than either me or my friend) also more baby faced than I remembered. Pleasant in fact.
My witnessing was important because nobody else got a complete view of of the suspect. Including my attacked friend.
I said that he looked like the assailant. I was about add to that remark by stating i couldn't be one hundred percent sure when the suspect face turned angry and glared at me.
THEN i was sure.
He later confessed.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)Last edited Mon Apr 23, 2012, 10:49 PM - Edit history (1)
he identified Martin as a teenager BEFORE HE KILLED HIM, now he's trying to justify killing him by claiming he thought he was older. BULLSHIT.
karnac
(564 posts)It definitely was self serving as are 99.99 % of apologies in court.
All I can do is relate to you is a case where I had two very different views of the same person. And that I can understand why.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(131,200 posts)Or, if he'd been older would it have been OK to shoot him?
Just wondering.
zorahopkins
(1,320 posts)The ONLY thing about Trayvon Martin that matter to George Zimmerman was the FACT that Trayvon was Black.
Zimmerman hates Black people.
He would have shot Trayvon even if he had thought Trayvon was a teen-ager.
usrname
(398 posts)is exactly the reason why concealed carry laws is stupid. If people are NOT allowed to conceal carry, the default assumption is that the person is unarmed and dealing with the issue would have been less painful for all.
Also, neighborhood watch should always be done in pairs or groups of three. It's stupid to have people conduct neighborhood watch alone.
LAGC
(5,330 posts)If someone really was up to no good and breaking the law, what makes you think they wouldn't have any problem breaking yet another law against concealed-carry and pack heat with them anyways? Lots of gun crime happens in "gun-free zones" or cities with heavy prohibitions on lawful carry.
Which is why it was so stupid for Zimmerman to pursue "the suspect" on foot. Especially if he thought he might be armed, he should have just stayed put and waited for the police to confront him instead. Zimmerman clearly anticipated a confrontation and brazenly stalked the kid, knowing he had the gun as a backup in case anything went wrong. He should have had his concealed-carry permit yanked right from the get-go, based on those facts alone.
TorchTheWitch
(11,065 posts)You aren't a security guard, and you don't go on patrol. You WANT to be incognito or else criminals will know you're watching and do their crimes when you aren't around. Being part of neighborhood watch simply means being aware of what's going on in your neighborhood as you go about your normal business and report any suspicious activity. It's simply being casually observant.
For instance, if I walk down to the corner mailbox to mail a letter I just casually observe what's going on. If I notice nothing unusual, fine. If I notice, say, a stranger looking into car windows of my neighbors' cars in a suspicious manner, I note details of the person for identification and while continuing on my way to mail my letter I call 911 to report. Then I casually walk back to my house observing if the person is still around and still acting suspicious. I DON'T get involved. I DON'T give the suspicious person any reason to think I'm observing them. I may hang around out of sight from the suspicious person and keep an eye on them in case they leave so I can report in what direction they went. I DON'T follow them. A neighborhood watch volunteer does nothing but observe and report. That's IT. If the person gets away, so be it. I'm NOT a security guard or law enforcement. ALL I do is observe and report.
Zimmerman was untrained in neighborhood watch protocol and behaved even more like law enforcement than even a security guard, which is completely the opposite of what neighborhood watch volunteers are supposed to do. His obnoxious methods both irritated and frightened his neighbors yet nothing was ever done to correct his behavior, and every time he got away with his unconventional irritating and even frightening behavior he never got any blowback from anyone for it thereby reinforcing in his mind that his behavior was correct when it was anything but.
It annoys me to no end that the media continually identifies him as being a neighborhood watchman when he was not a part of the organization, received no training, and acted in a manner completely opposite of how he was supposed to including going so far as to carry a concealed weapon. Doing this has given the neighborhood watch program and its volunteers a very undeserved bad rap.
Boabab
(120 posts)The point is, will it even matter?
I'm very concerned about a prosecution that appears to be unprepared and irresolute about this case. I was very underwhelmed by the charging affidavit, and from the most recent hearing it looks as though the defense is sharper.
Then there's the problem of getting a Florida jury to convict in the death of a black male.
GZ's story has more holes than swiss cheese, but societal biases are all lined up in his favor.
Response to Boabab (Reply #17)
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