Zimmerman released on $150,000 bail

[kpete]

Source: Globe & Mail

A Florida judge has set bail at $150,000 for George Zimmerman, who is charged in Trayvon Martin's death.

Mr. Zimmerman took the witness stand during his bail hearing and apologized to the parents of Trayvon Martin for shooting their son.

Mr. Zimmerman made the brief statement during Friday's hearing over whether he should be released on bail while he awaits trial on second-degree murder charges.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/zimmerman-released-on-150000-bail/article2408592/

---

VIDEO:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/47114578#47114578



George Zimmerman‘s trial began on Friday with his bond hearing. The judge set his bond for $150,000, requiring electronic monitoring and a curfew.

Zimmerman will not be released today — and the judge said any permission to leave Florida should be worked out with the sheriff’s department.

Futhermore, Zimmerman is not allowed any contact with Trayvon Martin‘s family. Possession of firearms and consumption of alcohol is also prohibited. He has a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Zimmerman must also report his location every three days.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/george-zimmermans-bond-set-at-150000/

[warrior1]

1. this makes me sick

can't type either.

[AlbertCat]

3. this make be sick

and unable to type, apparently.

[warrior1]

14. happy?

[totodeinhere]

35. It makes me sick that a teenager lost his young life. But...

legally speaking, defendants accused of second degree murder are usually entitled to bail. I don't think that the judge had any choice.

[DallasNE]

54. Agreed

The bail amount and restrictions seem about right. Zimmerman was required to turn in his Passport. The biggest surprise was the ABC photo of blood on the back of Zimmerman's head was used as evidence -- a photo that doesn't pass the smell test for a number of reasons. I smell another Florida circus trial in the making.

[naaman fletcher]

57. why

doesnt the photo pass the smell test? I havent seen anything written about that.

[DallasNE]

63. An Earlier Post On Subject

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=102706

[naaman fletcher]

64. thanks! nt

[4th law of robotics]

58. Clearly the judge hasn't been watching the news

otherwise he/she (have they settled on one?) would know that Zimmerman is guilty.

[LanternWaste]

68. Which puts to rest the tired and petulant statement, "tried by the media..."

Which puts to rest the tired and petulant statement, "tried by the media..."

[HangOnKids]

2. That is an awfully low bail n/t

[Justice wanted]

11. my thoughts as well

[crazylikafox]

4. Just heard on CNN that this will cost him $15,000 net to the Bail Bondsman

He he will be out with 15 grand. That's all folks.

[slackmaster]

12. 10% of the bail amount is a very typical fee for a bail bond

[RebelOne]

41. But will his family be able to come up with $15,000? Hope not. n/t

[Earth_First]

51. I'm surprised the white nationalists didn't post it for him...

I can guarantee you there was talk....

[jmowreader]

55. I don't think they have to come up with $15,000

George Zimmerman's dad has a lot of money, or at least knows people who do. It wouldn't surprise me if Mr. Zimmerman bailed junior out with his personal funds. The advantage to the Zimmermans is obvious: if George shows up in court when he's supposed to, they get their whole $150k back. If they pay a bail bondsman to get George sprung, the $15k bond is gone forever.

[Renew Deal]

5. I'm not surprised

I had a feeling they would let him out on bail.

[marshall gaines]

7. knew

I knew it!

[Renew Deal]

13. I think it's predictable for a few reasons

He is super high profile right now, so the odds of him escaping are very low. His dad is in the legal system. He has no criminal history as far as I know and is unlikely to re-offend during the trial. He has a 50-50 chance of being acquitted.

[Boabab]

16. He DOES have a criminal history. Maybe you should look it up. nt

[Renew Deal]

17. Maybe, or maybe you can share it

since you seem to know about it.

[jeff47]

19. No convictions = no history

Doesn't matter if he's been arrested before. Have to be convicted for it to count as far as the court's concerned.

[Boabab]

21. Who told you that lie?

A person's criminal history includes arrests and convictions. GZ has been arrested previously, once for an assault on a police officer.

I'd say that qualifies as having a criminal history.

[jeff47]

23. While it's recorded, it can't be considered as far as setting bail.

Which is the way we actually want it. False arrests do happen.

I severely doubt it was false in Zimmerman's case, but his bail will be set as if he has no history.

[totodeinhere]

40. Under our system of justice anyone accused of a crime is considered

innocent unless they are convicted in a court of law. Zimmerman was not convicted. He has no criminal history.

[onenote]

48. Pretty quick with the lie accusation aren't you?

Maybe you can share with us your expertise in the area of criminal law.

[marshall gaines]

22. glossed

He has a glossed over, forgiven criminal history and no he will not run because soon as he is acquitted, he will get his SYG weapon back and he'll be free to STAND HIS GROUND again! god bless america

[classof56]

6. Hope his wife stays safe.

[marshall]

45. She testified by telephone today

Hopefully she'll stay in hiding.

[LanternWaste]

69. Hard to tell... since Zimmerman has been arrested for an assault on a woman in the past

Hard to tell... since Zimmerman has been arrested for an assault on a woman in the past, it's not clear if she's safe or not...

[jschurchin]

8. I posted this on April 12th in a thread

I could be wrong, but if he wanted to take off, he would be gone already.
Most judges take into consideration the seriousness of the crime but also the flight risk.

100k maybe 250k, no more than that.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=552646

I am not surprised at all by this.

[anti-alec]

9. Unacceptable.

Zimmerman should have a curfew of 9am, and be out for only one hour, and only for essentials.

[Boabab]

10. Another Florida travesty of justice coming up. What a surprise.

Florida just can't stop embarrassing itself. How is this low bail justified in a case of such magnitude? The court system will probably never see GZ again, unless he's assured of an acquittal.

I'm tuning this case out completely, because I know what's going to happen.

Florida "justice" strikes again. Message delivered.

[marshall gaines]

27. embarrased????

How embarrassed can Floridians be? They voted in the gov., shrubs brother, who is responsible for this travesty by signing into law SYG. Bail might as well have been 15dollars. He will get acquitted.

[Baitball Blogger]

30. I've determined that they all understand the double track.

Last edited Fri Apr 20, 2012, 02:43 PM - Edit history (1)

They vote Republican because Republicans know how to game the system, reward their friends and hold back everybody else.

[Boabab]

36. That is doubtlessly true, and there will be a moral price will be paid for all involved.

but it will be too late for any justice in this case.

I'm just so sorry, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton. After literally having to beg the judicial system to at least arrest the killer of your son, you'll be left with nothing but grief and all the bills from this hideous miscarriage of justice. The writing is on the wall; only a naive person can't see it.

[Baitball Blogger]

43. There's still the Department of Justice and FBI investigations.

Let's hope they go deeper and investigate the actions of the local authorities.

[Boabab]

56. As I understand it, the feds are conducting a parallel investigation

that is only looking into possible violations of Trayvon's civil rights. The standard of proof is very high, involving premeditated intent, and will be very hard to make stick in this case.

As of now, the feds are not looking into the activities of the Sanford Police Dept.

[4th law of robotics]

59. $150,000 is low?

I wouldn't mind getting such a low wage.

I'm guessing there's a standard formula they followed.

Just because Zimmerman is in the news doesn't mean he should be treated differently legally.

/I also hear these Florida idiots are actually *feeding* this guy while he's in jail. And giving him free clothes to wear. Can you imagine it?

[truebrit71]

15. Why the surprise? I am sure that the same bail would be set if he was black right?

[Boabab]

37. Absolutely. Bail would have been set even lower, in that case </s> nt

[jeff47]

18. Why are you editing your snippets?

He's also been ordered to wear a GPS tracker on his ankle. I'm kind of puzzled why you cut "with GPS" out of the quote from the second article. Here's what's actually there:

George Zimmerman‘s trial began on Friday with his bond hearing. The judge set his bond for $150,000, requiring electronic monitoring with GPS and a curfew.

[marshall gaines]

24. yeah?

GPS? so he cuts it off, and in the hour or so that it takes the 'authorities' to get to his domicile , he's on his way out of the state. give me a break!

[jeff47]

46. Much less of a head start than without it

Even assuming your hyperbolic response time is correct.

Still is odd to copy-n-paste and then remove those two words.

[udbcrzy2]

53. Yeah you're correct

I think the monitoring system is alerted by an email. An email!!! How often does the email get checked? If it's the weekend, who's going to check the email to find out that the murderer has cut off his GPS?

[Life Long Dem]

20. Zimmerman said on stand he thought Trayvon was close to his age.

I thought on the 911 tape Zimmerman said Trayvon was around 17 years old.

[oilpro2]

25. Good catch! Yes....

I think he used the word \"teen\", as in \"mid to late teens\" or something like that.

Of course, GZ probably has had 50 days to re-think how a 140 pound black kid could have fought back against someone stalking him, and how that probably made him so mad and made him shoot Trayvon.

So yet another part of the GZ rationalized defense gets put out there, contradicting previous incriminating statements.

[Life Long Dem]

26. This tells me Zimmerman will lie if he takes the stand.

The prosecution can use this to discredit Zimmerman if he takes the stand. He won't be a credible witness with all his contradictions.

[marshall gaines]

28. see

We will see.

[oilpro2]

33. I think GZ has taken the stand for the last time.

Of course, his testimony at this hearing CAN be introduced at trial, right next to the tape 911 call where GZ claims that the person he finds \"suspicious\" is a black guy in his teens.

[bray4me]

66. Let the courts decide

We'll see....Tawanna Brawley - Duke Lacrosse. Oops, our bad. Never-mind, please pick up the pieces and proceed with your life.

[LanternWaste]

70. The Duke Lacrosse players openly admitted to killing an unarmed youth?

What is the precise relevance between the Brawley case in which rape was alleged, and in the Zimmerman case in which he admitted to shooting and killing an unarmed youth?

Unless of course you're simply attempting to set up a false moral equivalency to better minimize or even trivialize what Zimmerman has admitted to doing... which is what I'm betting on

[Baitball Blogger]

29. Also in the Orlando Sentinel.

Some select exerpts:

Judge Kenneth Lester said Zimmerman's bond will be set at $150,000. He will be placed on GPS monitoring, and will not be released from custody today.

"He came in voluntarily and surrendered himself to law enforcement," O'Mara said. "He is well established in the community."

O'Mara grilled Gilbreath on his use of the word "profiling" in describing Zimmerman's behavior that night, asking why he used the term. Gilbreath said the term indicates that Zimmerman saw the teen, then formed an opinion of him not based on any facts.

However, he said that Zimmerman's statements, as well as his description of the injuries he suffered, are contradicted by other evidence in the case.




http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-04-20/news/os-george-zimmerman-bond-hearing-20120420_1_special-prosecutor-angela-corey-robert-zimmerman-son

My thoughts on Robert Zimmerman. He hit all the buzz words. Based on the White merit system, he scored high on the "consider for exceptional treatment,"

1) He served in the military and is disabled. This is different than just being disabled. i.e. welfare

2) He's on a fixed income. For some reason this garners sympathy if you're already in the inside circle. If not, you're just a drag on society. Get a job!

All of it is going to play well in this area.

[Fastcars]

32. Any Truth To This (Heard On Fox News)

Boss has Fox news on in the shop and normally it is nothing but background noise, but when the news of Zimmerman being granted bail came on I watched for few minutes. Fox talking head held up a single sheet of paper and said that was the arrest affidavit (I think that is what he called it) and said he had never seen a murder charge that wasn't backed up by many pages.

If this is actually the case, and I know Fox isn't reliable, I can't help but think Zimmerman is going to be acquitted on the murder two charge.

[CreekDog]

38. .

[BanTheGOP]

34. Such obvious inequality makes it likely that a race war will happen

And I'll be blunt: I will have no justified reason for preventing it. It is all I can to resist thinking that the New Black Panther re-issue of the bounty on Zimmerman is out of line.

[CreekDog]

39. .

[snooper2]

47. Helter Skelter?

[4th law of robotics]

60. Begun, the hyperbole war has

[savalez]

42. He was granted bail. Not released yet.

[maddezmom]

44. the headline was the original from the link, it's now been changed

happens quite a bit for breaking news items.

[peace13]

49. In addition to low bail......

his attorney requested that Zimmerman be allowed to leave the state. Go figure.

[Wait Wut]

50. WTF? How can they pull this shit?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/george_zimmerman_bond_hearing_trayvon.php?ref=fpa

The first surprise came when the judge allowed defense attorney Mark O’Mara to pepper one of the law enforcement investigators with tough questions about what evidence was used to charge Zimmerman with second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 killing.

--------

Has anyone ever heard of a cased being "pre"tried at a bail hearing? Why the fuck wasn't the prosecution informed?

[udbcrzy2]

52. He shouldn't have gotten any bond posted at all

With facing a life sentence the Judge should have not set any bond. He's charged with murder. In my state of Missouri the Judge does not have to set a bond if the charges are serious. Murder is a serious charge in my opinion.

[totodeinhere]

61. You can fault the Florida statute. But right now that statute is in effect

and it says the defendants accused of second degree murder are entitled to bail. There is big difference between first degree and second degree murder.

[coalition_unwilling]

62. Technical question: if Zimmerman still enjoys the presumption of innocence, why

is consumption of alcohol prohibited under terms of his bond?

Just curious at this restriction and its meaning and intent.

[BanTheGOP]

65. Not all bonds are unrestrictive

Many bonds have conditions, and these are some of the conditions he has to live with. To be blunt, most murderers don't get such a low bond in the first place. If Trayvon was caught breaking into a condo, for instance, he wouldn't rate such a low bond himself, because of the racist intent to keep as many African Americans enslaved in the "justice" system.

Keep in mind he also has curfews and he cannot leave the immediate area. From what I hear, he's not even leaving his location, but that's more for his protection.

Finally, keep in mind this is not about Zimmerman alone. This is an indictment on the racist power structure enabled by the republican regime that keeps everyone down. As Martin's attorney stated, the arrest is key. Now even if Zimmerman is let free, the civil suit will keep Zimmerman indentured to the Martin estate for the rest of his life. He will be THEIR bitch, period, and the Martins will also clean up in the lawsuits against Sanford PD, and all the homeowners in the gated community will have to give up their house or pay hefty settlements.

Bottom line: The Martin family will pretty much own the entire development once all is said and done, and Zimmerman will be their bitch, or in jail. One or the other.

[coalition_unwilling]

67. Understood. I was merely curious about why the ban on alcohol. What

is the rationale for it in setting the conditions of bond?