General Discussion

Decoy of Fenris

(1,954 posts)

65. Jury got it right: Z's guilty, but reasonable doubt was there.

Sun Jul 14, 2013, 11:28 AM

Jul 2013

There are too many scenarios that may or may not have been in play. Z, while in his legal right to follow Martin, was displaying incredibly poor judgment. Having no evidence that Z had ill-intention, and having no evidence regarding who initiated physical conflict, and lacking evidence of motive, the jury, in my mind, rightfully found a lack of evidence and therefore reasonable doubt that Z acted "Recklessly", given the lack of knowledge of critical variables.

TL;DR version: Too much unknown, not enough evidence against Z.

Z got away with murder, no doubt, but our system of law operates to prevent convictions of people who -may be- innocent. Zimmerman just got lucky that there was no evidence against him, otherwise he'd be locked away by now.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

83 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Do you think the jury got it right or wrong? [View all] hrmjustin Jul 2013 OP

He's not innocent Shrek Jul 2013 #1

Uh, how about "the jury got it right and he might be guilty?" pipoman Jul 2013 #2

That is why I put other. hrmjustin Jul 2013 #3

The fact of our justice system pipoman Jul 2013 #23

Other: he is probably guilty, but the jury got it right Nye Bevan Jul 2013 #4

What you said. nt. premium Jul 2013 #6

What this guy said... nebenaube Jul 2013 #7

That's what I think, too Aerows Jul 2013 #17

And therein lies the differences of ohheckyeah Jul 2013 #26

There is no reason they couldn't have found him guilty of manslaughter. liberal_at_heart Jul 2013 #29

If they found self defense they cannot convict of manslaughter cthulu2016 Jul 2013 #32

Just because you pick a fight with someone doesn't necessarily mean you intend to kill them. liberal_at_heart Jul 2013 #37

Picking a fight armed only with fists Art_from_Ark Jul 2013 #55

There is "imperfect self defense." morningfog Jul 2013 #79

self defense applies to manslaughter as well as to second degree onenote Jul 2013 #63

Sadly, yes magellan Jul 2013 #31

I disagree that Zimmerman was the one defending himself, but that does not mean that Zimmerman liberal_at_heart Jul 2013 #43

And that's where it got tough for the jury, I guess magellan Jul 2013 #48

Why is the bar so high that every second has to be absolutely accurately reconstructed? NoOneMan Jul 2013 #61

the jury got it right as far as the system is concerned burnodo Jul 2013 #74

There WAS enough evidence to find him guilty of manslaughter. n/t Tx4obama Jul 2013 #5

You and I agree on something. Rex Jul 2013 #10

I think the jury didn't understand 'manslaughter'. They should have asked Judge more questions. Tx4obama Jul 2013 #12

I think we also can't overlook Aerows Jul 2013 #22

+1 HiPointDem Jul 2013 #27

'Not innocent but not guilty' is not justice. Rex Jul 2013 #8

manslaughter was the appropriate verdict BainsBane Jul 2013 #9

How was he picked/selected? bobduca Jul 2013 #11

I think he's the DA of Seminole County BainsBane Jul 2013 #13

State Prosecutors represent the state - families/victims do not get to pick them. n/t Tx4obama Jul 2013 #21

Right, I was confusing civil cases where the victim/victim's family can pick bobduca Jul 2013 #40

Remember, the police initially covered up for Zimmie meow2u3 Jul 2013 #15

and the police deliberately threw the case in court BainsBane Jul 2013 #18

I finally agree with you on something. CokeMachine Jul 2013 #34

That's nice. BainsBane Jul 2013 #38

Thanks for showing an interest in me!! CokeMachine Jul 2013 #49

Not at all BainsBane Jul 2013 #50

Have a great weekend!! CokeMachine Jul 2013 #53

So why did you vote other? BainsBane Jul 2013 #47

Just to get your attention!! CokeMachine Jul 2013 #52

I'm heart broken BainsBane Jul 2013 #59

You'll get over me. CokeMachine Jul 2013 #62

though as pointed out, one factor hampering the prosecution treestar Jul 2013 #54

And a police force who handled the evidence appropriately. Avalux Jul 2013 #64

You are right. nt hack89 Jul 2013 #72

Other: The poll options are not very useful vis-a-vis American law cthulu2016 Jul 2013 #14

This was bullshit. Agschmid Jul 2013 #16

I agree 100% hrmjustin Jul 2013 #20

Regardless of the jury, I believe he is morally and ethically petronius Jul 2013 #19

There is a very distinct legal difference between pipoman Jul 2013 #24

do you think he is innocent? hrmjustin Jul 2013 #25

don't know beyond a reasonable doubt..he's "not guilty" (in the legal sense) pipoman Jul 2013 #42

Ok an honest answer I believe. hrmjustin Jul 2013 #44

These facts, with this evidence, gets this result. DirkGently Jul 2013 #28

"Other" Lizzie Poppet Jul 2013 #30

Yes BlueJazz Jul 2013 #33

An armed George Zimmerman follows, engages and shoots and kills an unarmed Trayvon Martin enigmatic Jul 2013 #35

other. jury got it right. He is not guilty rollin74 Jul 2013 #36

There's a reason the form says "not guilty" rather than "innocent" Azathoth Jul 2013 #39

The jury got it right LittleBlue Jul 2013 #41

No way to know 100%. n/t Skip Intro Jul 2013 #45

We "know" ForgoTheConsequence Jul 2013 #46

Well, that's one hell of a strawman... bobclark86 Jul 2013 #77

The jury is always "right" but treestar Jul 2013 #51

I feel absolutely sick to my stomach. I cannot believe this. Whisp Jul 2013 #56

I feel really empty after this verdict! hrmjustin Jul 2013 #57

An armed man stalked and killed an unarmed teenager because of his race. mick063 Jul 2013 #58

+1,000,000 hrmjustin Jul 2013 #60

You would be a very poor jurist, then Orrex Jul 2013 #73

If I believed in our justice system, you would be correct. mick063 Jul 2013 #81

If you're willing to risk contempt of court, I say go for it Orrex Jul 2013 #82

Jury got it right: Z's guilty, but reasonable doubt was there. Decoy of Fenris Jul 2013 #65

Some of these people are just new arrivals, others, not so much. Warren Stupidity Jul 2013 #66

Makes my ignore list easier... Blue_Tires Jul 2013 #68

The prosecution failed to make a case Lurks Often Jul 2013 #67

All things being equal DearAbby Jul 2013 #69

Righteous, Abby. A very rare sight, your post. Decoy of Fenris Jul 2013 #71

Your last pipi_k Jul 2013 #76

Guilty but inadequate evidence due to the lack of eye witnesses. nt hack89 Jul 2013 #70

Other... pipi_k Jul 2013 #75

The state presented a good deal of evidence showing Zimmerman was a liar... Demo_Chris Jul 2013 #78

Voluntary manslaughter in that Zimmerman was looking to start a The Second Stone Jul 2013 #80

Kick hrmjustin Jul 2013 #83