I don't think Zimmerman really intended to kill Trayvon.

[wercal]

112. I've had Z pegged from the beginning

He's a jerk. He's nosey. He likes to associate with authority figures (cops), wishes he could be one, and tries to project his own (unwarranted) authority when interacting with people. I can absolutely play out his first interaction with Martin in my head, with Z demanding to know why M was there, telling him to stop until the police got there, etc. I know his type...I've got him pegged.

The tragedy: Martin didn't know how to react. Like it or not (and I get flamed for pointing it out) Martin reacted in an extremely violent way...Zimmerman's face shows that.

And the rest is history. Z killed M in self defense, an act that was confirmed as justified by a jury (self defense in FL is an active defense...he had to prove it was necessary).

That's the tragedy. Z is a jerk wannabe...and M didn't know how to react to him.

No I don't think Z 'hunted him down' to kill him. Z gets his rocks off by telling people what to do...exerting his authority. Killing M would spoil that and isn't even part of the equation.

I've thought about whether or not Z had his gun out. I don't think he did. Did he put his phone away and pull out the gun? If I were Martin, and I saw a gun, I would run away instantly. I certainly wouldn't punch Z. And if I had punched him and got him on the ground, I would have concentrated all my efforts on getting the gun away from him...i.e. had my hand on it/covered in powder after it was fired. Another thing is he expected the police to be there any minute. In his last words with the dispatcher, he sounded dejected, because he had lost M, and he was going through the mundane task of giving directions to the police. He was off of high alert, no longer in hero mode. So I don't think he had it pulled out when the thing started. Now he very well may have reached for it...we will never know.

Frankly (and I've been flamed plenty on this board for my views), this case really wasn't about race (just months prior to the event, Z had led the charge against improper police violence against a black man). This is a tragic case about a busybody jerk and a kid who reacted to him with punches. And thousands of people projected their own emotions and intentions onto both parties.