25 Comments

Manslaughter would be if he hit Trayvon with the gun and he fell and cracked his head on the curb and died. First degree would be if he was stalking Trayvon with the definite intent to kill him.

Second degree is in between those. From what we know on the open internet, it's the right charge.

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It ought to be relevant in the civil case, where liability is an issue ... but let's not forget that Florida is where O.J. went to shield his money.

In the criminal case, the question is whether the use of deadly force was reasonable; whether either party was white, black, gangsta, moron, or just a complete asshole doesn't change the analysis. Zimmerman can in fact go out and play jackass cop, get himself into a stupid fight, and then defend himself with deadly force if he "reasonably" believes his life is in danger. 90% of the media circus (and 99% of the bloviating) is irrelevant to the decision.

My question: Why would anybody want to live in a state where dimwitted assholes are allowed to run around with loaded guns in their pockets?

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My guess is that he will be convicted of a lesser charge, sentenced to 8-12 years, and do a year and a half.

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Also true, but I don't think a morbidly obese dude is going to get much action trying to pick up dudes at the gym that work out all the time.

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When the initial agressor ends up on the wrong end of a fight, and kills the person he first attacked, it's called "imperfect self defense." There's no shortage of U.S. case law on the topic, as you can imagine. I don't know how Florida handles it, but the argument doesn't carry much weight in most jurisdictions. Courts tend to ignore "who started it", and rule on what happened after things got going.

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this.

(i still don't forgive you for the wonkette pop ups but you are right).

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if guns are outlawed only fat people will have guns.

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I feel sort of the same. I grew up in Orlando partially, when Sanford was the hood. And I was once questioned by a Deputy for..... standing by my car in front of my friend's house, while he used the front door to get his football gear. Super suspicious, because criminals usually empty a home via the front door with all the lights on. Oh, and a friend went to jail for getting some of a teaspoon's worth of salt on a cop as part of a prank. LITERALLY So, in the words of many smart people on the internet, the chance of Zimmy walking Seems Legit.

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The best part of Florida is their low tax rates, and their govt. incompetence. I'm sure they're not related at all.

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Nah, I actually think there won't be riots. Frankly, a lot of people don't give a fuck. and in Sanford/Orlando it's very suburban, hard to start a riot in your subdivision. There might be isolated incidents, but I think black folks have gotten used to this shit. Although, I haven't gotten my Official Black Folks Newsletter this month, so I may be out of the loop.

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You seem to have confused the defense and the prosecution, which is perhaps unsurprising since the defense strategy is to put Trayvon on trial.

Here's the thing though: Zimmerman's conditioning and athletic ability when he <em>first</em> started training at an MMA gym is entirely irrelevant because by he had been working out 3 times a week, two hours a go, for a year at the time he shot Martin. Even with the worst trainer in the history of the world, there's simply no way that could fail to make a difference.

It was only after he was charged with murder that Georgie Porgie gorged on pudding and pie to blow up into the blimp we see in court. How very <em>convenient</em> that his defense is now relying on his apparent lack of athleticism.

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Hey, don't forget that deadly weapon in the form of a bottle of iced tea that was actually a can, or the lethal sidewalk he wielded with aplomb.

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'eel get back to floundering around there after the trial, maybe even get on the balancing bream in a grouper with the other chubs

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Good advice, we should all beware Florida.

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Any black person should feel mortally threatened if they ever see Zimmerman.

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He actually lost some weight in the period between the shooting and being charged.

So apparently shooting an innocent kid is great for your waistline, it's being charged with murder that's the bummer.

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