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Showing posts with label george zimmerman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label george zimmerman. Show all posts
"George Zimmerman breaks silence on 'Hannity'"

"George Zimmerman breaks silence on 'Hannity'"

It is incredibly rare that a defense attorney would let his client go public and do a TV interview. Any tiny mistake will be used against the defendant. The fact that Zimmerman did the interview suggests two things.

(1) That Zimmerman has nothing to hide.

(2) That the prosecutors and judge have been trying this case in the media and the defense attorneys probably felt that they couldn't let these attacks go unanswered. The fact that a woman claims that see started being sexually molested at age 6 by a boy who was a year older than she was just doesn't seem credible to me.

Zimmerman asks for new judge, it is about time

Zimmerman asks for new judge, it is about time

I have long been concerned that Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester, the judge presiding over Zimmerman's case, has been biased against Zimmerman and has been doing what he can to poison the water. Bond is supposed to be set, not on the basis of an individual's wealth, but on whether they are going to flee the jurisdiction of the court. As far as I can tell, Lester provided no evidence that Zimmerman, who has voluntarily shown up at court multiple times, was preparing to flee the court's jurisdiction.
The ex-neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing Trayvon Martin asked for a new judge Friday, claiming the current one is biased because he said George Zimmerman had "flaunted the system."

Zimmerman said in a motion he feared he would be unable to get a fair "stand your ground" hearing or a fair trial with Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester presiding over the case. Lester was appointed in April after Zimmerman claimed a potential conflict of interest with the original judge.

Earlier this month, Lester said in an order granting Zimmerman bond that Zimmerman had "under any definition ... flaunted the system" by failing to disclose at an April bond hearing that he had raised $135,000 from donations for his legal defense.

Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, testified at the bond hearing that they had limited resources since she was a student and Zimmerman wasn't working. Zimmerman said nothing to correct his wife's testimony.

Lester at the time allowed Zimmerman to be released on a $150,000 bond. The judge revoked the bond after prosecutors presented jailhouse recordings of Zimmerman instructing his wife on how to transfer funds raised from a website to different bank accounts.

Zimmerman returned to jail in June but left last week after Lester granted him a $1 million bond, saying state law compelled him to grant bail. In the second bond order, the judge said it appeared Zimmerman was preparing to flee to avoid prosecution based on the money he had raised and his possession of second passport that he had failed to disclose to the court.

Zimmerman argued that showed bias.

"The court makes sweeping generalizations about Mr. Zimmerman based on limited information and disregards the evidence that contradicts those conclusions," Zimmerman said in the motion.

A spokeswoman for the state attorney's office said in an email Friday that prosecutors object to the defense motion and will file a formal response early next week. . . .

Zimmerman passed a lie detector the day after the shoting

Zimmerman passed a lie detector the day after the shoting

Why has this has gotten no news coverage?  Whatever the problems with lie detectors, the police asked Zimmerman to do it and he did it without a lawyer.  Zimmerman certainly acts like an innocent guy. From The Smoking Gun:
A day after killing Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman passed a police lie detector test when asked if he confronted the teenager and whether he feared for his life "when you shot the guy," according to documents released today by Florida prosecutors.According to a “confidential report” prepared by the Sanford Police Department, Zimmerman, 28, willingly submitted to a computer voice stress analyzer (CVSA) “truth verification” on February 27.  Investigators concluded that he “has told substantially the complete truth in regards to this examination.”
Zimmerman, the report noted, “was classified as No Deception Indicated (NDI).”
Along with questions about whether his first name was George and if it was Monday, Zimmerman was asked, “Did you confront the guy you shot?’ He answered, “No.” He was also asked, “Were you in fear for your life, when you shot the guy.” Zimmerman replied, “Yes.” . . .
Zimmerman's extraordinary release of re-enactment video

Zimmerman's extraordinary release of re-enactment video

A lawyer who I know wrote this:
In an extraordinary step, George Zimmerman’s attorneys just released a large amount of evidence in the case -- including a police tape of Z’s being questioned right after he shot Martin.
   This evidence speaks for itself. In and of itself it is routine and
there is no occasion for me to comment on it. But what is so EXTRAORDINARY is that an accused’s lawyers would release all this
evidence. That is what deserves comment.
   In an ordinary criminal case, the accused’s COUNSEL will TALK. But
they never release their client’s statements or any of the other
evidence – they themselves just talk to try to spin the evidence. Why
not let their client talk? Because their client is guilty and the more
he talks, i.e. lies, the more he gives the prosecution to shoot at:
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we have shown you that after the
crime was committed the defendant claimed ... [X] But the physical
evidence we have presented shows [not-X]. We have shown you that after
the crime was committed the defendant claimed    ...[Y]. But we have
presented the testimony of disinterested witnesses who say ... [not Y].
Etc., etc. Why did the defendant lie about what happened? Because
telling the truth would convict him as we have charged. Etc., etc."
So the ordinary criminal defendant’s lawyers do everything they can to
obfuscate the evidence and confuse the issues. That is because the
ordinary criminal defendant is guilty.
   Defense counsel’s actions here strongly suggest that they have the
EXTRAORDINARY client who is innocent.


The video here is pretty extraordinary and needs to be seen.





A discussion of the video with some parts of the video also shown.





From Fox News:

A newly-released video shows Florida neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman at the scene of Trayvon Martin's fatal shooting a day later giving police a blow-by-blow account of his fight with the teen.
In a video posted on a website by Zimmerman's defense team, Zimmerman said Martin saw his gun and reached for it as the two scuffled on the sidewalk at a gated apartment community in Sanford. That's when Zimmerman said he pulled the gun and shot the teenager.
The tape shows two butterfly bandages on the back of Zimmerman's head and another on his nose. There are red marks on the front of his head.
On the tape, Zimmerman did a reenactment of the scuffle with Martin in the moments before he shot the 17-year-old from Miami. Zimmerman said Martin kept "slamming and slamming" his head on the sidewalk. "It felt like my head was going to explode," he said. . . .
Here is a summary of events by Jeralyn Merrit at talk left.  There is more at his website, and it is worth reading the entire post, the vast majority of what he posted is consistent with what I have put down up to now.  There are a couple of differences that I have with it.  One is noted below.  And the second deals with his discussion about Stand Your Ground laws (not quoted below), since Zimmerman was unable to retreat any further.

. . . Here’s my interpretation of George’s version of events, which undoubtedly will be disputed by the state. Again, these are not undisputed truths, but my interpretation of George’s version.
George’s suspicion was aroused because he saw someone milling around between houses in the rain. He knew this person didn’t live at the house he was standing by because it had been burglarized before and he knew who lived there. The guy wasn’t exercising. He did nothing to get out of the rain. He thought to himself, who stands out in the rain and stares at houses? He did what the Sanford Police had instructed members of the community to do when they see something suspicious. He called the non-emergency number for the police to report his suspicion.
He pulled over at the clubhouse to make the 911 call. Trayvon walked past him, staring at him and turned down Twin Trees Lane. He drove to Twin Trees Lane while he was still on the phone with the non-emergency dispatcher and parked at the cut-through, in front of the white truck which happens to be located at 1211 Twin Trees Lane. He saw Trayvon go down the path between the shared backyards. Then Trayvon returned and circled his car. The dispatcher tells him police are on their way.
George tries to give him directions to where his truck is parked. . . . Then Trayvon took off running. The dispatcher asks him which way Trayvon had gone. He gets out of his car to look. He says toward the other entrance, and confirms to the dispatcher that would be the back entrance. The dispatcher tells him they don’t need him to follow Trayvon, and he says “okay.” But he still wants to tell the dispatcher where he is so the cops can find him, and he doesn’t know the name of the street since there is no street sign. Trayvon had gone off and was out of his sight.
He keeps walking to the front of Retreat View Circle to get an address. He had a flashlight but it wasn’t working. His purpose at this point was not to follow Trayvon, who had left the immediate area. He told the dispatcher he would stop following him and he did. He continued walking to Retreat View Circle to get the address for the dispatcher to give the cops who were on their way, and hen he then turned around to walk back to his car.
Just west of the “T” Trayvon appeared out of the darkness and confronted him. He (GZ) was right by the bushes along the side of the house at 1211 Twin Trees Lane. Trayvon was on the shared back path, in back of 1211 Twin Trees Lane. Trayvon confronted George, asking him if he had a problem. He said he didn’t and reached for his phone to call 911. As he reached for his phone, Trayvon punched him, he stumbled.

[John Lott: there is a little more that goes on here, such as a struggle where Trayvon was trying to knock Zimmerman down to the ground. See video above.]

Trayvon got on top of him and started banging his head into the cement. His body was on the grass, his head on the cement. He struggled to get up. As they continued struggling, George was crying out for help. Trayvon put his hands over his mouth and nose and told him to shut the F* up. He thought he was going to lose consciousness.
A neighbor behind them (W-6, John, at 1221 Twin Trees Lane) yelled out asking what was going on and if he should call 911. George yelled for help again. He wanted W-6 to help him get away from Trayvon, rather than call 911, because he knew police were already on their way. But W-6 went inside to call 911. No one came to help George as he kept struggling to get out from under Trayvon. W-6 says they were moving as they were struggling, first in the grass, then onto the sidewalk. As George tried to move so his head would be onto the grass and he could get Trayvon’s hands off his mouth and nose, his jacket lifted and his gun was exposed. Trayvon reached for his gun and told him he was going to die. . . .
The changing opinion polls on the Zimmerman/Martin case

The changing opinion polls on the Zimmerman/Martin case

From Inforum:

. . . In late March, while people were still marching in the streets demanding his arrest, 33 percent of the country believed Zimmerman was guilty of murder, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports.
The same poll showed that fewer than half that number – 15 percent – believed Zimmerman had acted in self-defense.
Two months later, however, those numbers had flip-flopped. In a May 19-20 Rasmussen poll, 40 percent said they believed Zimmerman had acted in self-defense vs. 24 percent who called him a murderer. . . .
Early polls, the ones that reflect the most hostility toward Zimmerman, were conducted when news organizations relied heavily on outdated photos of both Martin and Zimmerman, Irby said. The Martin photos, released by his family through a public relations professional, showed an adolescent boy – not a 17-year-old. . . .
There was a stark difference, though, between how the story resonated with blacks and whites. In the April 1 survey, 58 percent of blacks identified the Martin/Zimmerman story as the country’s most important vs. 24 percent for whites, Pew reported. . . .
House Democrat puts forward bill to end "Stand Your Ground" laws

House Democrat puts forward bill to end "Stand Your Ground" laws

With no explanation for why the Zimmerman/Martin shooting was related to "Stand Your Ground" laws, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) has introduced a new bill to ban these laws.  Wasn't it just over the last month or so that Democrats were talking about letting states make these decisions?

. . . The House Democrat who represents Trayvon Martin’s district will soon propose legislation repealing the nation's “Stand Your Ground” laws, which are under a microscope following the shooting death of the Florida teenager earlier this year.
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) said eliminating such laws might have prevented February’s fatal confrontation between the 17-year-old Martin, an unarmed African-American, and George Zimmerman, 28, an Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer . . . 
Angela Corey, Zimmerman's prosecutor, threatens to sue Harvard Law School over Dershowitz criticisms?

Angela Corey, Zimmerman's prosecutor, threatens to sue Harvard Law School over Dershowitz criticisms?

How Corey could even get the idea that it was possible for her to sue Harvard over the remarks of one of its professors is very strange?  One would think that she would have understood academic freedom.  From Fox News:

. . . “It’s certainly professional to respond, but by calling the dean and threatening to sue the school, which she knows she cannot do, is unprofessional,” Dershowitz told FoxNews.com. “I would welcome a lawsuit from Corey. It would give me a chance to prove what an awful thing she did.”
Dershowitz, who penned a column for Newsmax revealing Corey's call to the school, said he’s received “a lot” of letters of support.
Corey’s “beef,” Dershowitz wrote, pertained to his criticism of the state attorney’s filing of a “misleading affidavit” to support the second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
“When the communications official explained to her that I have a right to express my opinion as ‘a matter of academic freedom,’ and that Harvard has no control over what I say, she did not seem to understand,” Dershowitz wrote. “She persisted in her nonstop whining, claiming that she is prohibited from responding to my attacks by the rules of professional responsibility — without mentioning that she has repeatedly held her own press conferences and made public statements throughout her career.” . . .
Witnesses in Zimmerman case are changing their stories

Witnesses in Zimmerman case are changing their stories




While these former prosecutors are saying that these changing stories will help Zimmerman, I am not so sure.  The reason that I am not sure is that there initial statements were so supportive of Zimmerman.  Now because of huge political and public pressure these witnesses either want to say that they didn't see what they originally said that they saw or in one case they are even changing who they saw on top of whom.  The main point is that the changing stories have gone in one direction towards being less helpful to Zimmerman: either the memories have become vaguer or the stories have flipped.  From the Orlando Sentinel:
Witness 6This witness lived a few feet from where Trayvon and Zimmerman had their fight. On the night of the shooting, he told Serino he saw a black man on top of a lighter-skinned man "just throwing down blows on the guy, MMA-style," a reference to mixed martial arts.
He also said the one calling for help was "the one being beat up," a reference to Zimmerman.
But three weeks later . . . the man said he was no longer sure which one called for help.
"I truly can't tell who, after thinking about it, was yelling for help just because it was so dark out on that sidewalk," he said.
He also said he was no longer sure Trayvon was throwing punches. The teenager may have simply been keeping Zimmerman pinned to the ground, he said.
He did not equivocate, though, about who was on top.
"The black guy was on top," he said.
Witness 13He is important because he talked with Zimmerman and watched the way he behaved immediately after the shooting, before police arrived.
After this neighbor heard gunfire, he went outside and spotted Zimmerman standing there with"blood on the back of his head," he told Sanford police the night of the shooting.
Zimmerman told him that Trayvon "was beating up on me, so I had to shoot him," the witness told Serino. The Neighborhood Watch captain then asked the witness to call his wife, Shellie Zimmerman, and tell her what happened.
In two subsequent interviews about a month later . . . the witness described Zimmerman's demeanor in greater detail, adding that he spoke as if the shooting were no big deal.
Zimmerman's tone, the witness said, was "not like 'I can't believe I just shot someone!' — it was more like, 'Just tell my wife I shot somebody …,' like it was nothing." . . . 
 You have a lot of pressure from the black community on this.  Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have certainly put things up a few notches. From Zimmerman's attorney:
"Before February 26 we had a peaceful town where people went to church and sat together in multiracial congregations. We didn’t have a seething town of civil unrest because of race relations. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton brought that to town and turned this into a racial event when it never was one."
Of course, President Obama also made this a lot more political.

 


Seriously, this is considered new information?: ABC News: "Cops, Witnesses Back Up George Zimmerman's Version of Trayvon Martin Shooting"

Seriously, this is considered new information?: ABC News: "Cops, Witnesses Back Up George Zimmerman's Version of Trayvon Martin Shooting"

As far as I can tell, everything in this ABC News discussion was available in the police reports that I wrote about early on in this case.  The ABC News video is incredibly biased against Zimmerman, though the headline and as much of the story as I was willing to read through fits this: "Cops, Witnesses Back Up George Zimmerman's Version of Trayvon Martin Shooting."

New piece at Fox News: What Zimmerman, Martin medical reports tell us and the media didn't

UPDATE: Photos from George Zimmerman investigation


My new Fox News piece starts this way:
The new medical reports on the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case tell us a lot. And it is not just for what they find, but also what they don’t find.
First, the reports provide striking evidence that Zimmerman did not start the fight with Martin, and that Zimmerman shot Martin in self-defense. Martin’s injuries were two-fold: broken skin on his knuckles and the fatal gunshot wound.
Zimmerman’s injuries involved: a fractured nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury.
It takes considerable force to break the skin on multiple knuckles. The large range of injuries on Zimmerman indicates that the Martin’s attack was prolonged. . . . .

The South Florida Criminal Lawyers' Blog has this very useful discussion (the whole post is definitely worth reading).  Note also that this post is from April 13, 2012 and my guess that the new evidence would 

. . . the "provocation" theory is shaky, at best. F.S. 776.041 provides that the "Stand Your Ground" law is not available to a person who: "Initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself." . . .. . . First, even if Zimmerman "provoked" the incident, he may still justifiably use deadly force, if: "Such force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant." According to Zimmerman and at least one witness, Trayvon Martin was on top of Zimmerman. What is more, Zimmerman claims that Martin bashed his head on the concrete, which caused Zimmerman to fear death or great bodily harm. If the State cannot contradict this version of events, Zimmerman likely can establish that he "exhausted every reasonable means to escape," (he claims he was pinned to the ground), and he reasonably feared Martin's use of force would "likely cause death or great bodily harm."
Second, it is far from clear that following Trayvon Martin while speaking with the police constitutes "provocation." The second exception to "provocation" states that if the provocateur "In good faith...withdraws from physical contact" and communicates his desire to "withdraw from physical contact," but the other party "continues or resumes the use of force," then the provocateur may rely on the "Stand Your Ground" law. What is important to note, is that F.S. 776.041(2)(b) presumes that the "provocation" includes "physical contact." However, based on the evidence that is public thus far, there is no evidence that Zimmerman initiated "physical contact." What is more, there is no precedent in Florida law indicating that conduct short of "physical contact" provides justification for the use of force, or amounts to "provocation."
Make no mistake: George Zimmerman has a real chance of avoiding a jury. All he has to do is convince a judge, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he acted in justifiable self-defense.

The medical reports strengthen the argument that Zimmerman did not initiate physical contact and Zimmerman's yelling for help surely falls under the heading that he "communicates his desire to 'withdraw from physical contact.'" See also this post entitled "Probable Cause Affidavit in George Zimmerman Case Woefully Inadequate" on the same blog.
Zimmerman's nose was broken, Martin's knuckles had broken skin

Zimmerman's nose was broken, Martin's knuckles had broken skin

The news is as important for what it says as what it doesn't say.  Martin had broken skin on his knuckles, but note that there was no mention about Zimmerman having similar bruises on his knuckles. What does that tell you?  It means that Martin was hitting Zimmerman sufficiently hard and often to break the skin on his knuckles, but that Zimmerman didn't hit Martin back.  That means Zimmerman didn't throw the first punch.  That means that it is that much harder to believe that Zimmerman started the fight.  And that is extremely important.  It looks as if Zimmerman stopped following Martin when it was suggested, but even if he didn't, even if he asked Martin what he was doing, that doesn't justify Martin attacking him. From ABC News: 
A medical report compiled by the family physician of accused Trayvon Martin murderer George Zimmerman and obtained exclusively by ABC News found that Zimmerman was diagnosed with a "closed fracture" of his nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury the day after he fatally shot Martin during an alleged altercation. . . .
WFTV in Florida reports on Martin's injuries, but again it is what injuries aren't reported that is also important.
WFTV has learned that the medical examiner found two injuries on Martin’s body: The fatal gunshot wound and broken skin on his knuckles.
When you compare Trayvon’s non-fatal injury with Zimmerman's bloody head wounds, the autopsy evidence is better for the defense, Sheaffer said. . . .
So despite already facing being overcharged, the Obama administration continues to go after Zimmerman:

WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said federal prosecutors would have to prove the hate crime to charge Zimmerman, though.
“What the government would have to prove is that Mr. Zimmerman acted out of hatred toward African-Americans. That's why he came into contact with him. That's why he shot and killed him," Sheaffer said.
Sheaffer said a federal hate crime murder charge could bring more serious consequences than the second-degree murder charge Zimmerman faces now.
“Mr. Zimmerman could be punished by up to life in prison or even the death penalty,” said Sheaffer. . . .
Hate crime?  Against a person who donated his time to mentor black kids?  Against someone who is part black himself?  Against a guy who tried to help his neighbors, some of whom are black, by volunteering to be the community watch leader.


Enough already!  Leave the guy alone!
Zimmerman prosecutor has history of over charging

Zimmerman prosecutor has history of over charging

From Newsmax:
The prosecutor in charge of the Trayvon Martin murder case has won a case in which a woman received a 20-year jail sentence for trying to protect herself against her allegedly abusive husband.
Marissa Alexander fired a bullet into a wall as she tried to flee her husband, who was threatening to strangle her in August 2010.
Immediately, Democratic U.S. Rep Corinne Brown accused prosecutor Angela Corey of “over-charging” Alexander with aggravated assault. “There is no justification for 20 years,” Brown told Corey during a confrontation in the hallway of the Jacksonville, Fla. Courthouse, according to CNN.
Just last week, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax TV in an exclusive interview that Corey is notorious for over-charging cases. . . . 
Continued debate over "Stand Your Ground" Laws

Continued debate over "Stand Your Ground" Laws

A new poll in Florida shows that Floridians support Stand Your Ground laws by a 50 to 32 percent majority.  Meanwhile Trayvon Martin's mom, Sybrina Fulton, has launched a new attack on these laws:
In the video, released Friday by the Second Chance on Shoot First campaign, Sybrina Fulton urges viewers to send Mother's Day cards to governors nationwide, particularly in the 26 states that have passed "Stand Your Ground" laws, urging them to "re-examine" the legislation. . . .
If someone could help me find something, I would appreciate it.  I thought I just saw a statement from the Martin Family's lawyer saying that Stand Your Ground wasn't relevant to the case.  It would be nice to have the link to that statement. Thanks.
Racial attacks in revenge of the Trayvon Martin Case

Racial attacks in revenge of the Trayvon Martin Case



Might this be the time for Obama to calm racial anger?  Has the media hyping of the case and misinformation has endangered lives?

Gainesville, Florida:


The reported beating in Gainesville of a white man by a group of black men who yelled “Trayvon” before the attack last week resonated on the Internet on Tuesday, though police locally were still hoping for someone to come forward with information about the assailants. . . .
Gainesville police said they consider the beating Saturday to be “racially motivated” and apparently done in retaliation for Martin’s death.
The 27-year-old victim, who was described by police as “visibly intoxicated,” said he was walking home on Southwest 23rd Terrace after a night out at midtown bars when, at about 2:45 a.m., a vehicle pulled up to the intersection with Southwest 32nd Place.
According to a police report, the victim said “five to eight black males, unknown age or description, jumped out of the vehicle at the intersection and told (him) he was walking too slow and then started yelling, ‘Trayvon.’ ”
The victim said he was punched in the face and fell to the ground, where he was “struck numerous times in the face.” He estimated the attack lasted five minutes.
The men got back in the vehicle and headed north on 23rd Terrace, which runs between Archer and Williston roads. . . .
Oak Park, Illinois:

A teen charged with a hate crime in Oak Park says he attacked and beat up his victim because he was angry about the Trayvon Martin case.
Alton Hayes III, 18, of Oak Park, is charged with attempted robbery and aggravated battery. He is also charged with a hate crime.
Hayes and his 15-year-old alleged accomplice are African-American, while the victim is white.
The Oak Park-River Forest Patch reportsaround 1 a.m. April 17, Hayes and the Chicago boy walked up behind the 19-year-old victim in the 1600 block of North Kenilworth Avenue in Oak Park.
Police say Hayes and his accomplice and pinned the victim’s arms to his side, police said. Hayes then picked up a large tree branch, pointed it at the man and said, “Empty your pockets, white boy,” police said.
The two allegedly rifled through the victim’s pockets, then threw him to the ground and punched him “numerous times” in the head and back before running away, police said. After being arrested, Hayes told police he was upset by the Trayvon Martin case, and said he beat the victim up because he was white, Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said. . . .
Mobile, Alabama:
A white Alabama man’s brutal beating by a mob is not being investigated as a hate crime, despite eyewitness reports that one of the assailants referenced Trayvon Martin during the attack.
The attack on Matthew Owens, 40, is currently being investigated as an assault, said Ashley Rains, public information officer for the Mobile Police Department, to Fox News.
Owens, of Mobile, remains in serious condition after cops say about 20 African-American adults showed up at his home Saturday and beat him with chairs, pipes, brass knuckles and paint cans.
Owens’ sister and another witness say that as the group left, one assailant said: “Now that’s justice for Trayvon” following the assault. . . .
Furious neighbors say that no matter what was said, the attack had nothing to do with Martin. . . .


Toledo, Ohio:
A 78-year-old Ohio man says he was a victim of a hate crime when he was severely beaten by group of youths -- who allegedly said "this is for Trayvon," referring to the unarmed black Florida teen killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
The man, Dallas Watts of East Toledo, told police he was walking home Saturday afternoon when he was confronted by six youths, both white and black, ages 11 to 17, FoxToledo.com reports. One of the youths allegedly said "take him down."
Watts said he told the youths, "Why me? Remember Trayvon." He told FoxToledo.com that he meant it in a "peaceful way," since he had nothing to do with the Florida killing. But police suggest the youths may have misinterpreted Watts' words as threatening.
"[Get] that white [man]. This is for Trayvon ... Trayvon lives, white [man]. Kill that white [man]," the boys are quoted as saying in a police report cited by the Toledo Blade. . . . 


Grand Rapids:

. . .  on the weekend of March 24th and March 25th at least seven white people were brutally beaten by mobs of blacks in Grand Rapids, MI. Five of the victims filed police reports. At least two other victims exist, and there are probably others. The local media has refused to report the cruel attacks and the authorities are resisting any serious charges.
I talked with one of the victims, 37 year old Jacob Palasek. He is a full time student and does computer work part time. He was attacked by a wolf pack of thugs on the corner of Sixth Street and Broadway in Grand Rapids, Michigan just after midnight on March 25th. The location is a mix of stores, offices, and residential neighborhoods. Jacob lives near where he was attacked.
As he was walking to his apartment, he saw three black males loitering. One was on a bicycle. The suspect on the bicycle rode up beside him. Suddenly the thug smashed him in the side of the head with a chain. He was hit two or three more times in the head with the chain before he broke loose and ran to the nearest home. He knocked on the door, hoping the owner would call the police.
All three of the black males then attacked him on the porch. They yelled “this is what you deserve you white piece of shit.” Jacob was hit in the head with the large chain more times. Jacob broke free again and hid behind a dumpster. The attackers initially chased him, but broke their pursuit and walked away. There were some cars driving by and the thugs may have thought a driver was calling 911.
All seven known victims were attacked within about six blocks of where Jacob was attacked. The victims were in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. Some of the victims were attacked during the day in broad daylight. . . . 
Norfolk, VA?:
Two weeks have passed since reporters Dave Forster and Marjon Rostami - friends to me and many others at the newspaper - were attacked on a Saturday night as they drove home from a show at the Attucks Theatre. They had stopped at a red light, in a crowd of at least 100 young people walking on the sidewalk. Rostami locked her car door. Someone threw a rock at her window. Forster got out to confront the rock-thrower, and that's when the beating began.
Neither suffered grave injuries, but both were out of work for a week. Forster's torso ached from blows to his ribs, and he retained a thumb-sized bump on his head. Rostami fears to be alone in her home. Forster wishes he'd stayed in the car. . . .
Forster and Rostami's story has not, until today, appeared in this paper. The responding officer coded the incident as a simple assault, despite their assertions that at least 30 people had participated in the attack. A reporter making routine checks of police reports would see "simple assault" and, if the names were unfamiliar, would be unlikely to write about it. In this case, editors hesitated to assign a story about their own employees. Would it seem like the paper treated its employees differently from other crime victims? . . .
Forster and Rostami wondered if the officer who answered their call treated all crime victims the same way. When Rostami, who admits she was hysterical, tried to describe what had happened, she says the officer told her to shut up and get in the car. Both said the officer did not record any names of witnesses who stopped to help. Rostami said the officer told them the attackers were "probably juveniles anyway. What are we going to do? Find their parents and tell them?"
The officer pointed to public housing in the area and said large groups of teenagers look for trouble on the weekends. "It's what they do," he told Forster.
Could that be true? . . .
Police spokesman Chris Amos said officers often respond to reports of crowds fighting; sirens are usually enough to disperse the group. On that night, he said, a report of gunfire in a nearby neighborhood prompted the officer to decide getting Forster and Rostami off the street quickly made more sense than remaining at the intersection. The officer gave them his card and told them to call later to file a report.
The next day, Forster searched Twitter for mention of the attack.
One post chilled him.
"I feel for the white man who got beat up at the light," wrote one person.
"I don't," wrote another, indicating laughter. "(do it for trayvon martin)" . . .
Forster and Rostami, both white, suffered a beating at the hands of a crowd of black teenagers. . . .
Now it comes out that in this Norfolk, Va. case the police originally listed this as a hate crime.



More info is available here.


Sanford, Florida? (Speculative)
A witness told deputies he heard someone screaming for help and saw two men pull the victim from his vehicle. He said he watched as one man held the victim and the other beat him in the head with a hammer.
After they dragged the victim into the woods, the men drove away in his sport utility vehicle, which was later found abandoned about a half-mile away on Garbo Jack Lane.
Investigators got a break in the case Thursday, when a tip to Crimeline named Bender and gave the street name of the second suspect.
On Friday, investigators learned Israel's fingerprints had been found both inside and outside of the victim's vehicle.
The witness was shown photo lineups and picked out Bender and Israel as the men he saw beating the victim. He said Bender was the man wielding the hammer. . . .
The two attackers are black and the victim is white, but that isn't what is interesting here.  I haven't been able to confirm the following claim here in a solid news source, but if true, this would be important:
Shortly following Rev Al Sharpton’s Anti-George Zimmerman rally in Sanford, FL, two Sanford teens,   enraged by hate and racism at the rally, decided to burglarize, terrorize and beat a white man to near death with a hammer. . . .


Other stories are available here.

Prosecutor in Zimmerman cases misses deadline to release records

Prosecutor in Zimmerman cases misses deadline to release records

Between not going to the Grand Jury and the affidavit that failed to mention any exculpatory evidence, this is setting a very bad trend.  From Channel 6 in Orlando:

The special prosecutor's office on Friday refused to make that evidence public -- even though an attorney fighting for the public's access insists Friday was when Florida law required Corey to share the evidence with the millions of people following the case.
The reason the deadline for Corey's evidence to become public was Friday, according to Scott Ponce, the attorney representing media organizations seeking access, is because that was 15 days after Zimmerman's attorney served Corey with an April 12 demand for evidence. This process of the state sharing evidence with both the defendant and public at large is known as discovery.
When denying requests from the public for the Zimmerman discovery records Friday, Corey's office told Local 6 Florida law allowed her to keep the records secret using a criminal investigative exemption because "no records have been provided to the defendant."
But Ponce, who specializes in public record law, believes that Corey can no longer use that reason to withhold records from the public, now that the 15 day discovery deadline has passed. That's because Florida law specifically excludes documents "required" to be given to the defendant from the type of records that can be withheld as criminal investigative information.
When Local 6 emailed Corey and her public records attorney, Lisa DiFranza, asking for an explanation as to how they concluded the records were still exempt criminal investigative information, even though Ponce advised the information was required to be given to Zimmerman Friday, the two attorneys did not respond. Neither did Corey's spokesperson, Jackelyn Barnard, even though Florida's public record law requires an agency denying records to give a written response explaining the reasons it concluded records are exempt, when requested. . . .
Reuters explains why George Zimmerman got a permitted concealed handgun

Reuters explains why George Zimmerman got a permitted concealed handgun

This Reuters article by Zimmerman paints a very sympathetic picture of a deeply religious man who has tried to help others.  The long article contains numerous examples where Zimmerman tried to help out others.  It is a tragedy that a man who has tried to do so much good for his community has been so grievously maligned by the media and others.  I hope that people feel bad for the damage that they have done to Zimmerman.  From Reuters (the entire article is a highly recommended read):

Based on extensive interviews with relatives, friends, neighbors, schoolmates and co-workers of Zimmerman in two states, law enforcement officials, and reviews of court documents and police reports, the story sheds new light on the man at the center of one of the most controversial homicide cases in America.
The 28-year-old insurance-fraud investigator comes from a deeply Catholic background and was taught in his early years to do right by those less fortunate. He was raised in a racially integrated household and himself has black roots through an Afro-Peruvian great-grandfather - the father of the maternal grandmother who helped raise him.
A criminal justice student who aspired to become a judge, Zimmerman also concerned himself with the safety of his neighbors after a series of break-ins committed by young African-American men.
Though civil rights demonstrators have argued Zimmerman should not have prejudged Martin, one black neighbor of the Zimmermans said recent history should be taken into account.
"Let's talk about the elephant in the room. I'm black, OK?" the woman said, declining to be identified because she anticipated backlash due to her race. She leaned in to look a reporter directly in the eyes. "There were black boys robbing houses in this neighborhood," she said. "That's why George was suspicious of Trayvon Martin." . . .

Why Zimmerman got himself a concealed handgun permit.
A pit bull named Big Boi began menacing George and Shellie Zimmerman in the fall of 2009.  The first time the dog ran free and cornered Shellie in their gated community in Sanford, Florida, George called the owner to complain. The second time, Big Boi frightened his mother-in-law's dog. Zimmerman called Seminole County Animal Services and bought pepper spray. The third time he saw the dog on the loose, he called again. An officer came to the house, county records show.
"Don't use pepper spray," he told the Zimmermans, according to a friend. "It'll take two or three seconds to take effect, but a quarter second for the dog to jump you," he said.
"Get a gun."
That November, the Zimmermans completed firearms training at a local lodge and received concealed-weapons gun permits. . . .



Zimmerman apparently had learned that the police would not always be able to respond in a timely manner.
The last time Zimmerman had called police, to report Burgess, he followed protocol and waited for police to arrive. They were too late, and Burgess got away.
This time, Zimmerman was not so patient, and he disregarded police advice against pursuing Martin. . . . 
UPDATE: There is some good news.  Zimmerman's legal defense can easily cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars or even a half million -- murder trials are very costly.  In addition, Zimmerman is currently unemployed.  However, donations to help cover Zimmerman's costs have reached over $200,000, so that is a very helpful start.  Hopefully, with articles like this from Reuters the total can get closer to covering his costs.
Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Panel to review law has first meeting scheduled for May 1st

Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Panel to review law has first meeting scheduled for May 1st

Fox 35 in Orlando has this:

Gov. Rick Scott's task force on Florida's self-defense laws, including what's known as the "stand your ground" law, has set its first meeting for May 1.
The governor's office on Tuesday announced the meeting will be held at the Florida Department of Transportation's headquarters in Tallahassee.
It will focus on administrative matters and no public comment will be taken, but it will be streamed live by the Florida Channel at
http://thefloridachannel.org . . . .

 The Orlando Sentinel has a list of panel members here:

Members include state Rep Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, who authored the 2005 bill that passed the Legislature; Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle;  former Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Bell of Pensacola and Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley. Several Orlando-area legislators are also members.
The task force is chaired by Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, and the vice-chair is the Rev. R.B. Holmes Jr., a prominent African American minister in Tallahassee. . . .
  • Sheriff Larry Ashley, of Shalimar, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
  • State Representative Dennis Baxley, of Ocala, Florida House of Representatives, District 24.
  • Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Kenneth B. Bell, of Pensacola, shareholder with Clark Partington Hart Larry Bond and Stackhouse.
  • State Representative Jason Brodeur, of Sanford, Florida House of Representatives, District 33.
  • Derek E. Bruce, of Orlando, attorney with Edge Public Affairs.
  • Joseph A. Caimano Jr., of Tampa, criminal defense attorney with Caimano Law Group.
  • Edna Canino, of Miami, president of the Florida Embassy of League of United Latin American Citizens, Council 7220.
  • Gretchen Lorenzo, of Fort Myers, neighborhood watch coordinator for the Fort Myers Police Department.
  • Judge Krista Marx, of West Palm Beach, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.
  • Maria Newman, of Melbourne, neighborhood watch volunteer with the City of Melbourne.
  • Katherine Fernandez Rundle, of Miami, state attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
  • Stacy A. Scott, of Gainesville, assistant public defender with the Eighth Judicial Circuit.
  • Mark Seiden, of Miami, self-employed attorney.
  • State Senator David Simmons, of Altamonte Springs, Florida Senate, District 22.
  • State Senator Gary Siplin, of Orlando, Florida Senate, District 19.
The Miami Herald handicapped the panel this way:
•  Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, sponsored Stand Your Ground in 2005 and has indicated it doesn’t need to be changed.
•  Sen. David Simmons, R-Maitland, co-sponsored and voted for Stand Your Ground. He told the Herald/Times bureau that he was instrumental in drafting the final language of the law as House Judiciary Committee chairman, and was Baxley’s roommate at the time.
•  Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, joined the Legislature in 2010, and the first bill he passed was a controversial gun rights bill banning doctors from asking patients about gun ownership.
•  Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, voted for the bill in 2005. It passed the Senate unanimously.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/19/2757282/gov-rick-scott-announces-members.html#storylink=cpy
Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, the incoming speaker of the Florida House of Representatives has a piece on the topic available here:
In the Florida House of Representatives, we will review the current law, but we must not diminish the fundamental rights afforded to every American in our Constitution. We must not give criminals the upper hand over law-abiding citizens in Florida.

George Zimmerman makes bond

Boy, I wish that I had been able to listen to the bail hearing today.  I have read a news account available here of the hearing, but it isn't nearly the same as listening to it.  This seems to be key to me:

During further questioning by O'Mara, Gilbreath admitted that the state has no evidence who started the fight. There is also no evidence that Zimmerman didn't walk back to his car after chasing Martin on foot, as the defendant has claimed. . . .
This seemed to be the strongest response, but, without some more detail, it seems pretty weak.

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. . . .  "I think you don't have all the evidence," he said. "Please be patient and wait for the trial." . . . .
A new photo shows some of the harm that Zimmerman faced from Martin.


Earlier the NY Times had reported:
In the video, which shows Mr. Zimmerman in police custody shortly after Trayvon was shot, Mr. Zimmerman’s face and head show no obvious signs of injuries or blood. . . . .
Has the NY Times ever heard of someone getting cleaned up after they have been attacked?
"Stand Your Ground" Law background

"Stand Your Ground" Law background

The piece is mainly about Marion Hammer, but it does have some discussion about the Stand Your Ground law. From CNN:
The case of 77-year-old James Workman inspired the law that became Stand Your Ground. The retired oil worker from Pensacola was living in a trailer outside his hurricane-damaged house when he shot and killed 35-year-old Rodney Dean Cox on November 3, 2004. His wife was on the phone with 911, and he had fired a warning shot first. Prosecutors declined to prosecute Workman, ruling the shooting was justified under the legal theory that homeowners have a right to defend themselves and their property from imminent harm. "It was months before he knew whether or not he was going to be charged with a crime for simply defending his own life and his property," Baxley said. "That is not right, and Marion talked to me about this bill that would firm up the self-defense posture." . . . Stand Your Ground sailed through Florida's House of Representatives 92-20 before clearing the Senate, 39-0. Opposing it seemed like political suicide in Florida. Hammer's position resonated with his constituents, Baxley said. . . . .
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