George Zimmerman has gone public for the first time with a new website, therealgeorgezimmerman.com, and a paypal link to raise funds for his litigation costs. The website is a smart move, but Zimmerman used the occasion to describe the shooting as a “life altering event.” That is manifestly true except for the fact that he was speaking of himself, not Martin.
Zimmerman states “On Sunday February 26th, I was involved in a life altering event which led me to become the subject of intense media coverage. As a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life. This website’s sole purpose is to ensure my supporters they are receiving my full attention without any intermediaries.” He goes further to warn that he “cannot attest to the validity of these other websites.”
I am a bit surprised that no one looking at this first statement (guaranteed to be picked apart by the media) would pause at the use of the phrase life altering when referring to the shooter rather than the deceased individual. Just for the record, in the next public letter, Zimmerman may want to avoid saying that he hopes to make “a killing in this outreach campaign.”
The motto of the site is the quote from Edmund Burke that “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing.” The site includes pages on “My Race” and an “album” of photos. In a particularly bizarre addition, the photo album shows graffiti saying “Long Live Zimmerman” — not exactly the most inspiring statement of support.
Lawyers often create litigation blogs and web sites to allow their clients to release documents or facts in support of their claims. However, these sites require careful scrutiny and, as here, may backfire with ill-advised language.
Here is the full statement:
I am the real George Zimmerman,
On Sunday February 26th, I was involved in a life altering event which led me to become the subject of intense media coverage. As a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life. This website’s sole purpose is to ensure my supporters they are receiving my full attention without any intermediaries.It has come to my attention that some persons and/or entities have been collecting funds, thinly veiled as my “Defense Fund” or “Legal Fund”. I cannot attest to the validity of these other websites as I have not received any funds collected, intended to support my family and I through this trying, tragic time.
I have created a Paypal account solely linked on this website as I would like to provide an avenue to thank my supporters personally and ensure that any funds provided are used only for living expenses and legal defense, in lieu of my forced inability to maintain employment. I will also personally, maintain accountability of all funds received. I reassure you, every donation is appreciated.
Sincerely,
George Zimmerman
Source: USA Today
The nature of the charges wasn’t immediately known, the official told NBC News Justice Department correspondent Pete Williams, speaking on condition of anonymity. But because Angela Corey — the special prosecutor appointed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to re-examine the case — previously announced that she wouldn’t take the case to a grand jury, first-degree murder is not an option.
eniobob,
“Hannity spoke about the issue on his show. ‘I want to set the record straight,’ [Hannity] said. ‘For a few weeks we have been pursuing an interview with Mr. Zimmerman to give him a chance to tell his side of the story. Now yesterday I was contacted by an individual that we in fact believe was George Zimmerman. He reached out to me, we spoke on the phone about his case, and I agreed not to report on the contents of that conversation. That’s it.'” – Huff Po
anon nurse:
Thanks for the info,I see that Hannity has changed his story a bit today,he must have gotten a call from the legal folks at “FAUX NEWS” and they “pulled his coat” and told him to he may be playing with ,
Malisha,
I try to be brief and end up incoherent—-
“@ Idealist707: I actually did not understand your post addressed to me. I’m sweet?
Sound like a judge? Which judge?
Feminine wiles? WilesR-US!! (wow)”
Malisha….
Sweet. Meaning I was touched by the sweet tale (IMO) you shared with usö
Judge: Any judge. Assuming that instead of you being the young ingenue I pictured, you could be a very serious older “judge” with a bench—-and my “sweet” descriptor could be wildly wrong. Hedging my firstbet in other words.
Feminine: Not as a sexual slur, but an acknowledgement that the “weaker” sex (in strength) has to develop ways of getting around “strength”.
OK. Jeez, thank for pointing it out. Better to be revealed for inability to write than suspected for worse social “crimes”.
id707,
1) You should practice reading more. Increasing your comprehension will (maybe) stop you from misrepresenting what others say if you actually understand what you read. Learn to differentiate between a general philosopical statement about the nature of justice and a statement of Constitutional law. No one mentioned the Constitution but you, Mr. Passive/Aggressive Straw Men. Be nice? Screw you. You started it. Again. Apparently, old dogs really can’t learn new tricks. Take your “forgiveness” and stick it.
2) If you haven’t seen the film, then your comment is revealed to be made in total ignorance. How utterly not shocking that youd’ engage your mouth before your brain.
Up your meds, grandpa.
Miami Herald: Source Says One Criminal Charge To Be Filed Against Zimmerman
A source tells the Miami Herald that one criminal charge will be filed against George Zimmerman.
Via the Herald’s Frances Robles.
GeneH,
And don’t sling the Constitution in the face of an ignorant man. Then YOU are bullying me and you know it. Explain to me my obvious lack of knowledge. I never read the Constitution until it was mentioned here amendment by amendment, clause by clause, bit by bit. And yet many parts have not been explored here. Nor by me.
So show you knowledge. Don’t browbeat with it.
Don’t come with what could be suspected as snide superiority (superiority I admit, that’s been proven as to logic and law was never a question) and shit on my head.
Now be nice, and I’ll forgive you.
Or do you object to my being on a roll of self-egotism today? And writing too much. Just say, be quiet. That is enough, at least I know your point and don’t have to search for it.
Oh yeah, now I re-read you, you were objecting to my comments on Clintwood et al.
I haven’t seen the film, know nothing about it, and don’t need it to teach me to hate violence. I shot one deer once. That was the last killing i’ll ever do. Maybe others do need teaching there, but not I. Nor do Swedes.
Only mentally disturbed or alcohol intoxicated are violent here.
I have no interest in the film, unless someone feels they would like to inform me as to its impact there, ie to the film’s effect on the American society.
Your wars, films, TV-games etc speak loudly enough for me of your need for pacification, to bend the meaning and referring to the pacification of VietNam.
.
The nations of the world know who the terror threat is. And it is neither Al Quaida, nor Islam. Ugly, yes. Hateful, yes. But world threat, no..
And as Dredd has said, it is infectious. Fortunately, other countries have centuries of it behind them and are somewhat immune.
And as long as corporate America and the money elite pay for their ruling privileges, it will remain the same.
All here seem to agree on that last point. I feel certain you do, as you have spoken most heartily against them all. “A pox on both your houses”, roughly remembered.
This article, dated 3/27/12 from the Miami Herald, poses all the questions I will expect the “Special Prosecutor” to answer either tonight or within the next few days. Charges concerning Zimmerman, of course, but also questions and possible legal consequences (or not) surrounding the actions of the Sanford Police Dept. and the State’s Atty General’s Office within the first week of Martin’s death.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/27/2718130/sanford-cops-wanted-to-charge.html
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/11/462513/experts-hannity-testify-conversation-with-george-zimmerman/
EXPERTS: Hannity Could Be Required To Testify About His Conversation With George Zimmerman
By Judd Legum on Apr 11, 2012 at 2:20 pm
According to several experts in Florida law, Sean Hannity could be compelled to testify about his conversations with George Zimmerman. Tamara Lave, a professor of criminal law at the Universtiy of Miami who also practiced as a public defender for 10 years, told ThinkProgress it’s a “no brainer.”
Under Florida Law, there is a “qualified privilege” for journalists that protects their conversations with sources. But this priviledge can be overcome, per Florida Evidence Code 90.5015:
A party seeking to overcome this privilege must make a clear and specific showing that:
(a) The information is relevant and material to unresolved issues that have been raised in the proceeding for which the information is sought;
(b) The information cannot be obtained from alternative sources; and
(c) A compelling interest exists for requiring disclosure of the information.
Here’s how Hannity described his conversation with George Zimmerman:
Now yesterday I was contacted by an individual that we in fact believe was George Zimmerman. He reached out to me, we spoke on the phone about his case, and I agreed not to report on the contents of that conversation.
Lave said that, in her opinion, the qualified privilege could “easily” be overcome under Florida law because Zimmerman’s statements about the incident are “relevant and material to unresolved issues.” Further, there are no “alternative sources” for his statements to Hannity and there is a compelling interest for disclosure in a potential manslaughter case.
Lyrissa Lidsky, an expert in media law at the University of Florida and the author of a book on the First Amendment, said that she also believed the factors in the Florida law would be resolved “in favor of forcing Hannity to disclose the information.”
Michael Seigel, Director of the Criminal Justice Center at the University of Florida, agreed, stating that Hannity “may very well have opened himself up to subpoena.” Kenneth Nunn, another criminal law professor a the University of Florida, concurred and said he didn’t think the journalist’s privledge could be made successfully by Hannity. (end of article)
“..Sean Hannity since Zimmerman shared info with him,that he would not even tell Zimmermans previous attorneys.”
Not quite accurate there.. or to put it another way – baseless.
The attorneys simply said that Hannity would not tell them what Zimmerman said to him. And why should he?
Perhaps it is possible that Zimmerman rang Hannity to tell him that (1) he deliberately executed Martin because he was a black guy wearing a hoodie and (2) he had 5 black hoodied corpses in his freezer. You know – the kind of stuff that anyone claiming innocence would volunteer to some stranger who just happend to have a TV show.
So all this hoo-haa about whether or not Hannity should be forced to testify
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/11/462513/experts-hannity-testify-conversation-with-george-zimmerman
is just more circus performance.
So hand out the popcorn. Drag Hannity’s privilige/limited_privilige right up to SCOTUS. Rage about it for months.
In the end, Hannity will reveal the details in a special broadcast bracketed and interrupted only by excessive premium advertising…. “He said he was innocent. He was in fear of his life. He was on his way back to his SUV when he was viciously attacked, yadda-yadda”
“you have the right to remain silent anything you say can and will be used against you’
Will someone please tell me what of any of the above applies to Sean
Hannity since Zimmerman shared info with him,that he would not even tell Zimmermans previous attorneys.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/11/462713/report-special-prosecutor-could-charge-george-zimmerman-as-early-as-today-in-death-of-trayvon-martin/
Report: Special Prosecutor Will Charge George Zimmerman As Early As Today In Death Of Trayvon Martin
“The Washington Post is reporting that Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey will announce this evening at 6 pm in Jacksonville that she will file charges against George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin on February 26. The news squares with an announcement from Corey last night that she would schedule a press conference within 72 hours for the purposes of making an announcement pertaining to the case. The report, purportedly from an anonymous law enforcement official close to the investigation, makes no mention of what the charges will be.”
ThinkProgress via Twitter
BREAKING: Florida prosecutor will file charges against Zimmerman. Announcement at 6PM. (Via @NBCNews)
I hope the feds employ a proper forensic psychiatrist to go over every single tape that Zimmerman made to the police, and to go over every single statement made by the neighbors and witnesses since 2/26/2012, and every single interview of the “neighborhood watch committee” members, and every single document generated by all state, county or local official sources since the beating of the homeless man (Sherman Ware) before they come up with an idea about whose civil rights, if anyone’s, were violated on and since 2/26/2012.
“Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday promised a “thorough and independent” investigation by the Justice Department into the death …”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/11/us-usa-florida-shooting-holder-idUSBRE83A0W520120411
“If we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime, we will take appropriate action,”
This all seems a bit of theatre to calm down the racial question.
It doesn’t directly address the question of the police actions at the time.
Nothing much may come of it as:
“In order to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges, the Justice Department would have to determine a crime was intentional and also motivated by race.”
As I see it,
– Zimmerman didn’t set out to shoot Martin from the get go. He’s just an idiot who got himself into a situation and responded very disproportionately
– It wasn’t racially motivated. It was moron_fantasising_about_being_Dirty_Harry_but_with_a_real_gun motivated.
What is needed is indeed “a thorough and independent investigation”, but one that addresses what actually happened – with proper forensic, medical and witness evidence.
Any opinion on federal civil rights violations has to be a byproduct of the primary investigation.
@ Idealist707: I actually did not understand your post addressed to me. I’m sweet?
Sound like a judge? Which judge?
Feminine wiles? WilesR-US!! (wow)
“What a wonderful statement of opinion in regard to American jurisprudence from an attorney held in high regard by Professor Turley” who is a citizen and as free to express his opinion as you are, “LA Producer”. He is not acting in any official capacity surrounding the Zimmerman case. His statements aren’t prejudicial to the pending proceedings. They are protected free speech about an event and a man made a public figure by that event. If you’ve got a problem with that? Well then, that’s your problem and you too are free to opine on it should you so wish.
id707,
You should 1) look up the word “hyperbole” and 2) realize that perfection, even in justice, is an aspiration.
As to whatever your problems are with the 2nd Amendment, those appear to be interferring with your ability to understand film. For all of its over violence, Unforgiven is a film with a particularly anti-violence message at its core.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/videogallery/69313367/News/Attorney-Hal-Uhrig-states-case-for-Zimmerman's-innocence#pl-68832490
Watch this video. Maybe you’ll learn something from it. Pay particular attention to the last 10 seconds.
Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw) (Turley guest blogger); “It is disgusting that Zimmerman has not been charged as of this date. He is a murderer.”
What a wonderful statement in regard to American jurisprudence from an attorney held in high regard by Professor Turley.
SlingTres-bushy,
Hate to agree with you, but…..! Who was it here who gave at least one a good rating? Hmmm.