The evidence continues to roll in on the Zimmerman case. While the new evidence is not entirely bad for the prosecution, it does contain some evidence that will likely bolster the defense of George Zimmerman in the second degree murder trial over the killing of Trayvon Martin. Regardless of the ultimate impact, the evidence again shows (in my opinion) that prosecutor Angela Corey over-charged the case in Florida.
Some of the new evidence shows that Martin had traces of THC (the active ingredient of marijuana) in his blood stream and urine. Martin was suspended from school due to a marijuana offense (though it involved an empty marijuana baggie). Another benefit to the defense is that Martin father is shown denying that the voice calling out for help was his son — though he later changed that view when he says he was given a better recording. Other witnesses have indicated that it Zimmerman who was calling for help.
Generally, the existence of drugs in the system of a victim or defendant is admissible. The suspension would appear inadmissible under standard evidentiary rules.
There is also evidence that some neighbors described Zimmerman as a bully and a racist. That would help bolster the reported hate crimes prosecution being considered by the Obama Administration, though I still have reservations based on the evidence as it currently stands. Also the police viewed the shooting as “avoidable” — if Zimmerman had left the matter to the police.
I am not sure how much of the neighbor’s view of Zimmerman as a bully or racist could come into evidence. Such accounts, however, can have the benefit of further discouraging Zimmerman from taking the stand as a witness — always a benefit to the prosecution because (while they are told that a defendant has a right not to testify (jurors expect to hear from defendants).
On the whole, however, I would view the evidence as more positive to the defense. First, I have previously said that I was most interested in the distance of the shot and forensics. It now appears that Martin was shot from an intermediate range (no more than 18 inches and as little as an inch away). That would support the claim of Zimmerman that they were in a wrestling fight when the gun was fired. The greater the distance the stronger the case for the prosecution. The defense will likely present expert testimony to try to reduce the range further on the stand. Also, the report does have people at the scene saying that Zimmerman’s nose appeared broken — supporting the later medical report of the family doctor (though such injuries could occur from Martin defending himself).
Moreover, at least two witnesses appear to support Zimmerman in describing the man in the hoodie at straddling the other man and throwing punches. The report state that the man in the “‘hoodie’ [was] on top of a white or Hispanic male and throwing punches ‘MMA (mixed martial arts) style.’ He then heard a pop. He stated that after hearing the pop, he observed the person he had previously observed on top of the other person (the male wearing the hoodie) laid out on the grass.” One report also says that Zimmerman can be heard yelling for help 14 times on a 911 call recorded during the fight.
While the reports blame Zimmerman for getting out of his vehicle (he says that he was trying to get a house number for the police), that is not itself a crime. Of course, none of this means that Zimmerman was not the aggressor. Given the presumption of innocence and the need to prove the elements beyond a reasonable doubt, this evidence presents an added problem for the prosecution in my view. I have expressed skepticism over the way the case has developed and how it has been charged from the outset. As a criminal defense attorney, I would view this as a strong defense case even on the manslaughter charge, particularly given the poor police work at the scene.
What do you think?
Here is the police report.
Source: ABC and NY Daily News
He didn’t really apologize, either.
He said he would NOT change anything he did.
He was “sorry” that he was put in a position where he had to “take a life.”
It was not an apology; it was a PR show and it was not under oath and it was not subjected to cross-examination.
And STILL he couldn’t get anything right.
Trayvon Martin was not “running” but “skipping” — SKIPPING!!! HA HA HA!!
Now let’s see how he does when there IS cross-examination, HA HA HA!
And Hannity accidentally said Zimmerman was following — check it out!
Even the pre-planned, scripted, info-free self-serving pack of lies came out all effed up.
Mespo,
Zimmerman doesn’t need any stupid logic! 🙂
Mespo, there you go using logic again. This case has more logic straining twists and turns than an Escher painting.
Zimmerman apologized for killing Trayvon Martin on Hannity:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/07/18/tsr-zimmerman-im-sorry-for-killing-trayvon-martin.cnn
If it was pure self-defense what’s he apologizing for?
John Walters,
Yes. I see exactly what you mean. People are saying Martin is guilty of going back to attack Zimmerman. Disgraceful. No evidence to support this. You are bang on target there. Good man!
Zimmerman had some minor injuries. They only indicate that he was doing worse than was Martin in an altercation. There is absolutely no evidence as to how that altercation began and who was the first to turn physical.
There is very clear circumstantial evidence that Zimmerman went in search of Martin. First of all, he was following – even after “We don’t need you to do that.”
He was definitely aware that he was carnying a gun. In call he remarks “He’s got his hand in his waistband”. He repeated this in the walk-through. It’s the only detail that he recalls in his story of a circling.
.
The killer points (no pun intended):
At the end of his call, Zimmerman interrupted the dispatcher to change an agreement to meet at his truck to one in which the incoming patrol would call him. It was 2 minutes and 30 seconds after Zimmerman finished his call that the first 911 call came in.
Zimmerman says that he started walking back to his truck when the call ended. He claims that he was attacked at a position just under 100 feet from where he started walking back.
Would you like to suggest what he was doing for 2 minutes and 30 seconds?
Zimmerman claims that he was attacked and decked at the T-junction.
Would you care to explain how the shooting happened 40 feet South of that point?
No. That’s the job of the police.
The ‘job’ of NW is to “observe from a distance” and call the police.
In order to ‘observe from a distance’, the NW person has to have visual on the target at all times. Following blindly into a dark place, with no guarantee that one will not come close to the target, is NOT keeping a safe distance.
Observing from a distance is emphasised and re-emphasised by police liaison with NW groups.
The local sheriff’s NW co-ordinator recalls a meeting where Zimmerman was present. She says that she even had a special presentation slide to emphasise this.
No. As was siad on the night to Zimmerman – “We don’t need you to do that.”
The police do not want civilians following people.
This applies under any circumstances.
In circumstances where the target may be armed (as in “He’s got his hand in his waistband”), they absolutely do not want following or anything other than “observe from a …. Safe ….. distance”
I suspect that I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of people who do not know his age.
I suggest that you look at Zimmerman’s actual record of violence and bullying.
.
I suggest that you listen to the recording of his call.
I suggest that you try to match that to his walk-through or his interviews. They can’t match.
Zimmerman is either lying or delusional. Big time!
If he can’t be believed on basic timing and details between his call and his claims, why should anyone believe any part of what he says?
He simple has no credibility.
It is clear from the incontrovertible truth of the automatically recorded calls that Zimmerman went in search of Martin.
No reason able person would have done that.
It was totally counter to all advice given to NW.
In addition, NW volunteers are told NOT to carry weapons.
Martin died because Zimmerman was a reckless, bullying fool – with psychological/psychiatric issues that required medication.
Somehow my one quarter inch scrape on Martin’s finger became fourteen inches. But you probably figured that out. : )
Sean Hannity tonight: George Zimmerman and his O’Mara will be doing their talking points and drumming up support/$$$$$$$.
Bet me Hannity’s folks will hear:
1. I tutor little black kids
2. I handed out leaflets for that poor black guy
3. I’m not racist
4. Trayvon Martin attacked me
5. I was almost killed
6. I have PTSD from almost being killed
7. I was just looking for an address
8. I never REALLY lied and the judge is prejudiced
9. I was a victim
10. I had to use 741 bandaids
11. I never did anything wrong; Trayvon Martin attacked me for no reason
12. I was really scared I was gonna die
13. I was just looking for an address because I have ADHD
14. We really were indigent
15. The judge was prejudiced
16. The judge is prejudiced
17. I am a victim; I have been victimized; I have been victimized;
BOOOOO HOOOOO BOOOOOO HOOOOOO BOOOOO HOOOOO
(Oh yeah, a broken nose and my head exploded, too)
Oh and about that allegation that George was a bad boy with/to his cousin for ten years? Worthless, just like the allegations that Trayvon Martin was “a thug” during high school. There is no law in Florida that says that if any two individuals are compared, the one who is better is allowed to kill the one who is worse. Perhaps, had there been such a law in Florida, the election in 2000 would have gone down differently!
Evidence of “prior bad acts” — like evidence of “prior good acts” — is not relevant to guilt or innocence of a particular crime. If that were the case, I’d just go put in a bunch of volunteer hours at some charity and when they reached the “critical mass” for me to get off, I’d commit the crime of my choice! Shoe in!
To John W: You made a direct request to me, Mr. Walters. You asked me to tell the world “the truth [I am] being completely disingenuous when [I] write ‘There is no physical evidence that Mr. Martin assaulted George,'” ‘
and you go on to question me by asking: “have you even checked the police and Medical Examiners reports? Physical evidence number one George Zimmerman had a broken nose and multiple cuts on the back of his head and a black eye. Physical evidence number two Trayvon Martin had multiple cuts and scrapes on the knuckles of both hands. Self defense. Case closed.”
————————————
Your request is denied.
I AM willing to tell the world that I am being completely logical and that I am correct that there is no physical evidence that Mr. Martin assaulted George.
As I have pointed out, a woman being pregnant does not prove anyone raped her. There are several ways to get pregnant, many of them not involving any rape.
So here’s my general response to your ideas.
YOUR IDEA: Injuries to Zimmerman were serious.
MY RESPONSE: Laughable. His nose was, according to his own family doctor, “possibly” or “likely” broken but in fact, NO X-RAY. HA HA HA! I LAUGH ON HIS NOSE! [to quote somebody]
YOUR IDEA: Zimmerman had multiple cuts to the back of his head.
MY RESPONSE: Officer Serino characterized them as “not coincident with” any life-threatening attack, and as “capillary type…lacerations.” In other words, little boo boos. He could have gotten them by any means and they did not prove Trayvon Martin attacked George.
YOUR IDEA: “and a black eye.”
MY RESPONSE: uh…no.
YOUR IDEA: “Trayvon Martin had multiple cuts and scrapes on the knuckles of both hands.”
MY RESPONSE: Uh…no again. One small abrasion near knuckle of left hand. Inconsistent with having given anybody a beating with his fists.
YOUR IDEA: “Self-Defense.”
MY RESPONSE: Even serious injury does not prove self-defense. It only proves there was some sort of cause of the injury. See reference to pregnancy, infra. NOTHING in the physical evidence proves self-defense.
To prove self-defense, Zimmerman will have to swear upon his oath and testify and, according to the US Constitution and Florida law, he will have to be subjected to cross-examination. There’s O’Mara’s problem, right there.
As to your idea “CASE CLOSED,” my advice is for you to substitute yourself for Judge Lester, swear yourself in, and decide the case. Otherwise it would seem to me that “closed” is a word that is premature.
John Walters:
Appreciate the spin there, John. Zimmerman will have plenty to discuss if his cousin takes the stand and details the alleged sexual abuse at his hands along with her reports of his and his family’s racist attitudes. The veneer of innocent victim looks pretty thin to me for Zimmerman.
BTW, Zimmerman didn’t have a “job” to protect the neighborhood; he was an untrained, ill-equipped, busy-body with a hero complex . The job you refer to belongs to the police who told him to stand down. He didn’t so now he’ll face the consequences of shooting an unarmed 17-year-old. And probably some more charges for perjury, and perhaps even for abuse against his cousin and the mysterious other woman.
He should have kept on driving and then called the cops like most of us would have if we had any suspicions.
@John Walters: By your logic if a man in civilian clothes starts following you at night without ever identifying himself, and you get suspicious of him and try to evade him but he finds you anyway and confronts you and slaps you or pushes you, THEN if you punch him in the nose he is allowed to shoot you dead in “self defense.” You did strike him, after all, so “case closed.”
Did I get that right? Because all the evidence suggests that is what happened here. And it was NOT Zimmerman’s “job,” it was his hobby, a self-appointed position, unpaid and un-elected, without a uniform, just a stranger in the night with zero official authority, just his own made-up title.
John,
Some of us have been looking at Zimmerman’s story and it just doesn’t hold up. I don’t know if Zimmerman is racist or not, but in this instance, he followed Martin because he was wearing a hoody and he didn’t know him. Zimmerman’s injuries were superficial. Martin had one small (14″) scratch on one finger. Check the autopsy. If I were being followed by some guy in a car who then got out of the car to follow me on foot, and if the only person at home was a chlld, I would NOT go home. Better to deal with the weird person on my own than have to protect a child. We’re very much aware that the early picture of Martin was an old one and all the rest you’ve put up as to what a bad guy he was. He was not ON lean at the time. Zimmerman, however, was probably on his meds which a meth cocktail. Some of the witnesses support parts of Zimmerman’s story, others do not.
Again, some of us have looked at the evidence. Check out Sling’s link. We didn’t start at guilty. Checking Zimmerman’s story has us well on the way of believing that he is.
@bettykath
Yes, John seems to have himself spinning in an ever widening gyre of words that have little to do with the facts of the case.
In some technical sense maybe Zimmerman’s nose was broken. But when I looked at the picture of Zimmerman’s ‘broken nose’ some months ago, I can state my own dear crazy x-wife did worse to my nose on a number of occasions.
And there are real, serious questions regarding the injuries to Zimmerman which supposedly resulted from a great battle that left Zimmerman (my recollection of his description) disoriented.
The fact that Zimmerman declined any but the most superficial first aid and did not see a doctor for several days ought to raise questions regarding Zimmerman’s description of his injuries.
In addition John seems to believe that Zimmerman had some official role and had authority to stop or otherwise interfere with Martin. That is simply not the case. Neighborhood watch are ordinary citizens. Like any citizen they can report anything that the believe should be reported. They have no authority to stop, question, or otherwise interfere with the activities of other citizens.
As for John’s claim ‘self defense, case closed’, even in SYG states there are limitation on what actions can be claimed as self defense.
One of the key questions of the case is ‘by any stretch of the imagination could Zimmerman’s actions be legitimate self defense’.
John simply assumes away one of the essential questions that will be answered at trial.
When you consider that Zimmerman’s credibility is seriously compromised, why would anyone believe his self serving statements? I can’t tell you if Zimmerman is a murderer. But everything about this case, with the exception of Zimmerman’s story, tells us that Zimmerman took a simple, easy to deal with situation and converted it to a senseless death.
For that Zimmerman deserves our opprobrium.
Malisha, please tell the world the truth you are being completely disingenuous when you write ” There is no physical evidence that Mr. Martin assaulted George,” have you even checked the police and Medical Examiners reports? Physical evidence number one George Zimmerman had a broken nose and multiple cuts on the back of his head and a black eye. Physical evidence number two Trayvon Martin had multiple cuts and scrapes on the knuckles of both hands. Self defense. Case closed.
This whole trial has been Guilty until proven innocent. This claim that Zimmerman is at fault for following Martin is totally racist, if the kid had been white and the neighborhood watch person black the same people saying Zimmerman was the aggressor would be saying the neighborhood watch person was just doing his job. Making sure unknown persons are not there to break in to homes was Zimmerman’s job. That job requires following suspects. If Martin was afraid he should have gone to his father’s girlfriends place(were he was staying) not gone back to attack Zimmerman. What a lot of people do not know is Trayvon Martin was not the 12 years old as shown in so many of the 5 years old photos being posted. He was 17 years old and was over six feet tall. This was not a good kid, as posted on many different web sites this young man was into more than Marijuana, he was a user of what the street kids call Lean. Lean is a drink made from mixing soft drinks like Arizona Watermelon Cocktail, skittles candy and prescription codeine cough syrup. This can also be made with the otc cough syrup Robitussin, and in this case is call Fake Lean. This stuff used over a long time can make the user violent even days or weeks after you stop taking it. The reason to believe Trayvon was using lean is because he wrote in the face book conversations with another kid he preferred Lean over Fake Lean and from those face book pages it can be proved he was on it over a year. More proof he was not the angel the press would have you believe is in his school record there is a notation of a large number of rings, bracelets and other jewelry being found in his backpack with a screwdriver (a possible break in tool). The jewelry was never asked for buy Travon’s mother or father and was turned over to the police.
O’Mara’s motion to recuse the judge misstates the law about disqualification of a judge. If a judge forms an opinion about the credibility of the defendant from the case itself, from testimony that occurred before that judge when that judge was acting, within his proper jurisdiction, as a fact finder (such as at a bail hearing), then he is not disqualified. Only if he has formed a negative opinion from some source OUTSIDE the case, such as an “ex parte” contact with someone, or from newspaper articles or such, is he seen to be lacking in judicial impartiality.
Zimmerman testified before Judge Lester. He was allowed to make a determination about Zimmerman’s credibility as a result of that testimony. Furthermore, he will not be a fact-finder at a trial. He WILL be a fact-finder if O’Mara wants to seek a SYG dismissal BEFORE trial. In that case, the law provides that the question of SYG defense will not even reach a jury if the judge decides to dismiss the charges. But by the same token, the judge is the sole decider of facts in such a SYG hearing. So if the judge decides, at the SYG hearing, that he doesn’t believe Zimmerman, he will not dismiss the charges. That doesn’t mean he will decide guilt; it just means that the jury gets to decide the whole thing. Zimmerman is free to present a claim of self-defense to the jury if the judge will not dismiss his charges at a SYG hearing.
But George shouldn’t get to change judges every time he takes the stand and shoots himself in the foot. If a judge listens to him, considers the other evidence, and decides that George Zimmerman is a liar, so be it. It is pretty clear by the fact that O’Mara put him on the stand at the original bond hearing but NOT AT THE SECOND ONE that O’Mara has learned a lesson; he has a terrible witness there, and he can’t risk putting the guy on the stand any more.
His attempt to recuse the judge is his way of trying to give himself another frivolous claim on appeal — there will be a loooooooooooong list of appeals, and plenty of skinhead money will be spent through PayPal and other conduits to keep the appellate life of this case going, right through to a federal habeas corpus, so the more things O’Mara does now to try to build a record of “denial of due process” the better for his pocketbook and the better for his reputation with that segment of the population who can afford his services.
Seems like this is a good comprehensive link:
http://newsfeedresearcher.com/data/articles_n29/zimmerman-martin-police.html
Here’s the new evidence:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/12/new-george-zimmerman-evidence-8-things-you-need-to-know/
You can read Mark Osterman’s statement. Weird!
LATER TODAY THERE WILL BE A RELEASE OF MORE EVIDENCE IN THE CASE, INCLUDING INTERVIEWS WITH SOME WITNESSES FROM WHOM WE HAVE NOT HEARD BEFORE. * * * * * *
bbg0771 — “You can say it wouldn’t have happened if Zimmerman stayed in the car all you want. But then you must admit that it wouldn’t have happened had Trayvon went home instead of assaulting Zimmerman.”
Nobody has to admit that “it wouldn’t have happened had Trayvon went [sic] home instead of assault Zimmerman” because nobody “must admit” that Trayvon Martin assaulted George. There is no physical evidence that Mr. Martin assaulted George, in fact. ONLY George has made a statement that “the suspect” assaulted him, and his statement has yet to be submitted to the court in the form of an affidavit or declaration sworn to under penalties of perjury. Neither of the two detectives who interviewed him at the police station sounded very convinced of this story he told, by the way. Officer Serino directly questioned it twice. It’s kind of an “oh sure” kinda story. “Sh*t, he ran” followed by “and then he came back and assaulted me and nearly killed me boo hoo and it scared me a lot” — the story just doesn’t play very well, and that’s BEFORE cross-examination.
bbg0771, the only problem with your story (which is Zimmerman’s story) is that it is no more believable when told by YOU second-hand than it was when told by Zimmerman first-hand. This is not about which of the two men was a better person who more deserved to stay on earth and not die that night; this is about which one of the two noticed the other, decided to go after him so he wouldn’t “get away,” and then, 3 minutes later, shot him dead. Zimmerman didn’t shoot Trayvon Martin because he was aware of any misadventures in high school OR postings on the web; he shot him because he chased after him, while armed with a loaded gun, and tried to “bring him in” like a TV citizen-hero, and it all went wrong. As Detective Serino said, “Murphy’s Law: whatever CAN go wrong WILL go wrong.”
But you are free to agree with Zimmerman about how we should all think about it; and more than 70% of Americans are free to continue to not think you have the story straight. And O’Mara will have to decide if the case looks strong enough for him to risk a jury trial or if he should plead George out as well as he can to avoid a trial, where Zimmerman can certainly take the stand and try to tell the world the story YOU have believed and many of the rest of us have not.