We’re less than 12 hours since the State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman verdict.
I wish now I could hop in my TARDIS and go back in time to follow the case more closely from the beginning, but I can’t. I feel like I missed a TON of crucial information and misinformation.
Misinformation. That’s my theme for these first 12 hours. I can’t even count all the craziness I saw flying around on social media last night / early this morning. Just crazy stuff.
Michael Moore claimed Zimmerman “chased” Martin down the street (never mind the little detail that Zimmerman actually lost sight of Martin and conveyed that information to dispatch).
Oh, that’s another thing. I might be wrong but dispatch = not the same thing as the police. So when they said “don’t follow him” that’s not some decree that descended from on high.
Speaking of that call, here’s a blurb from the transcript.
Zimmerman: Hey we’ve had some break-ins in my neighborhood, and there’s a real suspicious guy, uh, [near] Retreat View Circle, um, the best address I can give you is 111 Retreat View Circle. This guy looks like he’s up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.
Dispatcher: OK, and this guy is he white, black, or Hispanic?
Zimmerman: He looks black.
You know what, I’m just going to provide the transcript for you to read right here. I think it’s important to see what was actually said. Forgive the lengthy quote.
Dispatcher: Sanford Police Department. …
Zimmerman: Hey, we’ve had some break-ins in my neighborhood, and there’s a real suspicious guy, uh, [near] Retreat View Circle. Um, the best address I can give you is 111 Retreat View Circle. This guy looks like he’s up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.
Dispatcher: Okay, and this guy is he white, black, or Hispanic?
Zimmerman: He looks black.
Dispatcher: Did you see what he was wearing?
Zimmerman: Yeah. A dark hoodie, like a grey hoodie, and either jeans or sweatpants and white tennis shoes. He’s [unintelligible], he was just staring…
Dispatcher: Okay, he’s just walking around the area…
Zimmerman: …looking at all the houses.
Dispatcher: Okay…
Zimmerman: Now he’s just staring at me.
Dispatcher: Okay. You said it’s 1111 Retreat View? Or 111?
Zimmerman: That’s the clubhouse… [Note 3, 3rd picture]
Dispatcher: That’s the clubhouse. Do you know what the—he’s near the clubhouse right now?
Zimmerman: Yeah, now he’s coming towards me.
Dispatcher: Okay.
Zimmerman: He’s got his hand in his waistband. And he’s a black male.
Dispatcher: How old would you say he looks?
Zimmerman: He’s got a button on his shirt. Late teens.
Dispatcher: Late teens. Okay.
Zimmerman: Something’s wrong with him. Yup, he’s coming to check me out. He’s got something in his hands. I don’t know what his deal is.
Dispatcher: Just let me know if he does anything, okay?
Zimmerman: How long until you get an officer over here?
Dispatcher: Yeah, we’ve got someone on the way. Just let me know if this guy does anything else.
Zimmerman: Okay. These assholes, they always get away. When you come to the clubhouse, you come straight in and make a left. Actually, you would go past the clubhouse.[Note 3, 3rd picture]
Dispatcher: So it’s on the lefthand side from the clubhouse?
Zimmerman: No, you go in straight through the entrance and then you make a left…uh, you go straight in, don’t turn, and make a left. Shit, he’s running.
Dispatcher: He’s running? Which way is he running?
Zimmerman: Down towards the other entrance to the neighborhood.
Dispatcher: Which entrance is that that he’s heading towards?
Zimmerman: The back entrance…f**** [disputed/unintelligible]
Dispatcher: Are you following him?
Zimmerman: Yeah.
Dispatcher: Okay, we don’t need you to do that.
Zimmerman: Okay.
Dispatcher: All right, sir, what is your name?
Zimmerman: George…He ran.
Dispatcher: All right, George, what’s your last name?
Zimmerman: Zimmerman.
Dispatcher: And George, what’s the phone number you’re calling from?
Zimmerman: [redacted]
Dispatcher: All right, George, we do have them on the way. Do you want to meet with the officer when they get out there?
Zimmerman: Yeah.
Dispatcher: Alright, where you going to meet with them at?
Zimmerman: If they come in through the gate, tell them to go straight past the club house, and uh, straight past the club house and make a left, and then they go past the mailboxes, [Note 3, 4th picture]that’s my truck…[unintelligible]
Dispatcher: What address are you parked in front of?
Zimmerman: I don’t know. It’s a cut through so I don’t know the address.[Note 3, 6th & 7th pictures]
Dispatcher: Okay. Do you live in the area?
Zimmerman: Yeah, I…[unintelligible]
Dispatcher: What’s your apartment number?
Zimmerman: It’s a home. It’s 1950,[Note 3, 3rd picture] Oh, crap. I don’t want to give it all out. I don’t know where this kid is.
Dispatcher: Okay. Do you want to just meet with them right near the mailboxes then?
Zimmerman: Yeah, that’s fine.
Dispatcher: All right, George. I’ll let them know to meet you around there okay?
Zimmerman: Actually, could you have them call me and I’ll tell them where I’m at?
Dispatcher: Okay, yeah. That’s no problem.
Zimmerman: Should I give you my number or you got it?
Dispatcher: Yeah, I got it [redacted]
Zimmerman: Yeah, you got it.
Dispatcher: Okay. No problem. I’ll let them know to call you when they’re in the area.
Zimmerman: Thanks.
Dispatcher: You’re welcome.[93]
Wait a second. I thought George was a white rob wearing racist?!? That’s weird. He didn’t offer up Martin’s race until ASKED. How many times have you heard that in the media? And Martin was approaching him. Also weird.
“Or he’s on drugs…” Well, that’s odd. I thought Martin was a saint of a kid just trying to get home with his ice tea and Skittles for goodness’ sake? Weird. Oh wait, it isn’t. Trace amounts of THC were found in Martin’s blood in the toxicology report. Huh. I haven’t heard that mentioned very often.
But, wouldn’t a kid be scared by being followed by a grown man? Possibly. But if that kid was 1 inch shy of 6 feet tall facing a grown man 4 inches shorter than him, might that change his level of fear?
And if he was so afraid of this man, why didn’t he use his cell phone to, oh I don’t know, call the police? Instead of complaining to a friend that was being followed by a (pardon the language but it’s necessary for this point) “creepy-ass cracker”? Well, that’s odd, isn’t it?
Those are just a few of the oddities in the case and its media misrepresentation.
If we got started on the jury instructions, self defense, the State’s burden of proof, not needing to prove innocence, etc. etc. we’d be here for quite some time. Please do yourself a favor and read the Judge’s instructions. The whole thing, it’s not terribly long. I feel it makes it clear what HAD to be proved in order for the jury to return a Guilty verdict, but I’m no legal expert.
I have copied the PDF to my site for easy access for the reader. Jury Instructions can be found here.
Good job Jared. This about sums up the case. This tragedy has always been about mistrust and fear. The black leaders, the white media and our President injected race into this. Little has been said about the fact that Mr. Zimmerman was a tutor to several black youth in his area. Little has been said about the fact that Mr. Zimmerman is bi-racial. Yet the same critics of Mr. Zimmerman claim that our President is black when in fact he is bi-racial.
The American public is being played like a fiddle and we don’t even recognize it. Thx for the opportunity to post.
Thanks for posting this info, Jared. I had not read the transcription between Zimmerman and the 911 operator. Did you read what the Miami Herald reported about Martin–that he had been caught in school with drugs, drug paraphernalia, and women’s jewelry that he had stolen? That he should have been arrested for criminal activity? That the school system covered it up and slid it under the rugs? That they did the same with other black students, because they had been threatened, should they continue to profile black students? Yeah, that wasn’t reported by the media either, was it? Then again, how is it to their advantage to report a fair and even unfolding of the facts. They thrive on hype and hype cannot be produced without a bend in the truth and an agenda.
Check out this link for what I refer to here. http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2013/04/16/part-7-the-trayvon-martin-cover-up-sgt-lourdes-hodges-trayvon-foia-14/#more-61679
“Yet the same critics of Mr. Zimmerman claim that our President is black when in fact he is bi-racial”
Zimmerman identified as white and had grown up being told that white = supreme over people of color because they have more privileges in life. The fact that he helped black youth doesn’t mean that he can not be prejudice against them. Poor logic.
It has nothing to do with biracial. The president identifies as black, as he has the right to do so as he IS in fact black. Being mixed does not mean you can not identify as black. You can embrace your blackness regardless. He grow up in the black culture, in a black community. He IS “black.” Being “black” does not mean you have to choose or deny your other half. What ignorance to imply that.
Umm, do you have proof of that? I haven’t seen any. Not to sound racist, but to me he looks to be of a different “color” than myself.
And didn’t the president spend the first 10 years of his life or so mostly raised by his white mother and grandparents?
And I was raised white, NEVER once being told I was “supreme” or “privileged”. Just saying.
But he (Obama) is bi-racial. He spent the first 10 years or so of his life raised predominantly by Caucasians.
You forgot the part where TM thought he was being followed by a rapist and this has been mentioned by his friend. TM was panicked because he didn’t want to be followed home by someone who could be a threat. however, due to her speech mannerisms, people quickly dismissed anything she said despite being a key witness. The racial issue plays in to the fact that he was known for his prejudice, as he was raised into that mindset. Because of his family history and his own history with reporting people simply for being black in a seemingly all-white region…it was thought that perhaps he had racially profiled TM that night simply because he was black and the facts remain that had he been white, he would not have been profiled as being suspicious in that area. He had heard that reports stated that a black man was seen at the times of the break-ins. He saw a black man that night, looking around at houses like many people do and took the initiative to suspect them despite their being no grounds to do so.
In one of the witness 911 calls, someone in the background says they were told he was going to shoot, in fact it sounds like the witness was outdoors and kept getting told by the other witness to come back in…although defense claimed that the witness was actually upstairs and just in another room… and when the gunshot goes off, somehow the witness seemed to know who had dead, even though they claimed in an interview that they couldn’t tell who was on top and saw and heard nothing. Witnesses said that they heard a lot of chatter before hand, hence why there was a lot of skepticism that one of the witnesses saw + heard + and even spoke to Zimmerman before the fatal shot. Oh, and the fact that GZ was setting up to flee the country but was caught. The only reason he was let go was because of the lack of any actual solid evidence. They had tons of circumstantial but not enough to prove that he was lying. They also couldn’t prove that he wasn’t. Thus there was no other option but to let him go despite the jury being split. many of them wanted him to face at least lesser charges for his roll and irresponsibility. A lot of pressure was placed onto witnesses and It would be no surprise that they lied to escape that growing pressure.
The ACTUAL issue with the case was that it was not properly investigated AFTER he had already been released that night. There is a highly probable chance that they would have more evidence against them had they not instantly treated it as a self defense case before even looking into it. The only thing TM was guilty of, IF it was even true, attacking the person who had been suspiciously following him home. He was a teenager, and one that was overconfident in their ability to protect themselves against someone who he thought was a threat. He however, was not the one who started the confrontation. Z started the confrontation when he got out of the car to chase him down when he was trying to get away despite no evidence suggesting he was guilty of anything but trying to get away.
The bottom line. A huge misunderstanding caused the tragedy. Each person played their role but the case as NOT handled properly at all. Although I believe he should have been given some kind of charge for his roll (as did many of the jury) he still gets to be punished by the fact that his life is basically destroyed by his decision that night. I think that does justice nicely. He is basically going to have to live like a prisoner anyways.
The decision was a fair one, even if it was disappointing. Justice was served so long as people fought for it. Justice was served because the system worked the way that it was meant to work. Those protestors and riots know nothing of what the system stands for.
A “gay rapist”. Which begs the question, “could it be possible Martin attacked Zimmerman because he thought he was a homosexual?”
If the answer is yes, we have an ENTIRELY different situation on our hands. We’re talking about an actual hate crime, not an alleged one.
Never mind it was 1.5 hours after sunset when this all occurred as well. Don’t know about you, but I could mistake the color of someone’s skin, especially if they had their hood up that late after dark.
“Although I believe he should have been given some kind of charge for his roll (as did many of the jury) he still gets to be punished by the fact that his life is basically destroyed by his decision that night. I think that does justice nicely.”
Why would someone who committed no crime deserve any kind of charge? Just because I survive a fight doesn’t mean I’m guilty. It isn’t a threat, it’s a guarantee, I will win at any and all cost and that isn’t a crime, neither was what George Zimmerman did.
“The decision was a fair one, even if it was disappointing. Justice was served so long as people fought for it. Justice was served because the system worked the way that it was meant to work. Those protestors and riots know nothing of what the system stands for.”
How can a fair decision be disappointing? It’s justice being served. It’s only disappointing to the people who bought into the hype the mass media created. Had they said Zimmerman will be innocent the whole way through and they found him guilty you’d see the exact same aftermath. When you tell the masses one thing for a year and a half and all the sudden the opposite happens, they’re going to be outraged. You spent a year and a half literally convincing them why one thing would happen and when they lost, they didn’t know what the heck to do. Apparently you’re in the same boat as the rioters and have no clue what the system stands for either. You just wrote that although it was a fair decision it was a disappointing one, and you said “Although I believe he should have been given some kind of charge for his roll (as did many of the jury)” clearly you have ZERO comprehension of the system or justice. Pot, meet kettle.
“Thus there was no other option but to let him go despite the jury being split. ” This was a UNANIMOUS decision that he is FREE and guilty of NOTHING. What decision did you watch unfold?
” The only thing TM was guilty of, IF it was even true, attacking the person who had been suspiciously following him home. He was a teenager, and one that was overconfident in their ability to protect themselves against someone who he thought was a threat” Are you serious? When you’re literally steps away from your home and you’re afraid of “being raped” why wouldn’t you run inside to your home, tell your parents, and call the police? Even the over zealous cop want to be called police before he did anything and he didn’t fear for his life; it is only logical that someone who feared for their life would do the same thing, call the police from their home or cell phone.
“it was thought that perhaps he had racially profiled TM that night simply because he was black and the facts remain that had he been white, he would not have been profiled as being suspicious in that area. ” Oh really, a white guy in a hoodie at night wouldn’t be thought as being suspicious? That’s HILARIOUS because I was in Sanford FL the same time this happened, and I was detained by no fewer than 6 police officers for basically being white, and wearing camo shorts, the same color shorts that someone miles away was wearing when they committed a crime. One black cop, and myself, I even volunteered to show him my car and my trunk and run my tags and license, all came back clean, empty, nothing, and what did they do? call for backup. Seriously? I’m a bad mother ____ but 6 cops? For being white? I promise you Sanford is not some predominantly white town, it’s the polar opposite. It’s a town that white people don’t typically move to. It’s more likely that Trayvon fits in to that town than does not fit into that town. He was suspicious simply because he had his hoodie up and GZ had never seen him before. The security at my complex does the same thing, they follow people, and question people that they do not recognize. My Hispanic friends have been stopped and questioned by security because they didn’t live there, once their friend caught up and explained they were with him, it was fine. GZ was a neighborhood watch person, and did what neighborhood watch people do, they literally act as volunteer security and follow suspicious people. It’s NOT illegal.
Well said, Cody, as always. Not much more I can add to that 🙂