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Post by Anna on Jul 16, 2013 17:41:21 GMT
Well that is the big point isn't it, no one will ever know. If you think that Zimmerman is lying it isn't like you really can say which bits are a lie and which are truthful, we'll never EVER know.
I agree with the point that if it wasn't a gun it would be a knife, I also agree that this case has been overblown because it just so happens that Martin is 17, therefore legally a minor. Of course if he'd been charged with beating Zimmerman to death he'd possible be able to be prosecuted as an adult and most people think of 17/18 as basically adults.
There does seem to be a lot of "well how would any other 17 year old react? Its fine because he was being followed..." Yeah well I suffer from paranoia and think EVERYONE is following me down a street I've never had the need to turn around and punch any of them though. There does seem to be a double standard, Zimmerman had no right to be following Martin even though there had been people breaking into homes and stealing things and Martin was both a stranger and fit the description (black teen is a bit of a vague description but if you knew it was a few black teens you are hardly going to follow a white 30 year old man are you?) yet just because Zimmerman followed him Martin had every right to attack.
I think a lot of it is down to personal opinion and law getting muddied.
Personally I think they were both at fault but as I will never know what happened and it isn't like Martin can give his side of the story, acquittal is the only option I could see.
What little we do know is that Zimmerman followed Martin, which isn't illegal, got out of his car after being advised (not told) not too. Big grey area where Martin DID attack Zimmerman and Zimmerman DID (and admits to) shoot Martin. The police didn't arrest Zimmerman and they didn't drug test him or follow up on the matter, it was case closed. The media turned it into "white man kills this innocent young black boy" missing out the fact that Martin was actually nearly an adult, that Zimmerman was Hispanic and using misleading pictures that made Martin look smaller and younger then he was. The case was forced open and taken to court.
That grey area is enough to shove a handful of reasonable doubt. What came first? Martin confronting Zimmerman? Zimmerman confronting Martin? Did Zimmerman confront him with his gun? Did Martin even know he had a gun until after the fight began? Was Zimmerman walking away when Martin attacked him?
For me for any manslaughter or murder 2 charges it would have to be Zimmerman attacked first. Why? Because as far as I know all Martin had to do was make Zimmerman fear for his life and that is enough for self defense. If Zimmerman didn't attack first, if he didn't even have his gun out and Martin knew nothing of the gun then Martin was the one that elevated the situation to a violent one and therefore even though Zimmerman was a twat and shouldn't have been confronting someone based on them being a stranger he isn't really the one at fault for the violence. No matter what anyone says. Maybe it is an American thing where a 17 year olds first reaction to something like that is OK to be violent, I've never know a 17 year old that resorted to violence and ANYONE saying it was alright because they were provoked. Whenever something happened and a 17 year old attacked and elevated from peaceful (if a bit scary/strange/whatever) thing to a violent one they'd be done for being... You know... Violent instead of trying to talk it through, phoning the police or any of the other 100 things you COULD do.
After saying that the point still remains WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AND NEVER WILL!
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