I was not going to post anything about the Martin/Zimmerman trial, I really wasn’t. Seeing all the celebrities start popping off just pushed me over the edge. This isn’t directed at anyone on my friends list in particular, just my thoughts on the whole trial and now outcry. As usually happens when I talk about any touchy subject, I try to always emphasize being informed and knowing the facts. Fact #1 – The 6th Amendment to the constitution guarantees the right to a trial by jury. In this case, 6 women, who were chosen by both the defense and the prosecution. Now I paid a lot of attention to this case (such is the life of an office peon), but these 6 jurors were there for every fact, every bit of testimony, every single thing of that was said and shown in that courtroom was seen and heard by these 6 jurors. The 6th Amendment guarantees the right to trial by jury, not by the mob, the riot, the media, the twitterverse, or all the new lawyers on facebook today… These 6 jurors were guaranteed by the constitution to judge George Zimmerman, not you, I, or anyone else who is flying off half cocked. Fact #2 – In our judicial system, you are considered innocent until proven guilty. That comes from the Latin phrase Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat (the burden of proof lies with who declares, not who denies). This is where we also get the concept of the burden of proof. It is entirely the responsibility of the prosecution to gather and present evidence and facts to show that someone is guilty. If a reasonable doubt exists then the trier of fact must acquit. Note this is reasonable doubt, not just any doubt. Fact #3 – This has been a case of public opinion, media sensationalism, and unnecessary trying to input race bias from the get go. Never have I seen a local jurisdiction prevented from finishing their investigation so that the state can jump in and take over. A state that jumped in from political pressure and in response to the public outcry that George Zimmeran was not arrested on scene. Political pressure like when the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES decides he wants to chime in on a case. The local investigators had no reason to initially arrest Zimmerman and were waiting to complete the investigation…but were never allowed to finish. So…what about the forensic facts? I’m glad you asked! There were several telling things that showed George Zimmerman was in fact in the act of defending himself and was on the ground as he said in his statement. Dr. Vincent Di Maio testified about the gunshot wound at the trial. Dr. Di Maio literally wrote the book on gunshot wounds. His testimony that the gun was against the clothing and the clothing was 2 to 4 inches away from the skin of Trayvon Martin is pretty conclusive that Trayvon was over Zimmerman as he described. I know the media showed the hooded picture of Trayvon day in and day out, but I can’t once recall seeing the pictures of Zimmerman that night. Well a quick google search shows a bloody faced Zimmerman with a huge, reportedly broken, nose. The back of his head is shown and it is red, puffy, and bloody. Now, I’ve hit my head a lot, but never to the point of breaking the skin simply from an impact on a flat surface. This should say something to the impact that his head taking as he was being hit on the ground. One thing we’ve heard a lot is that Zimmerman sought out the confrontation and the dispatcher told him not to follow. Have you listened to the 911 call? Here, go ahead youtube/watch?v=zj7qEcD8R-8. The dispatcher doesn’t directly tell him not to follow, his exact words were, “Ok, we don’t need you to do that.” While not an affirmation, definitely not a rebuke. But listen to the tape, this is not an angry sounding guy, this sounds like a member of a neighborhood watch who is calling in a suspicious person walking around in the rain, looking in houses. Now this is only a small bit of what was presented at the trial. In my opinion, this case should have never even gone to a trial. There was altogether too much to show that Zimmerman was on his back, being punched in the face and having his head hit against the ground with Trayvon over him. But don’t let what I’m writing sway your opinion, find out the facts for yourself. Don’t trust what some celebrity or talking head says. I’m especially tired of the celebrities using their position as stars to spout off politics. Here are some choice responses. Roddy White: All them jurors should go home tonight and kill themselves for letting a grown man get away with killing a kid Victor Cruz: Zimmerman doesn’t last a year before the hood catches up to him Amd many, many others chimed in. Now the streets are filled with protesters. People are breaking windows, lighting things on fire, spray painting “Kill pigs” on cop cars, stopping traffic, and blocking freeways. Martin Luther King Jr wanted a day when you would be judged on the content of your character not your color. Well a lot of character is showing today, and I’m pretty disappointed.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 09:01:19 +0000
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