Court of public opinion looms large in George Zimmerman murder trial

TXgolfer said:
Speculation is not fact.
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again - feel free to re-read earlier thread that would corroborate my posts.
 
TXgolfer said:
That doesn't even make sense.
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it means.... you've stretched the truth and that's what you're doing right now. There's really no point in continuing this farce. it has gone off topic.
 
George Zimmerman trial: Lead investigator's testimony continues - OrlandoSentinel.com
SANFORD — In a phone call with a police dispatcher minutes before he shot Trayvon Martin, murder defendant George Zimmerman said off-handedly, "[Expletive] punks."

On Tuesday, that phrase became one of the most important of the trial so far.

Chris Serino, the Sanford police detective who led the homicide investigation, told jurors that when Zimmerman said it, that showed the Neighborhood Watch volunteer had "ill will" toward Trayvon.

Up to that point — although they had put on more than six days of testimony — prosecutors had failed to show one of the key elements they must prove to convict Zimmerman of second-degree murder: that the defendant acted with a depraved mind, hatred, malice, evil intent or ill will toward the high-school junior from Miami Gardens.

Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda suggested that when Zimmerman called Trayvon a "punk," he was profiling the teen as a criminal.

"If I were to believe that somebody was committing a crime, could that not be profiling that person?" de la Rionda asked.

"It could be construed as such," said Serino.

Serino was the point man in the much-maligned investigation by the Sanford Police Department, which refused to arrest Zimmerman, saying it could not disprove his self-defense claim.

That angered Trayvon's family and national civil-rights leaders and prompted protesters by the thousands to take to the streets in Sanford and in cities across the country.

Serino spent five hours on the witness stand Monday and Tuesday, but attorneys did not beat him up or take pot shots.

Much of his testimony ended up being a big plus for the defense. Zimmerman answered every question put to him, Serino said. The defendant did not evade, seem duplicitous or ask for an attorney while talking to the cops after the shooting.

Some of the details of his story changed over the four times he made recorded statements to police, Serino said.

"There were some variations in his account," he said.

"Nothing significant?" asked defense attorney Mark O'Mara.

"Nothing major," Serino said.

Serino also gave some help to the state. He said the phrase "[expletive] punks" showed Zimmerman had ill will toward Trayvon and confirmed that he found nothing suspicious about the teenager's behavior that night.

Was there any evidence that Trayvon was committing a crime, de la Rionda asked.

"No, sir," Serino said.

"Is there any evidence that that young man was armed?" de la Rionda asked.

"No, sir," Serino said.

Some on the day's most interesting testimony came from Jacksonville's medical examiner, Valerie Rao.

She did not perform the autopsy on Trayvon. But she reviewed the evidence records in the case and testified that Zimmerman's injuries "were not life-threatening. They were insignificant."

His bloody, broken nose; his black eyes; the two cuts to the back of his head and the lumps on the sides and top of his head might have come from just three blows, she said, not the numerous blows Zimmerman has said he suffered during an altercation with Trayvon.

Florida law does not require someone making a self-defense claim to be hurt, only to have a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury.

One of Zimmerman's closest friends, Mark Osterman, who published a book about the case, testified for the state Tuesday. He told jurors that when Zimmerman recounted for him what happened the night of Feb. 26, 2012, he said Trayvon had his hand on Zimmerman's gun but that the defendant pried it away and shot him.

That does not match Zimmerman's account to police. Osterman, a former Seminole County deputy, explained that discrepancy, saying that he had taken no notes and that he may have gotten that detail wrong.

When the trial resumes Wednesday, the state hopes to introduce evidence and testimony about Zimmerman's criminal-justice studies at Seminole State College. Prosecutors say Zimmerman's course work illustrates his intense interest in law enforcement and also contradicts the claim he made on national television last year that he didn't know about Florida's "stand your ground" law until after the shooting.

Defense attorneys argue the school records are irrelevant.

Prosecutors also want to introduce paperwork showing that Zimmerman had applied for a job as a police officer in suburban Washington, D.C., but was rejected.
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...ay-14-20130627,0,6371621.story?obref=obinsite
SANFORD – Rachel Jeantel, the state's star witness in the George Zimmerman murder trial, told jurors Thursday she's convinced that she heard Zimmerman hit then climb on top of Trayvon Martin.

In her second day on the stand, she testified that a bump she heard just before Trayvon's phone went dead sounded "like something hitting somebody. ... Trayvon got hit."

Defense attorney Don West challenged her, a tactic he kept up for 5 1/2 grueling hours over two days.

On Wednesday, her first day of testimony, Jeantel responded badly. She was annoyed, petulant at times and her words often impossible to understand.

On Thursday, she was more cooperative, ending nearly every answer with "sir" – even if the "sir" became more pointed as the day wore on.

"He was allowed to question her until Jesus comes," Daryl Parks, attorney for Trayvon's parents, said in a news conference after the trial ended for the day. Parks said of Jeantel, "She was amazing today."

At his own news conference, defense attorney Mark O'Mara was asked who had won the battle of wills between Jeantel and West.

"The only battle in this court is for justice and truth," O'Mara answered. His client, O'Mara said, "is still very worried that he's on trial for his life."

During the testimony, West led Jeantel through several of her earlier statements, trying to discredit her and show that she had changed her account.

When he asked her to read a letter, written by a friend on her behalf to Trayvon's mother, she hesitated, then admitted she could not.

"I don't read cursive," she said.

She clearly grew weary, at times covering her face with her hand when attorneys were at the bench, but on the most important point – who confronted whom – she stood firm.

Trayvon, a high school junior from Miami Gardens, told her a "creepy-assed cracker" had been following him, that he had lost the man but unexpectedly the man had appeared again, this time close by, she testified.

Zimmerman was the aggressor, she said.

"You don't know that," West shot back.

Jeantel agreed but said the combination of sounds she heard convinced her that Zimmerman landed the first blow.

Zimmerman "had to be on top of Trayvon," she said, because she heard Trayvon say, "'Get off, Get Off."

But what does "get off" mean, West asked. "You don't know what any of that means because you didn't see it."

He then said Trayvon may have decided to assault Zimmerman.

"That's real retarded to do that, sir," Jeantel said.

Jeantel was one of four witnesses prosecutors called Thursday. Two were neighbors.

Selma Mora testified that after she heard what she now believes was a gunshot, she rushed outside and saw the man who survived the fight on his knees straddling Trayvon. That man then stood up and began pacing, she said.

His instruction to her: "Just ... call the police," she said.

Zimmerman is the 29-year-old former Neighborhood Watch volunteer who says he shot Trayvon after the teenager attacked him, knocked him to the ground then began hammering his head against a sidewalk on Feb. 26, 2012.

Another neighbor, the woman who called 911 and, thus, inadvertently captured screams from the fight and the gunshot, also testified Thursday.

Jennifer Lauer told jurors that she saw nothing but heard talking, then scuffling and wrestling "like two people rolling around. ... It turned into grunting then it gradually turned into yelping."

"It just sounded like they were desperate," she said of the cries for help.

Prosecutors then played the recording. The six women on the jury listened intently, some with their eyes down, others gazing into the distance. They had heard it before, during jury selection, and had no visible reaction.

Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton, had stepped out of the courtroom moments earlier.

Prosecutors will continue with their second-degree murder case when court resumes this morning.
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Jiro said:
it means.... you've stretched the truth and that's what you're doing right now. There's really no point in continuing this farce. it has gone off topic.
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I disagree, but regardless that in no way applies to the post you quoted. But, back on topic....I think you are providing an excellent example of what this case has devolved into. There are really no facts to support the charges against GZ, so those who want him to be guilty are having to grasp at straws. It has been an incredibly week case so far. It is a shame taxpayer are having to pay for this.
 
TXgolfer said:
I disagree, but regardless that in no way applies to the post you quoted. But, back on topic....I think you are providing an excellent example of what this case has devolved into. There are really no facts to support the charges against GZ, so those who want him to be guilty are having to grasp at straws. It has been an incredibly week case so far. It is a shame taxpayer are having to pay for this.
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Do you want GZ go free now?
 
Foxrac said:
Do you want GZ go free now?
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I want the truth. But the fact is....if this is all the prosecution has then this case was never about truth. It was about politics. If the prosecution has more facts it would be a good idea to start getting to them because this case is a joke right now.
 
rockin'robin said:
More than a 10 year age difference....and with Martin's ongoing track record, feel by the time he got Zimmerman's age, his record would have been much worse.....drugs, not finishing school, fighting...seems his parents didn't do a very good job of raising him....so he was sent to his Uncle's house.
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It isn't always parent's fault when their child became troubled, criminal.

I know some parent spent a lot of work with their kids but they end up into trouble or criminal that beyond to parent's authority.
 
TXgolfer said:
I disagree, but regardless that in no way applies to the post you quoted. But, back on topic....I think you are providing an excellent example of what this case has devolved into. There are really no facts to support the charges against GZ, so those who want him to be guilty are having to grasp at straws. It has been an incredibly week case so far. It is a shame taxpayer are having to pay for this.
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wow. yep I'm at loss for words. what I'm reading is a pretty strong case against Zimmerman.

Sanford Chief Police wasn't aware of Zimmerman's criminal history. I wonder if community wasn't aware of it either. This pretty much shows how shady Zimmerman is. and a violent one.
 
TXgolfer said:
I want the truth. But the fact is....if this is all the prosecution has then this case was never about truth. It was about politics. If the prosecution has more facts it would be a good idea to start getting to them because this case is a joke right now.
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Most trial in criminal cases are serious, unlike in Zimmerman's trial that is full of joke?
 
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