Trayvon Case Investigation

[Foxrac]

He is being charged because of the MM's corrupt reporting tactics and the public outcry from the Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson wannabes!

Media does hardly to influence on Zimmerman's charge and it is really narrow or none at all.

 

[airportcop]

ooo..... making a rash decision without hearing all facts beforehand?

I don't think so! But I will wait and see for now like everyone else.

 

[rockin'robin]

Just saw the back of Zimmerman's bloody head....

Warning Graphic Photo: Possible New Evidence Shows George Zimmerman's Bloodied Head - Yahoo!

A new photograph obtained exclusively by ABC News showing the bloodied back of George Zimmerman's head, which was taken three minutes after he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, gives possible credence to his claim that Martin had bashed his head against the concrete as he fought for his life.
Click here to view the image. Warning: graphic content.

The revelation comes as his attorney and prosecutors prepare for Zimmerman's bail hearing today, which could result in his being released from jail. Zimmerman, 28, is being held on charges of second-degree murder for the Feb. 26 shooting of Martin, which could carry a life sentence if he is convicted.

The exclusive image shows blood trickling down the back of George Zimmerman's head from two small cuts. It also shows a possible contusion forming on the crown of his head. The original police report that night notes that the back of Zimmerman's head was wet, and that he was bleeding from the nose and head.

Zimmerman told police that night that he shot and killed the teenager in self-defense after Martin punched him and pounced on him. Zimmerman told police that Martin then bashed his head into the concrete sidewalk during the altercation that took place in the tidy middle-class development of the Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, Fla.

Zimmerman was treated at the scene by paramedics, then cuffed and driven in a police cruiser to the Sanford police station. He was questioned for hours and later released. In police surveillance video obtained last month by ABC News Zimmerman's wounds are not apparent, and there were no bandages on his head.

Zimmerman was not admitted to a hospital or given stitches the night of the incident.

The photographer told ABC News exclusively that they did not see the scuffle that night, but did hear it. The source saw Martin's prostrate body on the wet grass and claims the gunpowder burns on Martin's gray hoodie were clearly visible; the gunpowder marks could show that Martin was shot at very close range.

The photographer says that after the shooting Zimmerman asked to call his wife. When the photographer asked what to say, Zimmerman allegedly blurted out "man, just tell her I shot someone."

ABC News has learned that investigators have seen the photo.

"How bad could it have been if they didn't take him to the hospital [and] didn't stitch him up," Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement to ABC News in response to the image. "The special prosecutor has seen all the evidence and still believes George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin."

Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara says his client has spent enough time behind bars.

"He needs to get out. He should not be in jail," O'Mara said. "I want him out because I need him out. He wants to get out. His family wants it out. It should happen."

If Zimmerman is released, his attorney tells ABC News that he has a number of potential safe houses prepared. In the meantime O'Mara says the former altar boy, who has become America's highest profile defendant, has been reading the Bible while in protective custody.

In a bail hearing in Florida, the burden of proof to deny bail, even in a second degree murder trial, is higher than necessary to seek a conviction in a trial.

"They would have to prove that the presumption of guilt is great, and that the proof is evident," said O'Mara.

In the capias -- similar to a warrant -- filed against Zimmerman last week, Special Prosecutor Angela Corey and her team set bail at "none." In order to reduce that to bail at a set monetary sum, Corey's team would have to essentially prove their case -- something experts tell ABC News is unlikely at this point in the legal process.




O'Mara said he doubts the prosecutor will reveal their case before trial, even before discovery.

 

[CrazyPaul]

Zimmerman will get out of jail after paying a bond, $150k with some restrictions.

 

[airportcop]

Zimmerman will get out of jail after paying a bond, $150k with some restrictions.

And he probably should. If he wanted to run he already would have been gone and wouldn't have turned himself in. Maybe, just maybe a little truth is leaking out.

 

[Steinhauer]

If he responded in a "violent way" in what he perceived to be self defense, that would make him a criminal?

Responding to what in a violent way?

 

[CSign]

I am not saying Trayvon was a bad person. I am saying he made a mistake if he chose to violently confront Zimmerman.

If that was what he did, that made him a criminal. There are a lot of criminals that are not bad people.

It appears to me that he did confront Zimmerman in a violent manner, especially since his twitter post claims he punched a school bus driver. I don't think he had any boundaries.

^bolded

I'm trying to clarify what you mean by that statement. If he was responding to Zimmerman and acting in what he believed was self defense, do you believe that made him a criminal?

 

[Reba]

I'm trying to clarify what you mean by that statement. If he was responding to Zimmerman and acting in what he believed was self defense, do you believe that made him a criminal?

Did Martin attack Zimmerman only after Zimmerman got in his face and threatened him? Were they facing each other at that time? Or, did Martin attack Zimmerman from the rear as Zimmerman was walking back to his car, with no face-to-face confrontation?

We don't know.

However, I wouldn't call Martin a "criminal" for self defense action, same as I wouldn't call Zimmerman a criminal for self defense action.

The trial should reveal whether or not either or both of them were acting in self defense.

 

[Jiro]

from rockin' robin's link - "Prosecutors have seen all evidence and still believe Zimmerman murdered Trayvon"

:Ohno:

 

[Reba]

from rockin' robin's link - "Prosecutors have seen all evidence and still believe Zimmerman murdered Trayvon"

:Ohno:

That's pretty much what all prosecutors say and believe, yet they don't always get convictions.

 

[CSign]

Did Martin attack Zimmerman only after Zimmerman got in his face and threatened him? Were they facing each other at that time? Or, did Martin attack Zimmerman from the rear as Zimmerman was walking back to his car, with no face-to-face confrontation?

We don't know.

However, I wouldn't call Martin a "criminal" for self defense action, same as I wouldn't call Zimmerman a criminal for self defense action.

The trial should reveal whether or not either or both of them were acting in self defense.

You are right, we don't know.

However, I heard nothing that indicated Zimmerman was retreating. Only that he continued to pursue him, even after he'd been directed not to. Why would he continue to pursue Martin and then retreat after a while? That doesn't make sense to me.

As you mentioned though, we should find out more during the trial.

 

[Jiro]

You are right, we don't know.

However, I heard nothing that indicated Zimmerman was retreating. Only that he continued to pursue him, even after he'd been directed not to. Why would he continue to pursue Martin and then retreat after a while? That doesn't make sense to me.

Because as he claimed - Zimmerman lost Trayvon so he went back to his car and then got attacked.

As you mentioned though, we should find out more during the trial.

yup.

 

[Jiro]

That's pretty much what all prosecutors say and believe, yet they don't always get convictions.

I'm not interested in all prosecutors from all over. This specific prosecutor is serious business and has high conviction rate.

 

[CSign]

Because as he claimed - Zimmerman lost Trayvon so he went back to his car and then got attacked.


yup.

I hadn't read or heard that part. That claim should be fairly easy to corroborate depending on the location where Martin was killed.

 

[Reba]

You are right, we don't know.

However, I heard nothing that indicated Zimmerman was retreating. Only that he continued to pursue him, even after he'd been directed not to. Why would he continue to pursue Martin and then retreat after a while? That doesn't make sense to me.

As you mentioned though, we should find out more during the trial.

I heard that Zimmerman had gotten out of his car to get the address of the building where he was in order to give more information to the dispatcher. He said he was on his way back to his car when he was attacked by Martin.

Apparently your sources and my sources aren't saying the same things.

Maybe at the trial we'll hear all versions of what happened.

 

[Reba]

I'm not interested in all prosecutors from all over. This specific prosecutor is serious business and has high conviction rate.

So do a lot of them. That doesn't mean they will get a conviction every time. This prosecutor is no different.

 

[CSign]

I heard that Zimmerman had gotten out of his car to get the address of the building where he was in order to give more information to the dispatcher. He said he was on his way back to his car when he was attacked by Martin.

Apparently your sources and my sources aren't saying the same things.

Maybe at the trial we'll hear all versions of what happened.

I've mentioned before, I haven't read everything that's been printed so I'm a bit out of the loop. I've read and heard quite a bit, but I've certainly missed some. It should be interesting what comes out at trial. Have they set a date yet?

 

[Reba]

I've mentioned before, I haven't read everything that's been printed so I'm a bit out of the loop. I've read and heard quite a bit, but I've certainly missed some. It should be interesting what comes out at trial. Have they set a date yet?

No date yet.

 

[Reba]

At today's hearing, Zimmerman's lawyer asked the detective if he knows who started the fight. The detective said no. He also didn't have any evidence about how long, if at all, Zimmerman "continued to follow" Martin. The detective said that in Zimmerman's statement, he said that he was looking up the address, then was headed back to his car. On his way back to the car, Martin assaulted him. That was in the initial police report when Zimmerman gave his statement.

 

[Grayma]

Those aren't the same. They weren't the case of one person shooting another with the same circumstances.

If the shooter and victim had both been white, or both black, or both Hispanic, would the outcry be the same? That is, if the circumstances had been exactly the same as the Zimmerman/Martin shooting, except for skin color, would the outcry be the same?

Nope:
George Zimmerman & Trevor Dooley : Stand Your Ground Hypocrisy?

Everyone in the country has heard of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman but few know the name of Trevor Dooley-a central Florida man who shot and killed a neighbor and is defending himself using Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. The Dooley shooting has a number of similarities with the Zimmerman shooting but has not been the subject of the mainstream media meltdown nor the focus of cries of racism, even though the shooter and the victim were both of different races.

One of the central charges of racism in the case that there was unequal justice applied in the case of “white Hispanic” George Zimmerman, because Zimmerman was allowed to go free. Trevor Dooley, however, is black and critics of the authorities’ handling of the Zimmerman case will doubtlessly point out that Dooley was, in fact, arrested and charged in his shooting case.

As a diarist on liberal website Daily Kos said in a piece on the Dooley shooting written before Zimmerman was charged.

Now we see what happens when a Black Man kills a White Man then asserts “Self Defense”. He has to prove it. Other people in the opposite situation, not so much.

This argument ignores a couple of important facts about the Zimmerman and Dooley cases. Like Zimmerman Dooley was initially released by the police. As an article in the Tampa Bay Times explains:

Trevor Dooley walked out of his suburban house Sunday afternoon, past his trimmed lawn and nice landscaping, to confront a boy riding a skateboard on the basketball court across the street. That’s against the rules in this neighborhood, and Dooley, 69, was carrying a gun.

David James, 41, with 20 years in the Air Force, was playing basketball with his 8-year-old daughter. They played every Sunday.

James stood up for the skateboarder, neighbors said. The men argued and got into a “physical confrontation,” the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said. Then, in front of his daughter, James was shot dead.

What authorities don’t know is who pulled the trigger, or whether it was justified.

The Sheriff’s Office has not named Dooley as a suspect or charged him with a crime. When police arrived around 4 p.m., he was waiting with the dead man. He invoked his right to remain silent and called his lawyer.

“We haven’t named him yet as a suspect. I’m not going to say he’s not,” said sheriff’s Col. Albert Frost. “We have various witnesses and various conflicting statements at this point to start with. Obviously, that doesn’t help us. We’re trying to sort out the facts and trying to determine what really happened.”

So Dooley went back to work Monday morning, driving a school bus loaded with kids.

This did not result in demonstrations or national media coverage. Joe Biden did not step out into the Rose Garden of the White House and say that David James looked like the son Biden could have had. Instead, a local crime played itself out locally.

Another major difference between Zimmerman and Dooley is hinted at in the Times article; Dooley steadfastly refused to To cooperate or even speak with law enforcement whereas George Zimmerman has been repeatedly described as being very cooperative with investigators.

Furthermore, could be pointed out that Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder whereas Mr. Dooley was charged with manslaughter. As the Tampa Bay Times points out in the Dooley case:

Legal experts say Dooley is charged with manslaughter in the death of David James because it appears the shooting was not premeditated (required for first-degree murder) or committed during commission of a felony, or with a depraved mind and ill intent or hatred (required for second-degree murder).

And they say prosecutors may have a hard time proving that.

“It all depends on what happened the minute that gun was shown and why the accused felt the need to pull the gun out,” said Tampa lawyer Steve Romine.

Just last Friday, Dooley’s lawyers were in court making their case. According to this article in the Times.

Trevor Dooley’s lawyers say it was an act of self-defense — pulling the trigger kept him alive.

David James was on top of him, hands around Dooley’s neck. Dooley couldn’t breathe. He tried to warn James by poking him in the leg twice with a handgun.

When it didn’t work, Dooley fired.

Lawyers for Dooley, the man accused of killing his Valrico neighbor, submitted their argument Thursday in a motion asking a judge to dismiss the manslaughter charge against him.

Do the liberal critics of Stand Your Ground really want Trevor Dooley to go to jail that badly?

Related : website dedicated to the victim in the Dooley case : In memory of David “DJ” James