The Trial of George Zimmerman

[KZN02]

Welp, better get ready for Rodney King riots part 2 (or in the case of the above post, George Zimmermans). It pretty much hangs on what Zimmerman doesn't get away with.

[Zygarde]

While I would like to say I'm surprised I'm really not I kinda saw this coming a while ago but I do expect the shit to hit the fan over this.

[JohnE]

Poetic justice would be if someone followed Zimmerman in a car for a while one night, then got out and approached him in an aggressive manner, shouting vague threats like, "You've got a problem now!" And then when Zimmerman feels justifiably threatened and tries to fight, shoot him.

P.S. I'm not encouraging or endorsing anyone actually doing this.

[m52nickerson]

Not surprising given the laws in Florida.  The prosecution really had no way to prove beyond a doubt that it was not self defense. 

[kefkaownsall]

Fuck it I'm moving to Canada
Just this country is worthless.

[Osama bin Bambi]

Meanwhile, a black woman fires harmless warning shots to scare off her abusive ex-partner and gets 20 years of jail.

BRB, walking off the planet

Poetic justice would be if someone followed Zimmerman in a car for a while one night, then got out and approached him in an aggressive manner, shouting vague threats like, "You've got a problem now!" And then when Zimmerman feels justifiably threatened and tries to fight, shoot him.

This sounds like something Hell Girl should do.

[The Right Honourable Mlle Antéchrist]

From the prosecutor's closing arguments:

That child had every right to be where he was. That child had every right to do what he was doing, walking home. That child had every right to be afraid of a strange man following him, first in his car and then on foot. And did that child not have the right to defend himself from that strange man?

Amen.

Zimmerman's actions were irresponsible at best, and a teenage boy died because of it.

Fuck it I'm moving to Canada
Just this country is worthless.

Eh. There's a decent chance he would have ended up with a manslaughter charge up here, but I doubt he'd do more than a few years in prison. Still not justice, even if it's an improvement over the actual outcome.

[Shane for Wax]

See that's also what bothers me, he didn't even get manslaughter. Someone who accidentally runs over someone in a car and kills them would get manslaughter. This was no accident.

[JohnE]

The defense attorneys are saying that race was a factor in the case, and that it worked AGAINST Zimmerman. They actually said that if the races were reversed, black Zimmerman wouldn't have even been charged.

[The Right Honourable Mlle Antéchrist]

See that's also what bothers me, he didn't even get manslaughter. Someone who accidentally runs over someone in a car and kills them would get manslaughter. This was no accident.

Exactly. Even if you take race out of the equation (not that I'm saying we should), you'd still have an adult who behaved irresponsibly by trying to play Neighbourhood Watch Superhero, resulting in a death.

The defense attorneys are saying that race was a factor in the case, and that it worked AGAINST Zimmerman. They actually said that if the races were reversed, black Zimmerman wouldn't have even been charged.

  Seriously?

[JohnE]

The defense attorneys are saying that race was a factor in the case, and that it worked AGAINST Zimmerman. They actually said that if the races were reversed, black Zimmerman wouldn't have even been charged.

  Seriously?

Yup, he said if Zimmerman had been black, the public and the police would have given him more slack.

[cheese007]

I feel sorry for any black person looking at their FB feed at the moment. Or the comments on any news site/forum.

The defense attorneys are saying that race was a factor in the case, and that it worked AGAINST Zimmerman. They actually said that if the races were reversed, black Zimmerman wouldn't have even been charged.

  Seriously?

Yup, he said if Zimmerman had been black, the public and the police would have given him more slack.

If Zimmerman was black, he would be in prison for 20 years at least.

[The Right Honourable Mlle Antéchrist]

Was the case so notorious that they couldn't find an American lawyer to represent him, and had to recruit someone from Opposite Land?

[Clochette]

[Shane for Wax]

See that's also what bothers me, he didn't even get manslaughter. Someone who accidentally runs over someone in a car and kills them would get manslaughter. This was no accident.

Exactly. Even if you take race out of the equation (not that I'm saying we should), you'd still have an adult who behaved irresponsibly by trying to play Neighbourhood Watch Superhero, resulting in a death.

Yup. And now I worry for more cases like this. Goddamn.