Jury just in. Not guilty in Zimmerman Martin case. Hopefully as an aside more CCW carriers will also learn some basic ground fighting so this public spectacle and expense wont happen again. Learning simple ground fighting gives you more options when you are in a self defense situation, .
I agree on the fighting skill to go with the weapon as I encourage my students to get firearms training and require it of my black belts. However the jury went with the law and the evidence and made the right decision but I see no winners in this case.
I have not heard enough of the case tbh. I have gotten that it was more political than anything. It seems both were actually at fault. Zimmerman was told to stay in his vehicle on the one hand, on the other hand you have Martin calling him some crazy cracker, etc as well. Had Zimmerman said something of race and the jury would have heard it he would have been crucified as just another racist white guy... problem is Zimmerman isn't white lol. However, you also have Martin who supposedly was just walking home after going to the store, or maybe he was on his way to the store? Either way, he was a kid Zimmerman didn't recognize and being dressed the way he was I guess was viewed as a threat, but you can't go simply by the way one is dressed. Having a gun is a good idea when it comes to certain situations, but I do agree that any sort of training could have at the very least POSSIBLY avoided the death. A good joint lock, arm bar, whatever you want to pick might have resulted in a pulled tendon or a broken bone, but better than a death. Again though, this is simply based on what little bit i've seen and read. I got tired of it being turned into a racial issue. That stuff just gets so old to me.
The title is a tad off:"Big Win for the Good Guys" There is "nothing good" about taking a life. The whole thing was like a "OJ Trail In Reverse" There was not enough evidence for a conviction. Too many variables and "what-ifs" My thought, can Martin's family win a "wrongful death" (or any other lawsuit) against Zimmerman from a "not guilty based upon self defense case"
So based on the evidence, do you feel he was justified to use deadly force? Do you think perhaps it was a situation he could have avoided and just chose not to? I'm only asking, as I said, I don't have all of the facts about everything, nor was I aware of any training he had... never had heard about it on the news or the little bit of reading I had done on the case.
Seems like it would be hard considered he was found not guilty... though OJ was found responsible or however they worded it after being found not guilty as well.
I dont think Being found "responsible" is the same thing as being held for murder Again, this is a OJ trail in reverse...per race
I don't think that he was justified in using deadly force. I think he could have easily avoided the situation and I believe he escalated it. I think he's probably lying about how the fight went down - my guess is that some dude with MMA training and 20 lbs on a teenager wouldn't have that much trouble with him. By the same token, I don't think the prosecution did an adequate job of proving anything beyond a reasonable doubt.
Wouldnt zimmerman of been much better off by waiting for the police, like he was asked to do by the dispatcher on the phone. I imagine he will soon by hit by a civil case.
Heres a good overview of three recent cases and how theyve been handled - http://samuel-warde.com/2013/06/sta...-gets-20-years-white-man-kills-and-goes-free/
I hate reading this kind of rhetoric about this case. It was dark out, how the hell was he supposed to know it was 1.) a teenager and 2.) he was bigger than he was? I would understand if Trayvon was 12 or 13, but not 17. I know at 17 I could have easily competed with the majority of average adult males in a fight. Add "Zimmerman is white and racist" and that this was a "hate crime" and we've got the whole emotional swing of the case used to gather support for the prosecution. I agree with you about the prosecution though, but I can also see about 20 different ways Zimmerman wasn't guilty at all (and 20 ways he could have been, and 20 ways it could have turned out better). Pretty lame situation all around honestly. Sad that it only got so much attention because of inflammatory remarks based on assumptions though.
I am not claiming that Zimmerman should have known that Martin was a teenager. I am claiming that Zimmerman's testimony of Martin getting top mount and GnPing him is hard to believe given the size differences, Zimmerman's training and Martin's age. At least for me, I personally find it hard to believe.
Its a strange world, when you can follow somebody in a car, pick up a gun and get out the car, chase them down, then shoot the person you was following, and then call it self defense. Not only did he have a history of violence, he even had a restraining order placed against him. This 'tough guy' seems he had something to prove and should never have been allowed to have a gun in the first place. Zimmerman is not a 'good guy' far from it, he chased down a person and murdered them simply on the assumption that they was 'up to something'. No way in hell was this self defence, if anything it seems Martin (a kid) would have been defending himself against an angry, heavy, guy with a gun. WHO WAS FOLLOWING HIM And they call this self defence? As for talking about it 'being dark' and all the crap. If the person he shot was a police officer and he made the defence 'It was dark, its not my fault', Zimmerman would be facing life in prison or the death penalty.
I'm not placing any blame on you particularly for phrasing it the way you did. However, the use of racism and violence against a child has been blown way out of proportion in this trial. Not only is Zimmerman not "white", 17 is hardly the hallmark age of an innocent child. It has annoyed the crap out of me since the start of the trial and the events that took place.
Cptequinox, it's estimated that about 60% of restraining orders are falsified and they basically are always rubber stamped. This is common knowledge in the legal system. Also, police lie about being assaulted all the damn time. I'm not saying in that case the officer did lie, I'm saying the police are caught habitually lying about that sorta thing so frequently I place no faith a police statement without physical evidence.
You might be sick of it but racism obviously was an issue, you'd have to be legally blind in even your cataracts not to see that. Yes, he was Latino, but that doesn't mean that race was not involved. Racism can't be blown out of proportion, it was integral to our country's prosperity and growth and not only is still a part of our society, but our political and economic system today. I am aware that you have personal issues with regards to this topic but there is no way that you can be blind to the inequalities that minorities face in our country without it being willful.
So people who shoot other people after being told by the police not to interfere are good guys? Very astute and sensitive of you. How would you feel if it was your son or daughter who was shot?
