The Official Zimmerman Trial Verdict Thread

[25Caliber]

Lets just say for arguments sake that the incident stopped with Trayvon punching GZ. He punched him and just after he punched him the cops came running around the corner and stopped it.

What would have happened? Wouldnt the cops have had a big decision to make? Like wait a minute...who was carrying on suspiciously here.

GZ gives his version of why he thinks Trayvon is suspicious.

Then trayvon gives his version as to why he thinks GZ was suspicious.

The cops then ask Trayvon why he punched GZ...

Trayvon: Well Im walking home from 7-11 and I notice this guy following me in a truck...no big deal...then I walk by the clubhouse on my way home and hes sitting parked in an empty parking lot in front of the clubhouse (which is closed) and hes eyeballing me and talking to someone on the phone. So I keep walking and the same truck comes around the corner and parks right along the walk hereby the mailboxes...I walk by and hes still staring at me and speaking on the phone....then I run up the walk in the direction of dads fiances house. This man gets out of his truck and follows me on foot carrying a flashlight...Im getting really concerned...all im doing is walking home...so i ask him is there a problem...why are you following me? When i do he tells me there isnt a problem and begins frantically reaching for his pockets on the right side and Im thinking hes grabbing a weapon of some sort, so I hit him.

The Cops: Hmmm...okay...well Mr Zimmerman is that true? What were you reaching for?

GZ: Well officer I was reaching for my phone...I was gonna call 911 on him. I was scared and fealt threatened.

Cops: Do me a favor Mr Zimmerman...where is your phone? Do me a favor lift up your coat there on the right side...is that a gun?

GZ: Well yeah, I have a permit.

Cops: But your phone isnt in your right pocket...its in your left pocket...your gun is there though.

At this point...GZ has no case and this goes no where. GZ never identifies himself, is 28 years old following a minor suspiciously through the complex in a truck and up the walk on foot with a flashlight and holstering a pistol and reaching in that direction when he is hit.

So if the situation stops there...who is the aggressor? Who really appears to be the creepy fellow?

it is still the crime of assault to punch someone in the face

Think a little deeper...hes a minor being followed in the dark by a man who when confronted went reaching in the direction of his gun. Ill take that case all day and win 100 out of 100 times.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

You neglect to mention that Zimmerman was on the ground getting his head pounded when the gun was exposed. That would seem to be sort of a major detail here.
I realize the Left has a narrative of this event that does not accord with the actual facts. But could you at least try to be honest here?

HLN is still broadcasting the zimmerman was ordered not to get out of the car

How many times does it have to be said !
The dispatcher has NO authority to tell anyone SHIT !

 

[The Rabbi]

Lets just say for arguments sake that the incident stopped with Trayvon punching GZ. He punched him and just after he punched him the cops came running around the corner and stopped it.

What would have happened? Wouldnt the cops have had a big decision to make? Like wait a minute...who was carrying on suspiciously here.

GZ gives his version of why he thinks Trayvon is suspicious.

Then trayvon gives his version as to why he thinks GZ was suspicious.

The cops then ask Trayvon why he punched GZ...

Trayvon: Well Im walking home from 7-11 and I notice this guy following me in a truck...no big deal...then I walk by the clubhouse on my way home and hes sitting parked in an empty parking lot in front of the clubhouse (which is closed) and hes eyeballing me and talking to someone on the phone. So I keep walking and the same truck comes around the corner and parks right along the walk hereby the mailboxes...I walk by and hes still staring at me and speaking on the phone....then I run up the walk in the direction of dads fiances house. This man gets out of his truck and follows me on foot carrying a flashlight...Im getting really concerned...all im doing is walking home...so i ask him is there a problem...why are you following me? When i do he tells me there isnt a problem and begins frantically reaching for his pockets on the right side and Im thinking hes grabbing a weapon of some sort, so I hit him.

The Cops: Hmmm...okay...well Mr Zimmerman is that true? What were you reaching for?

GZ: Well officer I was reaching for my phone...I was gonna call 911 on him. I was scared and fealt threatened.

Cops: Do me a favor Mr Zimmerman...where is your phone? Do me a favor lift up your coat there on the right side...is that a gun?

GZ: Well yeah, I have a permit.

Cops: But your phone isnt in your right pocket...its in your left pocket...your gun is there though.

At this point...GZ has no case and this goes no where. GZ never identifies himself, is 28 years old following a minor suspiciously through the complex in a truck and up the walk on foot with a flashlight and holstering a pistol and reaching in that direction when he is hit.

So if the situation stops there...who is the aggressor? Who really appears to be the creepy fellow?

That is a total fantasy on your part. Every bit of it.
Because that isn't what happened. What did happen was the Martin was beating the shit out of Zimmerman, putting him in fear of his life and allowing him to use deadly force to stop the attack.

In any case had it happened as you write, Martin would be in jail for assault and battery. Nothing Zimmerman did, even in your fantasy, warrants punching him. Why would you think so? "That man was following me so I punched him." No, you go to jail for that.

 

[The Rabbi]

Lets just say for arguments sake that the incident stopped with Trayvon punching GZ. He punched him and just after he punched him the cops came running around the corner and stopped it.

What would have happened? Wouldnt the cops have had a big decision to make? Like wait a minute...who was carrying on suspiciously here.

GZ gives his version of why he thinks Trayvon is suspicious.

Then trayvon gives his version as to why he thinks GZ was suspicious.

The cops then ask Trayvon why he punched GZ...

Trayvon: Well Im walking home from 7-11 and I notice this guy following me in a truck...no big deal...then I walk by the clubhouse on my way home and hes sitting parked in an empty parking lot in front of the clubhouse (which is closed) and hes eyeballing me and talking to someone on the phone. So I keep walking and the same truck comes around the corner and parks right along the walk hereby the mailboxes...I walk by and hes still staring at me and speaking on the phone....then I run up the walk in the direction of dads fiances house. This man gets out of his truck and follows me on foot carrying a flashlight...Im getting really concerned...all im doing is walking home...so i ask him is there a problem...why are you following me? When i do he tells me there isnt a problem and begins frantically reaching for his pockets on the right side and Im thinking hes grabbing a weapon of some sort, so I hit him.

The Cops: Hmmm...okay...well Mr Zimmerman is that true? What were you reaching for?

GZ: Well officer I was reaching for my phone...I was gonna call 911 on him. I was scared and fealt threatened.

Cops: Do me a favor Mr Zimmerman...where is your phone? Do me a favor lift up your coat there on the right side...is that a gun?

GZ: Well yeah, I have a permit.

Cops: But your phone isnt in your right pocket...its in your left pocket...your gun is there though.

At this point...GZ has no case and this goes no where. GZ never identifies himself, is 28 years old following a minor suspiciously through the complex in a truck and up the walk on foot with a flashlight and holstering a pistol and reaching in that direction when he is hit.

So if the situation stops there...who is the aggressor? Who really appears to be the creepy fellow?

it is still the crime of assault to punch someone in the face

Think a little deeper...hes a minor being followed in the dark by a man who when confronted went reaching in the direction of his gun. Ill take that case all day and win 100 out of 100 times.

Wrong.
First you make up a total fantasy. Then you want to claim you win the case. Even your fantasy is incorrect. There is no reason to punch someone for following you. Trayvon had no reason to know Zimmerman had a gun until he saw it. Thus he had no reason to fear him.

 

[jon_berzerk]

You neglect to mention that Zimmerman was on the ground getting his head pounded when the gun was exposed. That would seem to be sort of a major detail here.
I realize the Left has a narrative of this event that does not accord with the actual facts. But could you at least try to be honest here?

HLN is still broadcasting the zimmerman was ordered not to get out of the car

How many times does it have to be said !
The dispatcher has NO authority to tell anyone SHIT !

yes

first off the state conceded before opening

that the (order not to get out of the car never happened)

secondly that does not stop HLN from continuing with the myth

for that matter Nancy Grace makes it sound like it is a crime

to have a firearm with a concealed carry permit

 

[Sallow]

You neglect to mention that Zimmerman was on the ground getting his head pounded when the gun was exposed. That would seem to be sort of a major detail here.
I realize the Left has a narrative of this event that does not accord with the actual facts. But could you at least try to be honest here?

No one except Zimmerman has testified to that.

Even the several witness on the stand have either Zimmerman or Martin on top. If you put that together, it seems that at various points in this minute long "life and death" struggle both Zimmerman and Martin had the advantage.

And the witness who testified that Martin was doing an "MMA" ground and pound, said he WASN'T slamming Zimmerman's head into the pavement.

Most telling is:

Jonathan Manalo, whose wife testified earlier this week, told jurors he was the first person to make contact with Zimmerman after the shooting. He described Zimmerman as calm and easy to understand before police arrived. Manalo said as soon as he saw Zimmerman, Zimmerman started explaining what happened.

"I was defending myself when I shot him," Manalo said Zimmerman told him. Soon after police arrived and Zimmerman asked Manalo to call his wife. "Just tell her I shot someone," Manalo said Zimmerman told him.
Zimmerman witness says he tried to break up fight

He was so "near death" that he was able to get up, turn Martin on to his belly, and calmly formulate a story.

Dude you are whacked...sorry...willfully ignorant. My head is spinning with you. There was an eyewitness just Friday, presented by the prosecution that stated to Bernie, the state prosecutor, that it was Trayvon on top, GZ on the bottom and that Tray was in a MMA full mount position with fists moving in a downward motion to GZs head. This is the only eyewitness to the actual fight. Quit dismissing actual testimony. You are very biased...you arent after the truth at all...you are denying it. Let the chips fall where they may...but dont look like a fool.

Again, there were several witnesses to the fight.

You only seem to take one into account.

And that one, that you are referring too, said he NEVER saw Zimmerman head get slammed into the concrete.

See?

No insults required.

 

[25Caliber]

You neglect to mention that Zimmerman was on the ground getting his head pounded when the gun was exposed. That would seem to be sort of a major detail here.
I realize the Left has a narrative of this event that does not accord with the actual facts. But could you at least try to be honest here?

Im not from the left...I am looking at both sides. Frankly, I have both sides pissed off at me...thats fine.

I see you didnt address the possibility of GZ being perceived as suspicious also. You cant find it within yourself to take one step back for a second and think about what GZ appeared to be.

Wasnt he acting a little suspicious himself? How do you feel about strangers following you around in the dark? how about following you up a pathway looking with a flashlight? Any thoughts about what could have possibly been going through Trays or any other citizen walking home from 7-11 in an unfamiliar neighborhood?

This cracks me up...I mean you can see how trayvon would be suspicious to GZ...no problem..you are all over that...BUT some strange person following a teen at night in a truck and then up a pathway with a flashlight when the teen begins to run? Nope not a bit creepy to you at all...lmao. Throw the damn 911 tape out...Trayvon didnt hear the 911 tape...so you dont get to either...now is GZ acting suspicious? Does that help you?

It is irrelevant. I keep saying this over and over.
When Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman bangning his head into the ground Zimmerman was reasonably in fear of death or severe bodily harm. He was thus justified in using deadly force to stop the attack.
That is the only salient issue here. Whether Zimmerman should have followed Trayvon, whether Trayvon punched him first--all of it is irrelevant here. The only relevant question is whether Zimmerman was reasonably in fear of his life when he shot. And I have not seen anyone make the case he wasn't.

The case was just presented ad nauseum...you have dismissed it and did very little to answer any of the questions...GZ could have reasonably been seen in the eyes of Trayvon as being the suspicious person and the aggressor following him up a walk and reaching in the direction of a gun before he was hit. The case could be made that it was trayvon punching in self defense. But no one can see that including you...of course if the same were to happen to you or a family member, Im sure you could find a reason for self defense...especially when it turns out there was a gun in the location he was reaching...not a phone.

The case is being made...you dont like what you hear and are dismissing it.

 

[Edgetho]

Here's some pics of St Skittles' daddy --

It is said there are some 'Crip' hand signs in there.

Another one showing just how responsible a household St Skittles must have grown up in --

The Last Refuge has more pics.

Via Washington Times:

Over the last several months, much has been heard from Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin.

In February of last year, Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who claims that this was done in self-defense. At the time, Martin was unarmed and seventeen years old. [...]

In a recent interview with popular black-interest blog The Root, Tracy Martin said that “(y)ou can’t prepare your child to contend with the warped mentality of someone else. You can only teach them to be good and live by the laws of the land. George Zimmerman acted in a deranged way — and all the evidence supports that. I know how society negatively portrays black boys, and my son Trayvon wasn’t naive. He wasn’t blind to stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. But I shouldn’t have to tell my child to fear walking to the store to get snacks just because he’s black.”

On Monday, according to Good Morning America, Tracy Martin reportedly “cursed at a supporter of George Zimmerman.

Yesterday, right-leaning blogger Sundance of widely-read The Conservative Tree House released several photos of Tracy Martin, some of which date back to 2010.

One shows Martin posing with a crowd of people in which, according to the blog, a finger sign denoting Crips membership is visible. Another portrays him standing in a different crowd with a cityscape and raining dollar bills in the background.

In these photos, Martin himself is making some sort of hand sign. Other individuals photographed are doing the same. TCTH identified said signs as gang-related.

- See more at: Weasel Zippers | Scouring the bowels of the internet | Weasel Zippers

Zimmerman was just taking out the trash

 

[The Rabbi]

Are there any witnesses that say Trayvon was the one on the bottom? Would that be consistent with other findings?
No.
Zimmerman walks free.

 

[jon_berzerk]

Im not from the left...I am looking at both sides. Frankly, I have both sides pissed off at me...thats fine.

I see you didnt address the possibility of GZ being perceived as suspicious also. You cant find it within yourself to take one step back for a second and think about what GZ appeared to be.

Wasnt he acting a little suspicious himself? How do you feel about strangers following you around in the dark? how about following you up a pathway looking with a flashlight? Any thoughts about what could have possibly been going through Trays or any other citizen walking home from 7-11 in an unfamiliar neighborhood?

This cracks me up...I mean you can see how trayvon would be suspicious to GZ...no problem..you are all over that...BUT some strange person following a teen at night in a truck and then up a pathway with a flashlight when the teen begins to run? Nope not a bit creepy to you at all...lmao. Throw the damn 911 tape out...Trayvon didnt hear the 911 tape...so you dont get to either...now is GZ acting suspicious? Does that help you?

It is irrelevant. I keep saying this over and over.
When Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman bangning his head into the ground Zimmerman was reasonably in fear of death or severe bodily harm. He was thus justified in using deadly force to stop the attack.
That is the only salient issue here. Whether Zimmerman should have followed Trayvon, whether Trayvon punched him first--all of it is irrelevant here. The only relevant question is whether Zimmerman was reasonably in fear of his life when he shot. And I have not seen anyone make the case he wasn't.

The case was just presented ad nauseum...you have dismissed it and did very little to answer any of the questions...GZ could have reasonably been seen in the eyes of Trayvon as being the suspicious person and the aggressor following him up a walk and reaching in the direction of a gun before he was hit. The case could be made that it was trayvon punching in self defense. But no one can see that including you...of course if the same were to happen to you or a family member, Im sure you could find a reason for self defense...especially when it turns out there was a gun in the location he was reaching...not a phone.

The case is being made...you dont like what you hear and are dismissing it.

it was too dark for martin to see if zimmerman was reaching for anything

let alone a gun

the witnesses so far have all indicated that you could not see more then a couple of feet

that night

 

[The Rabbi]

Im not from the left...I am looking at both sides. Frankly, I have both sides pissed off at me...thats fine.

I see you didnt address the possibility of GZ being perceived as suspicious also. You cant find it within yourself to take one step back for a second and think about what GZ appeared to be.

Wasnt he acting a little suspicious himself? How do you feel about strangers following you around in the dark? how about following you up a pathway looking with a flashlight? Any thoughts about what could have possibly been going through Trays or any other citizen walking home from 7-11 in an unfamiliar neighborhood?

This cracks me up...I mean you can see how trayvon would be suspicious to GZ...no problem..you are all over that...BUT some strange person following a teen at night in a truck and then up a pathway with a flashlight when the teen begins to run? Nope not a bit creepy to you at all...lmao. Throw the damn 911 tape out...Trayvon didnt hear the 911 tape...so you dont get to either...now is GZ acting suspicious? Does that help you?

It is irrelevant. I keep saying this over and over.
When Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman bangning his head into the ground Zimmerman was reasonably in fear of death or severe bodily harm. He was thus justified in using deadly force to stop the attack.
That is the only salient issue here. Whether Zimmerman should have followed Trayvon, whether Trayvon punched him first--all of it is irrelevant here. The only relevant question is whether Zimmerman was reasonably in fear of his life when he shot. And I have not seen anyone make the case he wasn't.

The case was just presented ad nauseum...you have dismissed it and did very little to answer any of the questions...GZ could have reasonably been seen in the eyes of Trayvon as being the suspicious person and the aggressor following him up a walk and reaching in the direction of a gun before he was hit. The case could be made that it was trayvon punching in self defense. But no one can see that including you...of course if the same were to happen to you or a family member, Im sure you could find a reason for self defense...especially when it turns out there was a gun in the location he was reaching...not a phone.

The case is being made...you dont like what you hear and are dismissing it.

I dismiss it because it is irrelevant. Whether Zimmerman was suspicious or not is irrelevant. Even if he was, that is not grounds to punch someone. The presence of the gun was not known until Trayvon saw it while he was punching Zimmerman. Thus its presence is irrelevant.
You are very ignorant of laws of self defense. I would suggest getting some information on the topic before spouting off again.

 

[25Caliber]

No one except Zimmerman has testified to that.

Even the several witness on the stand have either Zimmerman or Martin on top. If you put that together, it seems that at various points in this minute long "life and death" struggle both Zimmerman and Martin had the advantage.

And the witness who testified that Martin was doing an "MMA" ground and pound, said he WASN'T slamming Zimmerman's head into the pavement.

Most telling is:



He was so "near death" that he was able to get up, turn Martin on to his belly, and calmly formulate a story.

Dude you are whacked...sorry...willfully ignorant. My head is spinning with you. There was an eyewitness just Friday, presented by the prosecution that stated to Bernie, the state prosecutor, that it was Trayvon on top, GZ on the bottom and that Tray was in a MMA full mount position with fists moving in a downward motion to GZs head. This is the only eyewitness to the actual fight. Quit dismissing actual testimony. You are very biased...you arent after the truth at all...you are denying it. Let the chips fall where they may...but dont look like a fool.

Again, there were several witnesses to the fight.

You only seem to take one into account.

And that one, that you are referring too, said he NEVER saw Zimmerman head get slammed into the concrete.

See?

No insults required.

There was only one eyewitness to the actual fight...everyone else was either on the phone and in the house or their name is DD.

You are correct there is no one to verify that they actually saw him getting his head slammed into the concrete, but the other is true and you said it wasnt. Now you are using the same witness to make your case...lol.

All we have is the cuts and bumps in the back of his head...not sure how he could have received those injuries to the back of the head. Unless he was being punched and his head was on the concrete at the same time. That could have happened...but it was one of the two and either could be considered reasonable to assume serious injury.

 

[jon_berzerk]

Here's some pics of St Skittles' daddy --

It is said there are some 'Crip' hand signs in there.

Another one showing just how responsible a household St Skittles must have grown up in --

The Last Refuge has more pics.

Via Washington Times:

Over the last several months, much has been heard from Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin.

In February of last year, Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who claims that this was done in self-defense. At the time, Martin was unarmed and seventeen years old. [...]

In a recent interview with popular black-interest blog The Root, Tracy Martin said that “(y)ou can’t prepare your child to contend with the warped mentality of someone else. You can only teach them to be good and live by the laws of the land. George Zimmerman acted in a deranged way — and all the evidence supports that. I know how society negatively portrays black boys, and my son Trayvon wasn’t naive. He wasn’t blind to stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. But I shouldn’t have to tell my child to fear walking to the store to get snacks just because he’s black.”

On Monday, according to Good Morning America, Tracy Martin reportedly “cursed at a supporter of George Zimmerman.

Yesterday, right-leaning blogger Sundance of widely-read The Conservative Tree House released several photos of Tracy Martin, some of which date back to 2010.

One shows Martin posing with a crowd of people in which, according to the blog, a finger sign denoting Crips membership is visible. Another portrays him standing in a different crowd with a cityscape and raining dollar bills in the background.

In these photos, Martin himself is making some sort of hand sign. Other individuals photographed are doing the same. TCTH identified said signs as gang-related.

- See more at: Weasel Zippers | Scouring the bowels of the internet | Weasel Zippers

Zimmerman was just taking out the trash

2010 was the point in time

that led to the event of martin and zimmerman meeting in the first place

 

[The Rabbi]

It is irrelevant. I keep saying this over and over.
When Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman bangning his head into the ground Zimmerman was reasonably in fear of death or severe bodily harm. He was thus justified in using deadly force to stop the attack.
That is the only salient issue here. Whether Zimmerman should have followed Trayvon, whether Trayvon punched him first--all of it is irrelevant here. The only relevant question is whether Zimmerman was reasonably in fear of his life when he shot. And I have not seen anyone make the case he wasn't.

The case was just presented ad nauseum...you have dismissed it and did very little to answer any of the questions...GZ could have reasonably been seen in the eyes of Trayvon as being the suspicious person and the aggressor following him up a walk and reaching in the direction of a gun before he was hit. The case could be made that it was trayvon punching in self defense. But no one can see that including you...of course if the same were to happen to you or a family member, Im sure you could find a reason for self defense...especially when it turns out there was a gun in the location he was reaching...not a phone.

The case is being made...you dont like what you hear and are dismissing it.

it was too dark for martin to see if zimmerman was reaching for anything

let alone a gun

the witnesses so far have all indicated that you could not see more then a couple of feet

that night

Trayvon confronted Zimmerman. That makes him the aggressor. Trayvon punched Zimmerman. That makes him guilty of assault and battery. Trayvon put Zimmerman in fear of death or severe bodily harm. That makes Trayvon subject to laws involving self defense. Trayvon did it to an armed man with a gun. That made Trayvon dead.

 

[testarosa]

[MENTION=20497]Zona[/MENTION] go find another thread to peddle your shit. Your hit, race,and run is the most coward stupidest thing I've yet to see on this forum

You haven't seen Truthmatters yet.

And hopefully never will.

Yeah we already had a Link??? Run in I almost poked my eyes out.

 

[The Rabbi]

Dude you are whacked...sorry...willfully ignorant. My head is spinning with you. There was an eyewitness just Friday, presented by the prosecution that stated to Bernie, the state prosecutor, that it was Trayvon on top, GZ on the bottom and that Tray was in a MMA full mount position with fists moving in a downward motion to GZs head. This is the only eyewitness to the actual fight. Quit dismissing actual testimony. You are very biased...you arent after the truth at all...you are denying it. Let the chips fall where they may...but dont look like a fool.

Again, there were several witnesses to the fight.

You only seem to take one into account.

And that one, that you are referring too, said he NEVER saw Zimmerman head get slammed into the concrete.

See?

No insults required.

There was only one eyewitness to the actual fight...everyone else was either on the phone and in the house or their name is DD.

You are correct there is no one to verify that they actually saw him getting his head slammed into the concrete, but the other is true and you said it wasnt. Now you are using the same witness to make your case...lol.

All we have is the cuts and bumps in the back of his head...not sure how he could have received those injuries to the back of the head. Unless he was being punched and his head was on the concrete at the same time. That could have happened...but it was one of the two and either could be considered reasonable to assume serious injury.

Zimmerman's head was slammed against something. It is consistent with his account.

 

[Ernie S.]

The part of that is there was a bullet in the chamber.

Zimmerman was ready to kill someone that night.

And he did.

What good is a gun with no bullet in the chamber? I carry cocked and locked. The gun is safe until I unholster and depress the grip safety.

I more commonly carry a revolver. I never carry it with the hammer down on an empty chamber. That practice is outdated with transfer bar technology. A modern revolver simply will not discharge until the trigger is pulled.

We know you and your new friend know shit about firearms, but you are amusing to watch flail about.

Well Ernie, I am no gun nut, but I know a little bit. Been around guns since the age of seven..and I pretty much have decided I don't like them.

I see almost no need for citizens to be carrying them around, wild west style, to settle scores, like not being able to stop robberies from occurring in "their complexes" and making sure the "asshole" doesn't get away this time.

And I know enough that people like you, who can't handle themselves in the street and walk around with a chip on their shoulders, you know, like Zimmerman..should not being carrying guns.

Hopefully you don't lose it and shoot someone.

I've been around guns my whole life, Sallow and I've never shot anyone.

As close as I've gotten is once, in 1971, racking a round into the chamber of a pump shotgun to convince a man that he really didn't want to rape my wife and a second time 19 years later I showed my weapon to a crack addict that was about to rob me at knife point.
In neither case did I fire and in the second case, my .44 magnum never left my shoulder holster. The intimidation factor was sufficient to deter 2 would be dead guys.

No. I doubt I will ever "lose it" and shoot someone, but I am prepared to do so, should it become necessary.

 

[Sallow]

And why is it you discount the testimony of Selma Mora?

His testimony is in sharp contrast to Selma Mora, another witness to the fatal encounter between Zimmerman and Martin who testified late Thursday that Zimmerman was on top of Martin in the moments before a gunshot ended the fight.

"How were the two people positioned that you saw?" asked prosecutor John Guy.

Mora told the court Thursday that at some point she saw a man in "patterns between black and red" on top, indicating Zimmerman.

"One of them was on the ground, and the other one was on top in position like a rider," Mora, who speaks Spanish, testified through a translator.

Mora told the court that after the shooting Zimmerman was pacing and putting his hands on his head, but didn't appear to have trouble walking and didn't stagger, or stumble. Zimmerman, who has plead not guilty, listened intently during her testimony.
George Zimmerman Witnesses Have Conflicting Versions of Fatal Fight - Yahoo!

 

[25Caliber]

It is irrelevant. I keep saying this over and over.
When Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman bangning his head into the ground Zimmerman was reasonably in fear of death or severe bodily harm. He was thus justified in using deadly force to stop the attack.
That is the only salient issue here. Whether Zimmerman should have followed Trayvon, whether Trayvon punched him first--all of it is irrelevant here. The only relevant question is whether Zimmerman was reasonably in fear of his life when he shot. And I have not seen anyone make the case he wasn't.

The case was just presented ad nauseum...you have dismissed it and did very little to answer any of the questions...GZ could have reasonably been seen in the eyes of Trayvon as being the suspicious person and the aggressor following him up a walk and reaching in the direction of a gun before he was hit. The case could be made that it was trayvon punching in self defense. But no one can see that including you...of course if the same were to happen to you or a family member, Im sure you could find a reason for self defense...especially when it turns out there was a gun in the location he was reaching...not a phone.

The case is being made...you dont like what you hear and are dismissing it.

I dismiss it because it is irrelevant. Whether Zimmerman was suspicious or not is irrelevant. Even if he was, that is not grounds to punch someone. The presence of the gun was not known until Trayvon saw it while he was punching Zimmerman. Thus its presence is irrelevant.
You are very ignorant of laws of self defense. I would suggest getting some information on the topic before spouting off again.

Its irrellevant to your bias. i have explained exactly how it is relevant...he went reaching for his gun or in the direction of his gun when he got hit...he is following a teen in the dark...he was advised not to. A case could be made that he made mistakes that made him appear to be the aggressor....that makes a big difference in this case. If you reach for your gun and get hit first, then too bad...if when on the ground you are being punched to prevent you from continuing to reach for your gun, then too bad. Dont follow teens in the dark...tough lesson to learn...perhaps 5 years will open his eyes.

Im not saying that he didnt feel like he was acting in self defense. But I think he was hugely responsible for the position he was in and Trayvon isnt a mind reader...GZ never identified himself...big mistake...he was perceived to be the aggressor. Police officers can get in a lot of trouble for not identifying themselves...this is why. Nobody knows who you are...if you dont identify yourself and you follow in the dark, you may have lost the benefit to claim self defense you walked into the decision and did not have to.

 

[Ernie S.]

Well Ernie, I am no gun nut, but I know a little bit. Been around guns since the age of seven..and I pretty much have decided I don't like them.

I see almost no need for citizens to be carrying them around, wild west style, to settle scores, like not being able to stop robberies from occurring in "their complexes" and making sure the "asshole" doesn't get away this time.

And I know enough that people like you, who can't handle themselves in the street and walk around with a chip on their shoulders, you know, like Zimmerman..should not being carrying guns.

Hopefully you don't lose it and shoot someone.

But aren't criminals inclined to go after people they find defenseless? What if now they have a side thought that the person might be carrying a weapon that could either level the playing field or give the law abiding citizen an advantage...isn't it a good deterrent?

How else do people protect themselves against violent crime? Btw, some areas have crime that would scare the wild west.

No..it isn't a good "deterrent". And it's been tried.

What do you think the whole "Wild West" thing was all about. Everyone had side arms and people wound up shooting each other because they were drunk or mad.

The gunfight at the OK corral was about gun control. We have been backsliding into a huge mess.

It's a great deterrent as I have illustrated above.