The Slaying of Trayvon Martin in Florida #1 4/12/12 - 5/10/12

[cw618]

speaking about guns,was the gun that GZ used,legal and registered to him
sorry if this has been covered

[cookie]

 

speaking about guns,was the gun that GZ used,legal and registered to him
sorry if this has been covered

I read/heard that he had the right to have a concealed weapon.  Soooooo I am assuming that since there has not been a huge uproar on the fact that he had an illegal gun that it must have been registered..but I could not say 100%

[seahorse]

I am sure that there will be those who will call Mr. Cosby an Uncle Tom...
I call him an honorable, peaceful,level headed guy...he should be admired and a role model IMO...

 

[grace-land]

Video at link

http://www.inquisitr.com/220412/bill-cosby-george-zimmerman-comments-killing-unarmed-trayvon-martin/

Bill Cosby Comments On George Zimmerman’s Killing Of Unarmed Trayvon Martin
Posted: April 15, 2012

Bill Cosby’s comments on George Zimmerman in regards to the Trayvon Martin case via CNN Transcript:
 
Candy Crowley: So you saw more a gun issue than a race issue?

Cosby: How are you going to solve a race issue when it becomes he said, she said or he said, he said? And the other question is, what is solved by saying he’s a racist that’s why he shot the boy? What solves that? This. [Makes gun symbol with hand] And what is he doing with it? And who taught him and told him how to behave with this? It doesn’t make any difference if he’s a racist or not racist. If he’s scared to death and not a racist, it’s still a confrontational provoking of something.
 
I don’t know what happened, but I know that this — I used to have a gun. The policeman who okayed it said to me, “Mr. Cosby, when you pull this trigger, you can’t call it back.” And so I had the gun in my pocket. And the reason why I had it was to protect my family. But I also knew that anything that went on outside–and it appeared to be something that wasn’t on the OK, I went out with my gun. And the thought was if this person is not right or if that doesn’t move when I say move, I’m going to show that I have a gun.
 
Cosby goes onto say:
 ::snipping2::

Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/220412/bill-cosby-george-zimmerman-comments-killing-unarmed-trayvon-martin/#TjLMf4yfIawK8gVO.99

[Tamikosmom]

I am sure that there will be those who will call Mr. Cosby an Uncle Tom...
I call him an honorable, peaceful,level headed guy...he should be admired and a role model IMO...

 

It must be difficult for a well-known African American to make an public position on this issue ... a public position that is contrary to the majority.  Bill Cosby would have spared himself a lot of grief in regards to a possible backlash if he had either sucked up to the majority or ... kept quiet.  Obviously ... his conscience prevented him from doing either.

Janet

+++++


The Man In The Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in you life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum
And think you're a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

He's the fellow to please-never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear to the end.
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.

Peter "Dale" Winbrow Sr

   

[grace-land]

http://www.sfltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9719&Itemid=331

After Zimmerman arrest, activists look to gun laws
Sunday, April 15, 2012 7:48:24 PM

MIAMI (AP) _ The civil rights groups that turned outrage over Trayvon Martin's death into action say their work is far from over now that his killer has been charged with second-degree murder. Next, they hope to harness the activism to challenge Florida's ``stand your ground'' law and similar statutes in 24 other states.
 
But they also worry about maintaining their momentum during what could be a long judicial process and translating it into political action that could help sway lawmakers. The leaders plan to use churches, social media and other means to rally the movement that has already prompted protesters to take to the streets in several major cities.

``Arresting Zimmerman is the beginning of the process. This is a first down, not a touchdown,'' the Rev. Jesse Jackson told The Associated Press this week from Houston, where he was talking to black church leaders about the Martin case, Florida's gun law and racial profiling.
 ::snipping2::
Martin's parents say that they plan to keep up their efforts even if Zimmerman is convicted.

``We would just like for the world to know that we will continue to fight for other Trayvons out there,'' his father Tracy Martin recently told the AP. ``This just doesn't stop with our child.''
  ::snipping2::

 

[grace-land]

http://thyblackman.com/2012/04/15/george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-mother-needs-to-step-aside/

George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin Mother Needs to Step Aside.
April 15, 2012 by Staff   

(ThyBlackMan.com) I haven’t spoken with Rev. Al Sharpton in a few months.  But if we were still speaking and he were to ask me what to do with the mother of Trayvon Martin, my answer would be very simple:
 
Get her off the stage right now.
 
Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, appeared on “The Today Show” this week and actually said that she thinks that George Zimmerman, 28, shot her son by accident.
 
One of the things that I still believe in, a person should apologize when they are actually remorseful for what they’ve done. I believe it was an accident. I believe that it just got out of control and he couldn’t turn the clock back. I would ask him, did he know that that was a minor, that that was a teenager, and that he did not have a weapon?”

When I heard these words, I froze in my tracks.  I couldn’t believe that Trayvon Martin’s mother would make a statement that was in such stark contradiction to the charges being brought forth by the prosecutor.  In fact,  there’s a big part of me that wonders why she was on the show at all.
 ::snipping2::

[Tamikosmom]

http://thyblackman.com/2012/04/15/george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-mother-needs-to-step-aside/

George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin Mother Needs to Step Aside.
April 15, 2012 by Staff   

(ThyBlackMan.com) I haven’t spoken with Rev. Al Sharpton in a few months.  But if we were still speaking and he were to ask me what to do with the mother of Trayvon Martin, my answer would be very simple:
 
Get her off the stage right now.
 
Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, appeared on “The Today Show” this week and actually said that she thinks that George Zimmerman, 28, shot her son by accident.
 
One of the things that I still believe in, a person should apologize when they are actually remorseful for what they’ve done. I believe it was an accident. I believe that it just got out of control and he couldn’t turn the clock back. I would ask him, did he know that that was a minor, that that was a teenager, and that he did not have a weapon?”

When I heard these words, I froze in my tracks.  I couldn’t believe that Trayvon Martin’s mother would make a statement that was in such stark contradiction to the charges being brought forth by the prosecutor.  In fact,  there’s a big part of me that wonders why she was on the show at all.
 ::snipping2::

A Denial

NANCY GRACE
Aired April 12, 2012 - 20:00   ET

<snipped>

GRACE:  .... I want to go back to you, Miss Fulton. A lot of brouhaha has been made over you saying you thought this was an accident. And I want to give you a chance to explain to people that are stirring the pot about what you meant.

FULTON: I believe what I said was taken out of context. What I actually meant when I made that statement is I was just piggybacking on something that Tracy had mentioned before. He had just said that Zimmerman had gotten out of his vehicle. And what I was -- the point that I was trying to make was that if Zimmerman had never gotten out of his vehicle he would not have met Trayvon. And I said that encounter was accidental. That Trayvon meeting Zimmerman was accidental.

It was in no way, shape, form, or fashion did I imply that this was an accident, that the shooting was an accident. I don`t believe that it was an accident. I believe he got out of his vehicle, he had an intent in his mind, and he carried out the intent. And that`s why my son is no longer with us.

<snipped>

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1204/12/ng.01.html

[grace-land]

Four-page article

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/south/view/20120415trayvon_martins_parents_finding_solace_in_activism/srvc=home&position=recent

Trayvon Martin’s parents finding solace in activism
By Frances Robles / The Miami Herald
Sunday, April 15, 2012 - Added 3 hours ago

On the morning a grand jury was supposed to convene to deliberate on the Trayvon Martin case, the slain teenager’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, started her day as she has so many others these past six weeks: at 7 a.m., on live national television.

She repeated answers to the same tired questions with poise. She pretended it did not irk her to be asked again and again: "What would you say to George Zimmerman?" Fulton gave a dozen back-to-back interviews that day, often invoking the Bible verse from Proverbs that got her through the crushing grief in the public eye: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."
 
"I am not doing this for fun," Fulton said later. "I am doing this for a purpose. I know the purpose I am doing it for, and it pushes me forward, giving me the force to go ahead and put my clothes on and do it."
 
After six weeks of rallies, news conferences and television interviews, Fulton finally fulfilled her purpose Wednesday, when Zimmerman, the man who killed her 17-year-old son, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The arrest underscored the effectiveness of a soft-spoken woman who, together with her ex-husband and team of attorneys, embarked on an uphill mission and created a movement.
 ::snipping2::
Fulton, 46, is on leave from her job as a program coordinator at the Miami-Dade Housing Authority. She started working there when she was 23.
 
It was her job to prepare the former residents of the Scott Carver Housing projects to live elsewhere. She worked as a code enforcement officer, helped set up financial self-sufficiency programs and worked with homeowner associations. She’s used to dealing with single moms surrounded by violence and poverty.
 
She studied English and communications at Grambling State University and Florida Memorial College, both historically black colleges. Fulton graduated from Norland High School and had the kind of upbringing that included field trips to NASA. She tried to offer her son the kind of middle-class perks she enjoyed as a child - horseback riding, skiing, Broadway shows.
 ::snipping2::

[grace-land]

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2012/04/george-zimmerman-case-will-be-won-or-lost-in-jury-selection-jose-baez-says.html

George Zimmerman: Case will be won or lost in jury selection, Jose Baez says
CNN, Caylee and Casey Anthony, Jose Baez, MSNBC, NBC, NBC Nightly News, Trayvon Martin — posted by halboedeker on April, 13 2012 9:01 AM

Jose Baez, who successfully defended Casey Anthony, was analyzing the case against George Zimmerman on Friday morning for CNN. Baez was agreeing with Professor Alan Dershowitz that the prosecutors’ probable-cause affidavit is very thin. Neighborhood Watch volunteer Zimmerman has said he shot Trayvon in self-defense.
 ::snipping2::
On CNN, Baez saw the second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman as a long shot and predicted that the defense will attack the testimony of Trayvon’s girlfriend, who was on the phone with the teen before he was shot to death. “By far, that is the strongest piece of evidence,” Baez said.   
 
“This case is going to be won and lost in jury selection,” Baez told Soledad O’Brien. He predicted that jury selection could run three to four weeks and be substantially longer than the trial itself. “It would be insanity to try it in Seminole County,” Baez added.
 ::snipping2::
--------------------------

I know, I know...I can't believe that I posted comments from JB.  On my way to take an aspirin and ... 

[grace-land]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/business/media/george-zimmerman-trial-could-start-a-news-swarm.html

Trial in Martin Case, Filled With High Emotion, Would Draw a News Swarm
Published: April 15, 2012

The Orlando Sentinel’s Twitter account for the Trayvon Martin case is up and running. So, too, is its topics page, with links to all the newspaper’s articles about Mr. Martin and the man who shot and killed him, George Zimmerman, as well as video clips of its reporters talking about the case on television. A Facebook page will go online on Monday. And a Web video series might be next.

For The Sentinel, the story is local; the shooting of Mr. Martin happened in Sanford, a suburb of Orlando. But the newspaper senses an opportunity to reach a national and even international audience with online coverage. It is competing with all manner of national media, which have seized on the story with a ferocity that has already drawn comparisons to the Casey Anthony trial and, years before it, that of O.J. Simpson.
 ::snipping2::
In explaining the intense interest in the case, Mr. Morgan, Mr. Wald and other reporters, editors and executives cited the potent issues involved: self-defense, gun violence, police competency and, of course, race, because Mr. Martin was black and Mr. Zimmerman is Hispanic.
 ::snipping2::

[jamcakes]

I'm so glad that the judge sealed the evidence in the trial.  It's sad that the media is petitioning to have it unsealed.  MSM needs to step back and analyze what they do on a daily basis to the minds of Americans, instead.  I'm sick of the media twisting a story to fit their agenda instead of just reporting the facts. Heck, MSM probably wouldn't know a fact anymore even if it jumped up and smacked them.

MSM doesn't see or doesn't care that they have stripped GZ of his constitutional rights to a fair and speedy trial. Look at what they did to Richard Jewell in Atlanta after the Centennial Olympic bombing. I was appalled at what Nancy Grace and others tried to do to the memory of Whitney Houston. IMO, most MSM has devolved into tabloid sensationalism.

As Jack Friday would say, "Just the facts, mam, just the facts."

[cookie]

I'm so glad that the judge sealed the evidence in the trial.  It's sad that the media is petitioning to have it unsealed.  MSM needs to step back and analyze what they do on a daily basis to the minds of Americans, instead.  I'm sick of the media twisting a story to fit their agenda instead of just reporting the facts. Heck, MSM probably wouldn't know a fact anymore even if it jumped up and smacked them.


MSM doesn't see or doesn't care that they have stripped GZ of his constitutional rights to a fair and speedy trial. Look at what they did to Richard Jewell in Atlanta after the Centennial Olympic bombing. I was appalled at what Nancy Grace and others tried to do to the memory of Whitney Houston. IMO, most MSM has devolved into tabloid sensationalism.

As Jack Friday would say, "Just the facts, mam, just the facts."

 

[grace-land]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/george-zimmermans-attorney-to-file-motion-to-remove-2307768.html

George Zimmerman's attorney to file motion to remove judge from case
Updated: 9:15 a.m. Monday, April 16, 2012
Posted: 9:07 a.m. Monday, April 16, 2012

SEMINOLE COUNTY — The attorney for George Zimmerman is expected to file a motion to try to get the judge in the second-degree murder case removed on Monday.
 ::snipping2::
Recksiedler, who has only been a judge nine months, was chosen at random to oversee the trial, according to court officials.
 
But it does not sound like she has plans to recuse herself from the case.

"If you do choose to file a motion to disqualify me as the judge of course Mr. O'Mara that has to be filed in writing," said Recksiedler.
 
O'Mara said he's filing the motion so that a new judge can be put in place before Friday.
 ::snipping2::

[Tamikosmom]

based on what we know so far, and that's not too much given the media spin and everything, i wouldn't be able to find him guilty of anything higher than manslaughter.  I just have a feeling like so many others have said that this is going to turn into a huge race war, worst than it already has.  I would hate to be on that jury. I hope they don't feel pressured to convict becuase of fear of the black panthers, al sharpton, jesse jackson and company.

My thoughts exactly.

Janet

[grace-land]

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/16/2751754/miami-herald-other-media-outlets.html

Posted on Monday, 04.16.12
Miami Herald, other media outlets sue to unseal George Zimmerman court documents

The Miami Herald and other media outlets are asking a judge to unseal court documents in the case of George Zimmerman, charged with the second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin in Sanford.

In a motion filed Monday, the press asked that a Seminole County circuit judge reconsider a decision made last week to seal the court file, which in Florida is normally a public record.
 ::snipping2::

In a first appearance hearing Thursday, Zimmerman’s defense attorney asked that court records in the case be sealed because of the unprecedented publicity surrounding the case. Prosecutors agreed and the judge quickly signed off on the request.

But in a motion filed Monday, lawyers for the news agencies pointed out that the lawyers never notified the media organizations of their request to seal documents, and never showed actual evidence that a future jury would be prejudiced by the coverage.

“The closure order and the manner in which it was entered are contrary to law,” the motion reads.
 ::snipping2::

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/16/2751754/miami-herald-other-media-outlets.html#storylink=cpy

[Tamikosmom]

Has George Zimmerman's attorney has launched a lawsuit against NBC.

The apology was directed at NBC's views; not George Zimmerman.  Despicable!

Janet

+++++


NBC issues apology for edited Zimmerman 911 call
Published April 03, 2012

<snipped>

NBC’s “Today” show ran the edited audio of Zimmerman’s phone call to a police dispatcher, seeming to show Zimmerman saying, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good … he looks black.”

A transcript of the complete 911 call shows that Zimmerman said, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.”

The 911 officer responded saying, “OK, and this guy — is he black, white or Hispanic?”

“He looks black,” Zimmerman said.

The abridged conversation between Zimmerman and the dispatcher that NBC ran on March 27 has been blasted by media watchdog groups as misleading. Critics have said the edited version was made to suggest that Zimmerman targeted Martin because he was black — an accusation by many that is still under investigation.

<snipped>

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/03/nbc-issues-apology-edited-zimmerman-11-call/

[MuffyBee]

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/
April 16, 2012

[Toler]

Trayvon Martin: Mom says God will hold George Zimmerman accountable

Trayvon Martin’s mother discusses her faith as a Christian in an interview Tuesday on “Anderson.” The same program features Mark O’Mara, the lawyer for George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in Trayvon’s death. O’Mara says he hasn’t discussed the night of the shooting with his client.
 
“Anderson,” featuring CNN’s Anderson Cooper, airs at 2 p.m. weekdays on WESH-Channel 2. Judge Jeanine Pirro and legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin will discuss the case with Cooper.
 
Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mom, calls herself a God-fearing woman who doesn’t hate anyone.
 
“I think a lot of people would find it hard not to hate somebody who had shot their son,” Anderson Cooper says.
 
“I’m probably not like most people,” Fulton says. “I have a strong faith in God and I know that he sits high and looks low and that even if the justice system doesn’t hold George Zimmerman accountable for what he’s done, God will.”
 
Cooper asks if she would be OK with Zimmerman getting bail.
 
“I am going to let the justice system takes its course and that’s just a regular process so we don’t have any objections to it. That’s just a regular process,” Fulton says.
 
O’Mara tells Cooper that he hasn’t heard Zimmerman’s version of events.
 


“We have discussed a few things but again I have a luxury of maintaining ignorance for another week or so,” O’Mara says. “I haven’t seen the information and I just think it’s a better conversation if I have all the information as I begin my conversation with my client.”
 
Cooper asks: “So when you say you haven’t seen the information you mean the prosecutor has not given you the facts that she has based on their fact finding?”
 
O’Mara replies: “Correct our rules suggest that I could get discovery beginning 15 days after arraignment. Right now arraignment is set for May 29th. That could be as late as June 15th. However, Ms. [Angela] Corey has, to her credit, worked out a schedule were I’ll be starting to get that information beginning the end of this week, mostly next week, so she is willing to accelerate it but I do not have it as we sit here today."   ::snipping2:: 

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2012/04/trayvon-martin-mom-says-god-will-hold-george-zimmerman-accountable.html

[jamcakes]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/16/fair-trial-for-zimmerman-not-likely-on-home-turf-say-legal-experts/

Fair trial for Zimmerman not likely on home turf, say legal experts

Published April 16, 2012


Inflamed emotions and intense media coverage will make it extremely difficult for George Zimmerman to get a fair trial in the Florida community where he is accused of murder in the racially charged shooting death of Trayvon Martin, top legal experts told FoxNews.com.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/16/fair-trial-for-zimmerman-not-likely-on-home-turf-say-legal-experts/

Zimmerman, 28, was charged with second-degree murder last week in the shooting of the 17-year-old Martin in a gated community near Orlando. A six-week delay in Zimmerman’s arrest inspired protests nationwide – with many claiming the unarmed black teenager’s killing was racially motivated. Numerous celebrities spoke out against Zimmerman and even President Obama weighed in on the case, saying that if he had a son, he “would look like Trayvon.”

Those factors could make it hard to empanel an impartial jury in Sanford, Fla., according to Harvard Law Prof. Alan Dershowitz, who advised the O.J. Simpson legal team and whose defense of  Claus Von Bulow inspired the film “Reversal of Fortune.”

“I do not believe that Zimmerman could get a fair trial in the location where the alleged crime occurred,” said Dershowitz. “For me, the major criteria of a fair trial is could a juror who voted to acquit feel safe back in his community, feel that he wouldn’t be hassled or criticized by community members.”

Mark Bederow, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, said the apparent bias in media coverage of the case makes it difficult to find jurors who haven’t already formed opinions about Zimmerman’s guilt or innocence. 

“When media is distorting the actual information, that’s very concerning,” said Bederow, who pointed specifically to NBC News’ running of an edited 911 call made by Zimmerman.

NBC's "Today" show ran the edited audio of Zimmerman's phone call to a police dispatcher in which Zimmerman says: "'This guy looks like he's up to no good … he looks black."

    “I do not believe that Zimmerman could get a fair trial in the location where the alleged crime occurred.”

- Alan Dershowitz

But the audio recording in its entirety reveals that Zimmerman did not volunteer the information that Martin was black. Instead, Zimmerman was answering a question from a police dispatcher about the race of the "suspicious person" whom Zimmerman was speaking about.

“By deliberately doctoring the 911 calls in order to make it appear that Zimmerman was a racist in order to advance the racial component of the story, NBC perpetrated a fraud upon the American public to the great detriment of Zimmerman’s ability to receive a fair trial,” Bederow told FoxNews.com.

Finding jurors in the community who have not made up their minds will require casting a wide net, said Lawrence Lustberg, a former federal public defender and New Jersey-based criminal defense lawyer .

“Jury selection is extremely important… it’s an enormous challenge,” said Lustberg, who noted other potential challenges like “evidentiary issues” over what is admissible in court.

 ::snipping2::

the most critical factor in every case is the quality of the legal representation.

“The single most important thing as to whether you get a fair trial is who’s the prosecutor, who’s the defense attorney and who’s the judge?” he said.