Trayvon Martin vs. George Zimmerman ....

It wasn't manslaughter ... he tried to kill the kid ...and succeeded

States have adopted several different schemes for classifying murders by degree. The most common separates murder into two degrees, and treats voluntary and involuntary manslaughter as separate crimes that do not constitute murder. In some states, such as Florida, there is no separation for manslaughter; it is simply manslaughter.

• First Degree Murder is any murder that is willful and premeditated. Felony Murder is typically first degree.[SUP][5][/SUP]
• Second Degree Murder is a murder that is not premeditated or planned in advance.[SUP][6][/SUP]
• Voluntary Manslaughter sometimes called a "Heat of Passion" murder, is any intentional killing that involved no prior intent to kill, and which was committed under such circumstances that would "cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed." Both this and second degree murder are committed on the spot, but the two differ in the magnitude of the circumstances surrounding the crime. For example, a bar fight that results in death would ordinarily constitute second degree murder. If that same bar fight stemmed from a discovery of infidelity, however, it may be mitigated to voluntary manslaughter.[SUP][7][/SUP]
• Involuntary Manslaughter stems from unintentional, but criminally negligent behavior. A drunk driving-related death is typically involuntary manslaughter. Note that the "unintentional" element here refers to the lack of intent to bring about the death. All three crimes above feature an intent to kill, whereas involuntary manslaughter is "unintentional," because the killer did not intend for a death to result from his intentional actions.[SUP][8][/SUP]

The Model Penal Code classifies homicides differently, without degrees. Under it, murder is any killing committed purposefully and knowingly, manslaughter is any killing committed as a result of recklessness, and negligent homicide is any killing resulting from negligence.[SUP][9][/SUP]
Some states classify their murders differently. In Pennsylvania, California, and Massachusetts, first degree murder encompasses premeditated murders, second degree murder encompasses accomplice liability, and third degree serves as a catch-all for other murders. In New York, first-degree murder involves "special circumstances," such as the murder of a police officer or witness to a crime, multiple murders, or murders involving torture.[SUP][10][/SUP] Under this system, second degree murder is any other premeditated murder.[SUP][11][/SUP]
Texas uses a similar scheme to New York, but refers to first-degree murder as "capital murder." Other states use the term "capital murder" for those offenses that merit death, and the term is often used even in states whose statutes do not include the term.

Murder 2 fits in their eyes .... they better not screw this one up

 

Here are the second degree and manslaughter statutes from Florida. I think the bugaboo for the prosecutor will be to show that the Defendant acted with a depraved mind. This will be tough, at least from what little I know about the case, but she may have an ace up her sleeve. Decide for yourself. Just remember that the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt and all his defense team has to do is plant that tiny seed of doubt in a few jurors’ minds that he lacked the requisite mindset at the time he shot the kid. Either way, because of Florida’s laws, cameras have access to court rooms and this will be a pure circus and the race baiters will be out in full force.
Here’s the Murder Statute; not in its entirety. Fla. Stat. § 782.04 (2) The unlawful killing of a human being, when perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual, is murder in the second degree and constitutes a felony of the first degree, punishable by imprisonment for a term of years not exceeding life or as provided in…...
And, manslaughter. Fla. Stat. § 782.07 (1) The killing of a human being by the act, procurement, or culpable negligence of another, without lawful justification according to the provisions of chapter 776 and in cases in which such killing shall not be excusable homicide or murder, according to the provisions of this chapter, is manslaughter, a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in….

 

I believe Holder and Obama have something to do with the fact that he's being charged.... Think I'm crazy, but this morning, Holder states that they will investigate this incident and this afternoon, he's charged.... I still stand by my original statemetn that he was getting the snot kicked out of him and shot Martin in self-defence if he indeed was as described in the police report bleeding from the nose, and the back of his head, and his back was covered in grass and wet.... Unfrotunately, it's gonna be a long drawn out RACIALLY tense trial, and that is in part a result of the MEDIA misportraying things very severely....

Sidenote, a Sanford Police cruiser was shot up near the neighborhood yesterday.... Shows the class of the people doing the protesting...

 

This incident exposed the class of a lot of folks on both sides......

 

Yessir ....

 

It will all come down to jury selection, he better hope Germ and Tony don't secretly live in Florida

I do think his lawyer somehow got the info he was going to be charged early and decided to bail because he doesn't think GZ can pay(conspiracy theory....I know). He was only working pro bono until GZ was charged. In other words I'll take the 15 minutes of fame and the media interviews but if you get charged....good luck. Public defenders in Florida any good?

Sixth Amendment anyone, right to an impartial jury? Good luck with that.

 

My prediction: The charge gets downgraded to Manslaughter 1st. Zimmerman was not acting with a clear intent to kill. He was just acting stupidly and due to his lack of training lost control of a situation which led to Trayvon's death. Most neighborhood watches are sanctioned under the supervision of the local police. If such is the case, he gets 3-5 for manslaughter and the police get sued for millions.

 

Upon further thinking on the charge ..... The only way that murder2 fits is if they can link Trayvons voice pleading for help on the cell phone call ... if they can, than it better not be pleaded down to manslaughter ....sans any other evidence that's has not been talked about yet

If they can't .... then it may be a manslaughter case .... or even not guilty....

 

Did anyone else think the AG was grandstanding at the news conference?

 

Absolutely!

 

I would get tossed off that Jury in less than a second

I like the 4th Amendment myself

 

Looked like she had been rehearsing the speech for weeks and was waiting for the best time to spin it to her own interest.

 

But did he shoot the kid in the process of defending himself??? If so, then he walks, and I think it'll be hard to prove that he didn't.... And if the USAG and the POTUS hadn't been so personally involved in this case, I don't believe any charges ever would have been filed.... Likewise, if the shooter had been black, or the deceased had been anything other than black, I also don't think this would have been this big of a deal...

This is what I used in the state of OHIO when assaulted by a guy and beating the hell out of him... The fact that he was a couple inches taller, and outweighed me by about 40#, and the fact that he was grossly intoxicated, and the aggressor and still conscious and still trying to fight me when the police arrived, made it a valid "Right to Self-Defense/Self-Preservation" in the situation I was in. Likewise, I believe is Zimmerman shot Martin during the conflict, even if after Martin stopped beating on him for a couple seconds, but Zimmerman believed Martin might continue, then he acted LAWFULLY in self-defense, and the whole case will be thrown-out, and it will be a big waste of the people's money and the courts' time. All Zimmerman has to say is that he believed he would be beat to death, or have severe injury as a result of the beating, and he's in the clear.

If someone had just whacked you in the nose, and knocked you down, then proceeded to start curb stomping your head, what would you do??? If you had a gun, would you use it to defend yourself??? Or would you let that person smash your skull into the curb until he crushed the bones of your skull, and then destroyed your brain???

Zimmerman acted in the same manner MOST of us would, to defend himself, and preserve his health/life... I don't see anything wrong with those actions, and anyone who does, is deserving of a little curb-stomping to help them understand the feeling of fear for one's life....

 

Alot of assumptions there, Dougie ... if it is what you say it is, then Murder 2 is the biggest bonehead move since the OJ glove incident ...

 

No, I am not that stupid to go looking for a fight. His issue in the case is he followed and then went looking for the kid.

 

Oh, "Contrare mon frere...." I believe it was you who chased the kids in your neighborhood!!! What would have happened if they hadn't run, and 3 of them were capable of kicking the snot out of you??? Remember, don't think of him as looking for a fight, think of him as a crime watch member wanting to keep his neighborhood safe.... Martin was 3 hours from where he went to school on a school night, so was he there because he was already in trouble??? Was his attitude a little testy, and he decided to take out his anger on Zimmerman??? There is a lot more to the case than we either one know, but you keep assuming Zimmerman went looking for a fight, when you don't KNOW that... What we do know is that he was part of the neighborhood crime-watch, which most of us would assume gives someone a right to ask a couple questions, of a "suspicious" stranger in their neighborhood... At least I think most REASONABLE people would say that. Not sure, if you're reasonable or not, though. I know that a lot of people try to Mind their own business, put their heads in the sand, and not pay any attention to what's going on as long as they personally aren't affected, but there are people who look out for not only themselves but others, and Zimmerman sounds like that type of a person from the way he's been described time after time.... He even challenged the Sanford Police over a racially charged beating of a black man in 2010, trying to make sure that the white assailant was charged.... Don't judge the book by the cover the media has initially shown you....

 

Dude get real they were breaking into my car, nice try though.

Zimmerman did not commit murder IMO. He made a bad choice, his bad choice is what will get him in trouble. Not how the shooting went down, but the choice he made to get out of his car.

 

We really need to see if Trayvon was screaming for help.... if he was, then Zimmerman DID commit murder...

 

Not necessarily Tony. Offenders (bad guys) in crimes sometimes scream for help once the tide has been turned on them in an encounter. I am not saying that is what happened here, but one never knows.

 

I am willing to bet both were scared and screamed