[jogiba]

Fed by an international petition and celebrity tweets, public outrage is spreading over the Florida case of a white vigilante neighborhood watch captain who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager and escaped arrest.

The victim's family lawyer, Ben Crump, said public pressure is behind a promise by the Department of Justice to review the case. Some Florida legislators are moving to consider a change in the law to prevent a recurrence.

"People all over the world, more than 400,000 people, said we demand you make an arrest. That's what is building pressure to look at it," Crump said.

The shooting occurred February 26 when Zimmerman spotted 17-year-old Trayvon Martin walking home from buying candy and iced tea at a convenience store.

Zimmerman, patrolling the neighborhood in his car, called the 911 emergency number and reported what he called "a real suspicious guy."

"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," Zimmerman told dispatchers, adding, "These *******s. They always get away."

The dispatcher, hearing heavy breathing on the phone, asked Zimmerman: "Are you following him?"

"Yeah," Zimmerman said.

"Okay, we don't need you to do that," the dispatcher responded.

But several neighbors subsequently called 911 to report a scuffle between Zimmerman and Trayvon. While some of the callers were still on the phone, cries for help followed by a gunshot can be heard in the background.

"I recognized that (voice) as my baby screaming for help before his life was taken," Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton, told Reuters.

Outrage builds over Florida vigilante-style killing | Reuters

[ihasa]

The US justice department has begun an investigation into the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Florida by a neighbourhood watch captain.

The announcement came after a day of protests calling for the arrest of the Florida volunteer, George Zimmerman.

Zimmerman, 28, claims he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last month in self-defence during a confrontation in a gated community in Sanford, Florida.

Zimmerman spotted Martin as he was patrolling his neighbourhood on a rainy evening last month and called the police emergency dispatcher to report a suspicious person. Against the advice of the emergency dispatcher, Zimmerman then followed Martin, who was walking home from a convenience store with a bag of Skittles sweets in his pocket.

The justice department said in a statement late on Monday that the FBI and the US attorney's office will join in the agency's investigation.

"The department will conduct a thorough and independent review of all the evidence and take appropriate action at the conclusion of the investigation," the agency said.

US justice department to investigate Trayvon Martin killing | World news | guardian.co.uk

Was murder, and the police helped cover it up.

You Tube

You Tube

[metaglypto]

Was murder, and the police helped cover it up

Do you have some kind of inside information on this that you could share?

[kswier]

At minimum, the neighbourhood watch captain placed himself in a situation he was not trained to deal with, despite being told not to by the dispatcher. He was convinced this kid was armed and up to something, and yet chose to pursue him anyway. I do not think it was premeditated murder, or he would not have called the police. However, his actions were reckless and inappropriate, and he took an innocent persons life. Also, race was definitely a factor.

The fact that he is not on trial for something (manslaughter?), really makes me scratch my head.

[ihasa]

The young, unarmed man, who was not carrying out any sort of illegal activity, was followed and subsequently shot by Zimmerman. The tapes and witness testimonies suggest Zimmerman was on top of Martin (who can be heard crying for help on the 911 tapes) when he shot him. That's a murder. No sensible person could argue self defence, unless the laws in Florida allow you to go around shooting people you just don't like the look of.

I suspect Zimmerman believed he would be covered by Florida's 'stand your ground' self defence laws. Nevertheless the killing of a practically defenceless minor in this way is certainly murder, IMO.

[kswier]

Trayvon Martin Exclusive: Friend on Phone with Teen Before Death Recalls Final Moments - Yahoo!

In the final moments of his life, Trayvon Martin was being hounded by a strange man on a cellphone who ran after him, cornered him and confronted him, according to the teenage girl whose call logs show she was on the phone with the 17-year-old boy in the moments before neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman shot him dead.

Martin's death Feb. 26 has stirred national outrage and protests, partly prompting the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the FBI to open an investigation into the case.

ABC News was there exclusively as the 16-year-old girl told Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump about the last moments of the teenager's life.

"He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man," Martin's friend said. "I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run but he said he was not going to run."

Eventually he would run, said the girl, thinking that he'd managed to escape. But suddenly the strange man was back, cornering Martin.

"Trayvon said, 'What, are you following me for,' and the man said, 'What are you doing here.' Next thing I hear is somebody pushing, and somebody pushed Trayvon because the head set just fell. I called him again and he didn't answer the phone."

The line went dead. Besides screams heard on 911 calls that night as Martin and Zimmerman scuffled, those were the last words he said.

Trayvon's phone logs, also obtained exclusively by ABC News, show the conversation occurred five minutes before police first arrived on scene. The young woman's parents asked that her name not be used, and that only an attorney could ask her questions.

Martin's father, Tracey Martin, and mother, Sybrina Fulton, listened to the call along with ABC News, ashen-faced.

"He knew he was being followed and tried to get away from the guy, and the guy still caught up with him," Tracey Martin said. "And that's the most disturbing part. He thought he had got away from the guy and the guy back-tracked for him."

[kswier]

The young, unarmed man, who was not carrying out any sort of illegal activity, was followed and subsequently shot by Zimmerman. The tapes and witness testimonies suggest Zimmerman was on top of Martin (who can be heard crying for help on the 911 tapes) when he shot him. That's a murder. No sensible person could argue self defence, unless the laws in Florida allow you to go around shooting people you just don't like the look of.

I do not disagree that he deserves charges of murder, however there are different degrees of murder. My only point was that I do not believe it was premeditated murder (I do not think the neighbourhood watch captain intended to kill the kid when he started following him), and that manslaughter should be the minimum charge (because we can prove he was reckless).

Manslaughter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th century BC.[1]

The law generally differentiates between levels of criminal culpability based on the mens rea, or state of mind. This is particularly true within the law of homicide, where murder requires either the intent to kill – a state of mind called malice, or malice aforethought – or the knowledge that one's actions are likely to result in death; manslaughter, on the other hand, requires a lack of any prior intention to kill or create a deadly situation.

Manslaughter is usually broken down into two distinct categories: voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. In states such as Florida, manslaughter is not broken down this way. In Florida, manslaughter, defined as: 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 . . . is a second degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison regardless of whether the act may have been intentional or not.[2] If manslaughter is committed upon a child via culpable negligence under FL statute 827.03(3), then the crime is aggravated manslaughter of a child which is a first degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in state prison.[3] The penalty is the same if it is committed upon the elderly or disabled. Also, under the 10-20-Life system, if a firearm is used in any way then the penalty will be raised to the next degree.[4]

[Parallax]

I hope the DOJ investigation also looks into why the local PD gave this guy a pass.

[ihasa]

Yes, I agree manslaughter should be the minimum charge, although I think second degree murder is more appropriate according to Florida's laws.

First Degree Murder
According to Statute 782.04 ("Murder"), Florida defines first-degree murder as an act "perpetrated from a premeditated design to effect the death of the person or any human being." The charge may also be applied to a person who is engaged in the perpetration of arson, sexual battery, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, aircraft piracy, narcotics trafficking, and numerous other felonies during which a person is killed. So, if a criminal robs a bank and kills a security guard during the act, he will be charged with first-degree murder. This act is a capital offense in Florida.

Second Degree Murder
Florida state law defines second-degree murder as a killing that "evinces a depraved mind regardless of human life" but "without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual." Also, if you commit a felony in which someone dies but you are not directly responsible for the victim's death, Florida law may still prosecute you for second-degree murder. For example, if two men rob a bank and one of them kills a security guard, the other one will be charged with second-degree murder even though he did not pull the trigger. Florida law allows for this act to be punished by life imprisonment.

Third Degree Murder
Like second-degree murder, third-degree murder is also an unintentional killing, according to Florida law. The crime is defined by the circumstances in which it occurs. Murders that do not involve felonies such as robbery, burglary, kidnapping and other heinous crimes may be considered to be third-degree offenses. For example, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is a second degree felony in Florida. If that felon accidentally shoots and kills someone while cleaning his illegally-owned gun, he could be charged with third-degree murder.

Justifiable Force
In rare instances, Florida allows for the killing of others in self-defense. Under Statute 776.013, if someone unlawfully enters your dwelling and you possess "a reasonable fear of imminent peril or death," lethal force may be justified. This law does not apply to situations in which a law enforcement agent attempts to enter a dwelling as part of his official duties.

Read more: Murder Laws in Florida | eHow.com Murder Laws in Florida | eHow.com

[jogiba]

Do you have some kind of inside information on this that you could share?

I see your mind works just like a cop, kill the black kids first and let God sort it out. This Zimmerman is a convict just like many cops . The black kid was walking home with a can of ice tea and Skittles candy for his younger brother and this low life POS Zimmerman wannnabe cop had a hard on for black kids and decided he was going to go after him even after the police dispatcher said not to.

Here is a mug shot photo of that low life POS Zimmerman in his orange jumpsuit after his last arrest and yet he had a gun.

[redrockcoulee]

A very disturbing part of this is the police took Zimmerman's word that it was self defense and that the victim was on drugs as there was a drug test done on young Mr Martin that came up negative. No tests on Zimmerman. None of the news I have heard make me think that Mr Zimmerman was ever in danger nor that he had any knowledge of Mr Martin doing anything wrong plus the youth was trying to distance himself from a man in a SUV and still ended up shot by what sounds from the reports by a man on top of him. The fact that both the state and the federal government are looking into investigating tells me that there are grounds to believe the stories reported in the media and not to simply take Zimmerman's word for it. No we do no know what happened there but neither apparently did the local police, the difference is they did not seem interested in finding out what did occur.

[mikemike]

Nosy neighbors/neighborhood watch types always bug me and this guy seems to be the worst in the country. This guy seems mentally ill stalking people for the crime of walking on the street when obviously the streets in his country club neighborhood are meant for cars and golf carts. I used to live in a neighborhood with a crazy cat lady who was always suspicious of any male under the age of 35 and always try to get into our business, especially if we came home late and she would try to bother me and my roommates girlfriends telling them that they saw us with some other girl (the other roommates girlfriend usually). She was probably mentally ill too.

[séamuis]

I have heard the mr. zimmerman has had assault charges including on a police officer in the past. yet the neighborhood continued to allow him to do this? he was allowed to carry a concealed weapon? the police dispatcher told him nt to follow the person. he disobeyed the dispatcher and went after him anyway. how can he claim self defense as justifiable when he was the aggressor? all the available evidence clearly shows hm being the aggressor. I don't understand how that works. what I see is racially motivated murder. plain and simple.

[reeftool]

This is one of those stories that on the surface looks bad but the official investigation needs to be concluded. I think the DOJ is right to look into this based on what we know at this point.

[metaglypto]

I was not aware of all the details of what happened, that is why I asked. At the time I posted

Do you have some kind of inside information on this that you could share?

there were two posts, and very little information to go on. Yes, I could have Googled it. I did not.

I agree it probably is murder, and I want to say "hate crime" but that may depend on how Florida defines that. And yes is does appear the police may be complicit in covering it up.

Best response:

and that manslaughter should be the minimum charge (because we can prove he was reckless).

I agree with this, though I am strongly inclined towards murder. We probably don't know the specifics and may never know them. I can envision a scenario where Zimmerman may have thought the kid was trying to run, so he grabbed him, (first big mistake) so Zimmerman may have pulled the gun trying to intimidate the kid into submission, (second big mistake)the kid panicked and a struggle ensued where the gun went off accidently. That would probably make it some form of manslaughter and reckless endangerment. Why the hell does a neighborhood watch person need to carry a gun anyway. Carry a camera!

Worst response:

I see your mind works just like a cop, kill the black kids first and let God sort it out.

Give it a rest! It is this kind of jumping to conclusions like Zimmerman did, that led to the whole incident.

The fact that both the state and the federal government are looking into investigating

This disturbs me. Perhaps redrockcoulee understated it, I have no way of knowing. Anything like this should be a no brainer, automatic, ask no questions about it, investigation.

I cannot stand people like Zimmerman, and the "over the top" types of cops who live to make peoples lives miserable. I posted a lengthy article here in Politics and Religion on my experiences with this type. They need to be reined in. Well it looks as if he may be spending some time in misery himself.