Politics & Current Events
MeredithE
member
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What if George Zimmerman is found innocent?
Do you think there will be riots? Will the country just shake it's head in unison? Will it go to Civil court a la OJ? Any other thoughts?
"HOW many US citizens and ranchers have been decapitated in Arizona by roving bands of paperless aliens, and how will a requirement that I have papers on me make that not happen?"courtesy of SueSue
Re: What if George Zimmerman is found innocent?
Well we already know he's not innocent. He killed Trayvon Martin. That's a fact. Found not guilty of the crimes charged? I don't know what the public reaction will be.
I think the family would file a civil suit, though.
It wouldn't bother me if he was found innocent actually. I just wanted the justice system to play out appropriately even if I don't agree with the verdict. Plus, I want to hear the details, his reasoning, get an explanation.
I don't think anything will happen in unison though and I pray there won't be riots. Trayvon Martin died because people look at black folks and see thugs. How about we not act like it?
I don't know that it will go to civil trial either as I suspect all Trayvon's parents want was an appropriate investigation.
What I hope however, is that a shitton of people in the sanford police department lose their jobs over this.
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I agree with HAB in that I don't particularly "care" if he is found not guilty (saying that as a white woman) as long as the justice process plays out appropriately. I think that's all most people wanted to begin with - had he been arrested immediately (or almost immediately) I think this whole situation would have been very different.
In my opinion, it was a large part the perception that the justice system itself was biased and prejudiced against Trayvon Martin (perception or reality, I guess) that started off the firestorm. Yes I think people were/are upset that Zimmerman killed Martin, but I think a large part of the reaction was that the police etc seemed to be okay with that fact and weren't going to pursue it further.
I'd like to see it change, but I think it's very unlikely it will. The Tea Party types have a lot of clout in Tallahassee right now, and I don't think the legislature has the political will to take on something this controversial.
"The hardest thing is to live richly in the present without letting it be tainted out of fear for the future or regret for the past." - Sylvia Plath
Zeus and Bubba
I agree 100% with this.
Find me here instead!
It pains me to agree with this (not that you ladies are wrong, just I have a bad feeling about the outcome)
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I am in agreement with HAB that it wont bother me IF he is found innocent but I want the justice system to do it's job here.
I am not entirely sure that if he is found innocent that he will ever be able to get back tot he life he once lived or someone wont attempt to kill him when he is back in society.
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If he's found not guilty I hope his family takes him to civil court. I think they'd win.
If he's found not guilty, we (Oakland) will have protests that will turn into at least a bunch of people bustin windows and spraypainting store fronts after dark. That's what always happens. Fcuking anarchists.
I'd like to think there won't be riots, but I was in St. Pete in '96 when the riots happened there, and it just sadly doesn't seem that long ago. Not that there will be riots in St. Pete specifically, just that I'm not convinced that regionally the racial tension has changed so that it wouldn't happen somewhere nearby.
I do hope it goes to civil court, and I do hope it results in both a review of laws, police policies, and cultural perspective toward where things are as far as civil rights and what still needs to be done. I'm not sure how realistic my hope is, but I'm going to hold onto it.
The thing is, the trial probably won't be very much about the racial aspect. It will be about what happened during/after that silence on the 911 tape and whether or not the state can prove that Zimmerman had no cause to feel threatened or that the shooting didn't go down the way Zimmerman claimed.
It's wasn't illegal for Zimmerman to follow Trayvon. It's not illegal for him to suspect him on the basis of race.
So if the state can't present a solid timeline of what happened and why, Zimmerman probably will go free. But we don't know what kind of evidence the state has just yet.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Zimmerman is acquitted unless the state has more witnesses who saw more or heard more than we know so far.
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The LAPD had a long and storied history of racism and the aquittal of those officers on tape no less beating the shiit out of yet another black man was just a boiling pot for those tensions.
It was just a perfect storm of phuukery the likes of which we haven't seen since. I think most larger police forces since then have taken greater care with training their officers and have been much more cautious in dealing with officers who are accused of similar crimes particularly when there is video taped evidence. I'm sure the common practice now of installing video cameras in police cruisers has also been an effective tool both in getting the police to follow procedure and inducing suspect cooperation.
There's more to it than just the police aspect but this is just my starting point.
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HAB- thank you for taking the words out of my mouth regarding the OJ trial.
Also I regarding this trial I am very interested in how it plays out and specifically as to why he was charged with 2nd degree murder instead of manslaughter.
I wondered that as well? Could it be that they are going to look at it from a racist stand point?
I also agree that I would be happy with the trial proceeding no matter the outcome. I am afraid of riots. People in Los Angeles rioted when the Lakers won the championships. I don't doubt that this would be another reason for them to act out. It's sad.
there is no question that Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon. So wouldn't this trial then be about Zimmerman presenting evidence that he was acting in self defense? Or does "stand your ground" make it so self defense is no longer an affirmative defense? Anyone know?
I don't know these things but I would presume that reasonable doubt doesn't go out of the window when one brings in an affirmative defense.
If Zimmerman's account of the crime isn't contradicted by the evidence and is just as likely a story as the prosecution's claim, isn't that reasonable doubt and doesn't he then get acquitted?
Dollars to donuts though, this trial ends up being about the definition of second degree murder.
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I was in the residents lounge the other day and one of the residents asked "what is going on with this Trayvon Martin kid." I kind of chuckled to myself and then me and another med student explained the whole story. He had heard the name, but didn't know any of the details at all and I wouldn't exactly characterize him as an idiot
Oh jeez, the 20th anniversary is in about 11 days.
The LA riots were about race relations in LA in general, which sucked during the Watts riots, and sucked during the Rodney King riots, and suck today. Is Trayvon Martin about race relations in this entire country in general? Maybe.
So I agree that it depends. Will people see the entire justice system/state of Florida as being racist? If they blame society as a whole, which I think is where this might be headed, then yes, I can see major issues stemming from this. (Also, I don't think Florida is the only state with a Stand Your Ground type law.)
Even if the justice system does it's job and the prosecuters are incompetent and Zimmerman walks completely, I see a major backlash. Remember the reactions to Casey Anthony? The court system worked just fine in that circumstance and people were still angry enough to send death threats.
40/112
or...they are intentionally setting the bar too high, knowing they wont get a conviction, because they don't want a conviction.