walking while black - Trayvon Martin

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http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerma...dpS3TvQrQy

Thanks, OTD. I read it. I don't like it but I guess I agree with Dan. It's hard to swallow. I want George to pay for what he did but like I said last week, one way or another George WILL pay, if not through the courts then through life in general. It will be a long time before he stops looking over his shoulder and you know damn well he'll be packing his weapon every place he goes.

Dan's conclusion is wrong.

To be clear, if we were talking about Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground Law, who initiated the encounter would be crucial and the defendant would have the burden to prove that he should not be held legally responsible for the shooting. That law, which can protect a shooter from even going to trial, wasn't designed for someone who starts a fight and then loses the fight he initiated.

Zimmerman waived a pre-trial Stand Your Ground hearing and went directly to trial (likely because his lawyers knew they would lose) and simply argued classic self-defense, which is different. Now no matter how it started, if Zimmerman shot Martin because he reasonably believed it was the only way to protect himself from "great bodily harm" then he is not guilty. That's the law.

Just because George waived the pretrial hearing for immunity, the law no longer applies? Really? That is bullshit. And that is not the law.

George will have to convince the jury that he was not the initial aggressor, or that Trayvon overpowered poor helpless George to the point that George could not retreat.