I’m not much worried Wouldn’t much bother me if he got some time. I early
learned the difference between lex and ius.

tic,

Don’t worry they’ll make something up.

it surely is…....except that without some actual evidence, the pros won’t take it to
a jury.

tic,

Its for a judge and jury to decide.

PH—- I’m not contesting that Zimmerman followed the kid and approached him….
that’s not anywhere near to showing wrongful death….and miles from
manslaughter…...

more evidence is needed ... perhaps the prosecution has more than is
showing…..otherwise charging manslaughter is an overcharge and their
ratcheting up the penalty as a bargaining tactic to get Z to plead out to some sort
of felony.

I just heard to Fla attorneys on PBS review the evidence and the charging doc and
agree that there’s nothing convincing showing.

tic,

Then there is the phone call to the girlfriend where Martin claimed he was being stalked by Zimm prior to the attack.

The phone call to 911 where he was warned to leave Martin alone.

This is all proof and can be documented.

Zimmerman should have been held in jail before he appeared before a judged initially, the DA releasing Martin because they felt too lazy or otherwise not inclined to prosecute is a non starter in a murder inquiry.

PH—It IS hard to prove who started the physical altercation…...if the people can
come up with physical evidence….like a bunch of facial contusions on Martin and
corresponding injuries to Zimmerman’s hands they might have a shot….and if they
can produce a credible eyewitness saying that Z laid hands on Martin to start it,
then they’re golden.

All I’ve seen is that they can clearly show that Z was the guy with some fucked-up
idea that the kid must not be allowed to walk the streets unchallenged.

tic,

PH—- someone dead ain’t enough to support the charge…..the state has to show that the death was wrongful…..and they may not be able to do even that.

Physical altercation, someone dying by a gunshot, yeah really hard to prove here.  I don’t think death by misadventure will fly either.

Martin was actively stalked by an armed Zimmerman after Zimmerman was warned not to by the 911 dispatch.

Hetero:  My comment of April 11, at 6:54 was deliberately set up as a series of questions 1,2,3 etc. Question 1 was in regard to what the original attorneys MIGHT HAVE TOLD HIM.  It was posed in the form of a speculation with a question mark at the end.

gerard——” The attorneys didn’t think he had a chance of escaping punishment
and told him so…’

where did that idea come from?

was there something in the HuffPo story that I missed or is that just your guess?

the idea that he’s gonna get 30 years is not supportable from anything publicly
available to date.

My quizzical nature brings some important questions to mind:
1. The attorneys didn’t think he had a chance of escaping punishment and told him so, which scared him as it would anybody, but In order not to appear to be “deserting” him, they made as much as possible out of his being “out of contact”?  Actually what happened with that? 
2. Was he precariously balanced from the get-go, maybe following extreme racial ideology and associating personal insecurities with the national “surveillance” craze, for status and for a feeling of support and patriotic or legal approval?
3. He had no money or source of income. How much family support has he had and will he get?
4. How will this very controversial “Stand Your Ground” law help or hinder his defense? And what qualifications will the public defender which he will probably get, have?
  All the elements of this case are totally pitiable, and under the loaded circumstances it is difficult to hope that any helpful and humane information will be allowed to penetrate the walls of authoritarian self-protection of “the system” so that any public understanding will accrue.  And if and when he “gets 30 years” (in a presumably rotten prison, as most are) then what? 
  And who will help bear the Martin family’s sorrows over time?  Florida is being called upon to show some real merciful justice here with huge future implications.  Will it understand its duties to all
concerned?  Or will it follow custom, wash its hands as quickly as possible, and “pass by on the other side of the street?”

PH—- someone dead ain’t enough to support the charge…..the state has to show
that it the death was wrongful…..and they may not be able to do even that.

I would like to see the guy get convicted of SOMETHING but from the media
accounts of the case it doesn’t look all that likely to be a felony.

Apparently the prosecutor thought there was enough evidence for a 2nd degree murder charge.  Glad it is going to be settled in a court where it should have been settled in the first place.

tic, 

Pat—what have you seen that would sustain a charge of manslaughter?

Someone died at anothers hand.

is there any evidence to refute the claim that Martin threw the first punch and was on top of Z when he was shot?

Maybe the kid thought he was defending himself against a plain clothes stalker, middle eastern looking armed terrorist instead of the neighborhood watch, he’s the victim here.

An inquisition of the facts is warranted.  If Zimmerman provoked this incident he shares a greater measure of guilt and should be punished.

Pat—what have you seen that would sustain a charge of
manslaughter?

is there any evidence to refute the claim that Martin
threw the first punch and was on top of Z when he was
shot?

I am not surprised.

This guy is a sociopath: 

He refused to obey the police
and deliberately killed a yound man
just because he was black,
and now is trying to make himself into
a media celebrity asking for money,
and hoping to become a star on
the talk shows.

This guy should be charged with murder one,
tried, and not by an-all white jury,
and there should be a gag order
on the guy throughout the proceedings.

Paid and billed are two different things.

I’m sure Zimm got billed, I’m not sure the lawyers got paid.

There should be a manslaughter charge in Zims future from what I’ve seen and heard of the evidence.  Many have gone to jail for less.

From media presentations I’ve seen so far, it appears to be a draw which factor in this sad situation is the most non compus mentis—the offender, the attorneys, the State of Florida, or the general population of this Nation.

His lawyers must have been paid somehow. They were already working for him, PH. Only a complete idiot just pitches his attorney’s advice and goes it solo. Only a complete and TOTAL idiot does it in a case as high profile as this. With decision making power like that, I can imagine how the Zimmerman/Trayvon encounter played out.

He obviously has no money.