Wendy J. Murphy: Racism worries color our view of Trayvon case

The Enterprise ^ | May 6, 2012 | Wendy J. Murphy

[2ndDivisionVet]

In Florida, the law reads this way: "a person is justified in using deadly force (and does not have a duty to retreat) if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony, or to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another." [Florida Statute Section 776.012.] "The use of deadly force is further justified when a person is resisting any attempt to murder such person or to commit any felony upon him or her or upon or in any dwelling house in which the person is located." [Florida Statutes Section 782.02]

[TigersEye]

Yes, that’s correct.

[cracker45]

I think this is the real background story. They (black race-baiters) are all looking to make a big “killing” off the tragedy!!

http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2012/05/06/update-17-trayvon-martin-shooting-trademarked-exploitation-tour-goes-international-tracy-and-sybrina-jet-to-london-england/

JC

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

THe concept of “stand your ground” is probably irrelevant here since there was “no ground” to “stand” re Zimmerman or Martin.

Zimmerman wasn’t protecting his “ground” (i.e. home, yard, car) and neither was Martin. He was patrolling it as the eyes and ears of his neighborhood. When he called the police, he was doing what he was supposed to do.

Martin was moving, so where is “the ground” he was protecting? None, and if he moved on Zimmerman, there was still no ground involved. If Martin had been at his mother’s house, then you would have had a different scenario.

This is a real red herring for lawyers to spout off on, like a bull with diarrhea, but in the end, it means nothing (except for the poor bull).

[Cboldt]

-- An SYG law only negates the caveat that one must also believe, by the reasonable man standard, that he had no means of escape. It doesn't negate the standards required for probable cause that law enforcement must abide by. --

There is a sloppy usage in the press, that SYG also means statutory immunity from criminal prosecution and civil suit.

[Cboldt]

-- THe concept of "stand your ground" is probably irrelevant here since there was "no ground" to "stand" re Zimmerman or Martin. --

That's true because the fact pattern in this case negates the possibility of escape. In he general case, Florida's absence of duty to retreat extends to anyplace one may lawfully be.

[lentulusgracchus]

Why didn't his later estimation become more accurate? Who knows? Maybe Trayvon had a deep voice.

And maybe he was 6' 3" or so, and built like a lumberjack. Trayvon Martin was a football player.

How come we haven't seen any info from Trayvon's coaches in Miami about Trayvon's conditioning, how much he could bench-press, how much he could clean-jerk, hand strength, leg strength, speed, and so on? What position did he play? First string, or third? What was his playing weight? Could he hit hard and tackle, take a man down? What were his typical practice times in the 40- and 100-yard dashes? Where's the info? The cat was an athlete, not a clocker.

[lentulusgracchus]

He was patrolling it as the eyes and ears of his neighborhood.

Actually ... he wasn't patrolling, he stated elsewhere that he was on an errand to the store when he saw Trayvon casing a house.

Zimmerman admitted carrying his piece on patrol (that's the end of his involvement in Citizens on Patrol, very probably, since it's against the rules), but at the time of the incident he wasn't on patrol and so wasn't breaking any rules.

By shooting Trayvon, Zimmerman proved that a) Trayvon was a criminal and Zimmerman had correctly profiled him, b) it endangers Citizens on Patrol volunteers to demand that they go on patrol without any sort of weapons, and c) the dangers increase when patrollers dismount, against the rules as Zimmerman did (if he'd been on patrol) -- but then the rules confine the patrollers to the point of uselessness in a scenario like this, involving a home invader/house burglar who is trying to avoid contact with police.

[FreedomPoster]

>>that’s the end of his involvement in Citizens on Patrol, very probably, since it’s against the rules

Then it is a stupid rule, and personally I would want little to do with the group.

[TigersEye]

That is what I was getting at but I suspect it’s more than sloppiness on the part of many reporters. There is a very clear vein running through the media reporting other than the start-a-race-war angle and that is the anti-gun angle.

[manforallseasons]

Estimating someone’s age is guesswork, not a precise measurement; and a first impression, while watching from a distance, in the dark, is probably open to modification. It is not written in stone.

Perhaps, when Mr. Zimmerman saw Mr. Martin up-close, and when he was being beaten up by a much taller and stronger man, he had reasons to think that Mr. Martin was older than someone in his “late teens.”