Prove it. Prove Zimmerman initiated the fisticuffs.
You can spin all the theories you want. But if you can't prove Zimmerman attacked, there is no crime.
In fact, given what we now know about Martin, Zimmerman's story is totally plausible. Martin was justifiably pissed at having attracted attention for walking while black in a hoodie on a dark and rainy evening with his hands in his pockets. So far, so good. But, alas, Martin caused his own death when he unwisely and unjustifiably lost it and attacked Zimmerman.
There's a good reconstruction of what probably happened here.
There's a good reconstruction of what probably happened here.
From another thread discussing this theory:
Like the rest of us, that blogger's start/end places are just guesses. Zimmerman told the dispatcher at one point during the call that he was parked at a cut through but we don't know how close or on which side of the road.
There is also this bit:
19:10:55 Zimmerman: Ayup, he's coming to check me out.
...GZ never mentions how close TM is to his vehicle but he was close enough for GZ to mention this:
19:10:58 Zimmerman: He's got something in his hands, I don't know what his deal is.
...more chat with dispatcher - who told GZ to let him know if TM did anything else - GZ doesn't mention TM turning, walking away, or increasing/decreasing his distance. How close did TM get to GZ's truck? How much of a lead would he have when he ran?....
Based on the call, there it was about 3-4 seconds between GZ's "ah, shit - he's running!" and the time the door opened. It was another 18 seconds or so before he acknowledged the dispatcher's "we don't need you to do that." How much of a head start did TM have? If TM only had a few yards and a few seconds on GZ, would TM's instinct been to have run down a straightaway that was completely exposed if he thought GZ might not have been too far behind? Could GZ have been able to reach the north end of the walkway in time to see TM if TM was running down the straightaway for home? Were there lamps or security lights between the building, any porch lights on, any ambient light from any of the homes? Could GZ hear running footsteps?
That GZ didn't mention any of the above is something that makes me think that TM ran and ducked.
And a followup on my part from the same thread:
I just realized that the blogger may have mislabeled one point.
"2:20 – He’s heading towards the back entrance. [referring to E]"
19:11:42 Dispatcher: He's running? Which way is he running?
19:11:44 [sound of vehicle door opening]
19:11:45 Zimmerman: Down towards the, uh, other entrance to the neighborhood.
19:11:48 Dispatcher: Okay, which entrance is that that he's heading towards?
19:11:50 Zimmerman: The back entrance…
See post 107. The back entrance to the neighborhood is south and west of the fiancee's home. It seems unlikely that GZ would claim that TM was heading down toward the other entrance if GZ only observed him running due west i.e., from C to E.
And lastly:
GZ would have had to have seen TM make the southward turn from his vehicle. Barely five seconds had lapsed from "he's running" to giving the dispatcher the direction TM ran. The distance from one road to the other looks to be about 60 yards. (World record for the 100 yard dash is over 9 seconds and that's under controlled conditions. We know that TM was wearing jeans and a hoodie and likely running on a damp sidewalk at best, over wet grass at worst, hardly ideal running conditions.)
But again, the points hinge on how close TM was to GZ when he took off. If he came close enough to check GZ out, that implies that he was closer to the junction of the road where GZ was parked and the beginning of the cut through. If he took off from that point, it seems that turning between the building would better fit the time and GZ's observation of his direction. Taking the first available turn (the sidewalk between the buildings) and breaking line of sight would also make more sense than running in a direction that would give GZ a sustained line of sight. The E point on the blogger's map/timeline just doesn't make sense to me.
Long story, short - While I think it likely that TM ran and hid and at some point he was either discovered or chose to reveal himself, the times seem a bit off for E to be the point at which GZ lost sight of him.