[maggief]

http://www.wtsp.com/news/breaking/article/325021/20/George-Zimmerman-Trial-Jury-asks-for-manslaughter-clarification

Below are the instructions they were given:

MANSLAUGHTER
To prove the crime of Manslaughter, the State must prove the following two elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. Trayvon Martin is dead.

2. George Zimmerman intentionally committed an act or acts that
caused the death of Trayvon Martin.

George Zimmermancannot be guilty of manslaughter by committing a merely negligentact or if the killing was either justifiable or excusable homicide:

Each of us has a duty to act reasonably toward others. If there is a violation of that duty, without any conscious intention to harm, that violation is negligence.

The killing of a hu man being is justifiable homicide and lawful if necessarily done while resisting an attempt to murder or commit a felony upon George Zimmerman , or to commit a felony in any dwelling house in which George Zimmerman was at the time of the killing.

The kill ing of a human being is excusable, and therefore lawful, under any one of the following three circumstances:

1. When the killing is committed by accident and misfortune in doing any lawful act by lawful means with usual ordinary caution and without any unlaw ful intent, or

2. When the killing occurs by accident and misfortune in the heat of passion, upon any sudden and sufficient provocation, or

3. When the killing is committed by accident and misfortune resulting from a sudden combat, if a dangerous weapon is not used and the killing is not done in a cruel or unusual manner.

[novemberslady]

Thanks for posting that.

If they follow the law, he should be found innocent.

[tanknetter]

Below are the instructions they were given:

Where does the argument that Zimmerman felt an immediate threat to his life or being inflicted with grievous injury come into play?

Was the jury given any instruction along those lines?

It would be nearly impossible to conclude that Martin was trying to murder Zimmerman. To much possibility that he was just beating the cr*p out of him. But there's no doubt in my mind that Zimmerman was permitted to use deadly force due to the possibility that what Martin was doing to him was going to cause grievous injury. But from the instruction below it's going to be up to the jury to make that leap ...

[PapaBear3625]

The killing of a hu man being is justifiable homicide and lawful if necessarily done while resisting an attempt to murder or commit a felony upon George Zimmerman , or to commit a felony in any dwelling house in which George Zimmerman was at the time of the killing.

At this point, an intelligent jury question would be: "could the beating that Trayvon was administering on Zimmerman be considered a felony?"

I don't like the jury instructions at all. The decision should revolve around "Did Zimmerman meet the conditions for self-defense?"

[NittanyLion]

With an instruction like that I may have a question about how to apply reasonable doubt as to the justifiable homicide defense. Something like, “Do I need to be certain beyond a reasonable doubt that it was justifiable in order to invoke that exception or is it the opposite?”