[aruanan]

The media also fills their articles with outdated baby-faced pictures of Trayvon. Very few include that he was a towering 6'2” football player.

Who had done nothing wrong according to police, who had every right to be where he was when he was, who was being aggressively pursued by a stranger at night, a stranger whose intentions he had absolutely no way of knowing, a stranger who would not have provoked a physical altercation with him and would not have shot him had the stranger not actively disregarded instructions by 911 personnel and the tenets of Neighborhood Watch, a stranger whom he could only assume meant him harm, as was proved to have been the case by subsequent events. The big question is why you and others, such as rogue yam, are deliberately overlooking the plain facts of the case and focusing on matters that would not have even come into play had Zimmerman been content to stay in the only role legally open to him, that of observing and reporting (of course, his comments such as "these assholes always get away with it" and "f-cking coons" are a pretty good indication of why he was not so content). Are you guys related to him in some way and attempting to use a public forum to sway a potential jury pool?

[marktwain]

matters that would not have even come into play had Zimmerman been content to stay in the only role legally open to him, that of observing and reporting

You are simply incorrect in the above statement. Zimmerman was perfectly legal in his following Martin in public areas, and in approaching him and asking questions.

Neighborhood watch manuals are not statutes.

Advice from a dispatcher is not a legally binding order.

The critical question is: Who attacked who? Both parties had committed no crime, and were legally where they had a right to be.

Trayvon Martin was a guest of his father who was staying at his girlfriends house.

George Zimmerman lived in the neighborhood.