Posted on 03/24/2012 4:27:07 AM PDT by Erik Latranyi
ORLANDO - An attorney representing George Zimmerman is speaking out, saying his client is not a racist, and that he acted in self-defense the night Trayvon Martin was shot and killed.
Craig Sonner spoke with FOX 35 in Orlando. He said he did not know George Zimmerman's location. He said due to death threats, he has been advising Zimmerman to avoid going out in public.
He referred to a flier saying Zimmerman was "Wanted dead or alive."
"I have advised him to stay out the public eye as much as he can," Sonner said.
Sonner also gave more details about injuries Zimmerman sustained that night.
"He did suffer a broken nose, and he has an injury to the back of his head which should have required stitches. I think he was delayed in getting to the doctor and having stitches put in. But he did sustain injuries to his head," Sonner said.
Sonner said portrayals of his client as a racist are not accurate. As an example, he cited Zimmerman's participation in fundraisers for an African-American church in the Orlando area.
Sonner said Zimmerman was under "a lot of stress."
"He's very concerned about the grave situation he's in. There's a young man who is now deceased in this situation, he's very concerned about that," Sonner said.
My hope is that Hispanics will remember how Obama turned on them.
Once again Obama went racist.
The media is having a field day with this. They are the ones stirring this crap.
Read the comments from the article you linked. That is the wrong TM Facebook page. That is a TM in Georgia.
Upscale was MSM code for “white.”
Now is the time to go after the Rev. Al Sharpton. He is trying to incite a lynch mob after leading the Tawana Brawley hoax. Yet he has broadcast gigs like he is a serious and respectable national personality.
Right wing personalities are marginalized after ony one incident, sometimes made up by the media. This is PC madness, and Al Sharpton is nothing more than a racial huckster.
The evidence is in part Zimmerman's testimony, but my impression is that there are eyewitnesses who testified to the same effect.
If Zimmerman is on the ground taking a beating, it become impractical for him to retreat and/or de-escalate.
-- This fight, which escalated to deadly force because Zimmerman was in reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm might have escalated BECAUSE Zimmerman was armed. --
I don't think hoodie-boy would have jumped Zimmerman, if he knew Zimmerman was armed.
That is not the Trayvon Martin in question. It is a middle schooler from Georgia.
See post 70 from this link for recent Martin images: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2863029/posts
zimmerman confronted the 6’2” 190# hoodie wearing man, then turned around to leave the scene. That is when he was attacked, FROM BEHIND, thrown to the ground, and with the 6’2” 190# man sitting on top of him, began to be assaulted, punched about the face and upper body, having his head slammed into the ground. As he lay there on the ground with the 6’2” 190# beating the shit out of him, he shot the attacker..... cut and dry self defence... and here is a little statistic for all of you, more people are beaten to death every year in the USofA than are shot to death..
He had a right to be there. He was staying with relatives who live in that gated community.
Yep, I see this as another beer summit where they one they cry racist and then they look like fools and have to buy the guy a beer for disgracing the guy for life.
As for Zimmerman, justified or not justified has already left the picture. He has been sacrificed on the altar of public opinion.
Do you recall the case of the Ohio National Guardsmen? For years they were savaged by the Communists in the media and the politicans were under tremendous pressure to prosecute them. Only Governor Rhoades standing firm prevented it. I do not believe that those in power today have that political courage. I would hope that they do but, there has been no evidence that I have seen to indicate it.
Yeah I have a sick feeling the DOJ will investigate and Obama will use this to force more regulations and anti gun laws to take away the 2nd ammendment rights of citizens. This could be the start of it, all in the name of “solving racism”.
The analysis isn't whether or not the other person got angry, it's whether a reasonable person would perceive the exchange as instigating or asking for a fight. Some people use anything as an excuse to get angry, that is, they come to anger unreasonably.
From my impression of how the physical confrontation started, I don't think the "stand your ground" principle is in play, at all.
Right. I started by saying that a "he said...he said" case will be hard to resolve with one of the two dead.
calex59, it's NEVER been the law that you can use deadly force in a fight where you are a willing participant. J.... Ch...., how many manslaughter convictions have there been coming out of bar fights?
All I'm saying is that I DON'T KNOW if the Florida "stand your ground" law CHANGES THE COMMON LAW OF SELF-DEFENSE, and I asked if any knowledgable freepers could enlighten me.
Do you know if the Florida "stand your ground" law CREATES the right to use deadly force once you start losing a fight in which you are not the aggressor but which you could avoid by reasonable conduct?
I mean, you have the right to be in a given bar, and you have the right to fight back if attacked, but if you wade into a bar fight that you didn't start, punch a guy, and he falls, hits his head, and dies, that's manslaughter, right?
All I'm asking is, in Florida now, if under the same circumstances, he knocks you down and you shoot him, is that legal and proper use of "stand your ground"?
The facts of this case are a nightmare for Obama. His DOJ may have to try a Catholic hispanic in Florida, who was getting the hell beat out of him by a black guy. Hispanics are not going to appreciate that Obama already noted his non existent son would “look like” the black guy.
Otoh, Obama so wants to rile up the black vote to encourage a huge turnout.
Meanwhile, imho, white voters hate it when Obama steps into racial controversies.
Turning this into any kind of general issue involving blacks is disgusting. You could as well say it proves blacks beat people up, as say “blacks are under attack.”
To get to your question, Jim, I can speak to Florida's laws on this. I've had to use a firearm in self-defense twice in my life, and it was shortly after I turned 21. I was in college in Tallahassee, and this happened even before Stand Your Ground was law.
It removes the duty to retreat or de-escalate. It also allows any lawful gun owner to have their weapon with them in any place where they are legally allowed to be. So, for instance, they can have a pistol on their side in their home, on their property, in their vehicle, boat, etc. They can also have a firearm on them in a friend's home or vehicle, provided that owner is okay with it. Since you are required to carry concealed and Florida does not allow open carry (yet), you can't legally carry a firearm in a restaurant, grocery store, WalMart, etc. despite being legally permitted to be there.
Zimmerman was not on duty for the watch, but he was on a personal errand. From his home to his vehicle and on the road, he's legally allowed to have that firearm with him. As soon as he got out of that vehicle, he can't legally have his gun unless he has a CWP (did they mention yet if he's a holder?). This is where the story gets a little muddy. He went looking for Martin, but broke off the search. At some point back to his vehicle, he was attacked. At this point, Stand Your Ground permits him to defend himself regardless of the disposition of force. Florida law makes no accessions for equality of force.
Someone comes at you with a weapon, you only have to be in fear for your life to shoot. That's the key phrase, even I had to use it in my situation: "I was in fear for my life." Period, case over. Law enforcement cannot, under Florida law, arrest you for pulling the trigger. Maybe they come knocking on your door at a later date to follow up, but you walk away.
If memory serves, the cops were acquitted of the charge of murder. Murder implies intent, premeditation. The cops in the Rodney King case were over-charged—probably in response to the mob-mentality resulting from the excerpted video being played over and over again.
Look, the idea of “what to think” is taught in the media, as well as in the public schools.
How upside down is it that Al, Jesse, Farrakhan, The Black Panthers et al are prancing around and spouting BS and both this attorney and his dad feel compelled to say 'he is not racist'
1984 anyone?
From the comments at that page, the photos are not of the deceased.
Would that only be considered trespassing and not breaking and entering? It would be like the illegal aliens only being cited for trespassing when they cross the border illegally. Wouldn’t a gated community hold some kind of illegal entry violation to the perp?
I was very young when Kent State happened; I don’t remember it at all. I’ve never met anyone who disagreed with the guardsmen’s actions, probably because people I know understand the difference between the National Guard and the Green Berets, and I don’t know anyone whose parents were on the left during Vietnam. Many of my friends had fathers who served in the war (and were proud of it) or who had served prior to the war.
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