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Your right, it was good advice, and if Zimmerman didn't follow that advice, he was stupid. But there is no law against being stupid. People keep bringing up things that really don't matter. It doens't matter how old Martin was, where he was going, how he was dressed, how big he was, what race he was, if he had been in trouble in the past, if he had tatooes, if he was a gang member, if he was in the school choir, what time it was, or even whether he was wearing a I love Jesus shirt and a WWJD braclet All that really matters in the end is whether there was a fight (as the witnesses have stated), and if during that fight Zimmerman felt that his life was in danger. The second Zimmerman felt that his life was in danger, he had the authority to use deadly force to defend himself, end of story. It's a tragedy for all involved, nothing more.

The second Zimmerman felt that his life was in danger, he had the authority to use deadly force to defend himself, end of story.

Again, if Zimmerman started the fight, then he had the authority to use deadly force to defend himself only if he reasonably believed his life was in imminent danger, and he had exhausted all other means of escaping that danger.

Who started the fight is an open question. On the one hand, we have Zimmerman's statement that he had stopped following Martin and Martin jumped him. On the other hand, the testimony/records of the phone call between Martin and his girlfriend suggest otherwise.

We also have the Zimmerman call to the dispatcher - while Zimmerman was under no obligation to listen to the dispatcher's advice, the fact that he did not (as well as several of his other comments on the call, such as the reference to "a**holes" who "always get away") shed some light on Zimmerman's state of mind at the time, and are of some relevance when determining who started the altercation.

Your right, it was good advice, and if Zimmerman didn't follow that advice, he was stupid.

I would have advised the kid not to turn around and punch Zimmerman and then jump on top of him. I would have advised him that was against the law. Zimmerman, as far as we know, broke no laws, he was only stupid.