Zimmerman Prosecutors Struggle to Outmaneuver Florida Law

US Politics Today ^ | June 23, 2012

[2ndDivisionVet]

Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law is complicating matters for prosecutors rushing to convict George Zimmerman. The law is clear that residents can meet force with force when they feel threatened.

Florida's Stand Your Ground law allows residents to use deadly force to defend themselves or their property, and when doing so, protects them from prosecution. This law may derail the prosecution of defendant George Zimmerman in the much-publicized case of a neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin.

State prosecutors see the case as open-and-shut, arguing that Martin was simply a kid buying a soda at a convenience store. When Zimmerman called 911 to report a suspicious individual, police told him to stand down until they arrived; he did not.

While authorities note that the one possibly threatening detail about Trayvon Martin was a simple hooded sweatshirt, George Zimmerman claims that Martin physically attacked him.

Florida's Stand Your Ground law is clear: an individual has no duty to retreat from a public confrontation in which he or she reasonably perceives a danger. As the Miami Herald notes, Floridians are allowed to "meet force with force." In fact, Zimmerman was not initially arrested by police at all for this very reason.

And, the law receives strong support. A recent Quinnipiac University poll finds support for the state law at 56 percent, with only 35 percent opposed to it.

While he was eventually charged with second degree murder, state prosecutors have no easy task to explain why Stand Your Ground should not apply to George Zimmerman. In fact, anyone facing charges of murder or homicide in Florida should discuss their situation with an experienced criminal defense attorney who will hold the prosecution accountable for proving their case at every step and ensure the defendant's rights under state law are respected.

[Aevery_Freeman]

If a full tox screen was not performed, the prosecution better have a good reason. It should have been done by now and the results made public - unless of course they are still trying to make the Z-man look guilty by holding him and his wife in jail on trumped up charges.

Good thing this is America where that kind of abuse cannot happen (Bill of Rights and all).

[SkyPilot]

This is interesting.....to say the least....

Purple drank

"Purple drank is a slang term for a recreational drug popular in the hip hop community in the southern United States, originating in Houston, Texas. Its main ingredient is prescription-strength cough syrup containing codeine and promethazine. Cough syrup is typically mixed with ingredients such as Sprite soft drink or Mountain Dew and pieces of Jolly Rancher candy. The purplish hue of purple drank comes from dyes in the cough syrup. There are numerous slang terms for purple drank, including sizzurp, lean, syrup, drank, barre, purple jelly, and Texas tea. In June 2000, Three 6 Mafia's single "Sippin' on Some Syrup," featuring UGK, brought the term "purple drank" to a nationwide audience. Three 6 Mafia's single "Rainbow Colors" featuring Lil' Flip pertains to the consumption of purple drank; the addition of a Jolly Rancher candy to a cup of purple drank creates a spectrum of colors, hence the name."

When Martin was referring to "drank" and "lean" and "DMX" in his Facebook postings, this is what he was referring to.

[battletank]

“I bring this up NOT because of stereotypes or because it is significant to the facts of this case.”

I do believe it will become an integral part of the “facts” of this case. It’s an ingredient in “let’s get high” drink. Google “lean” in the urban dictionary.

[SkyPilot]

The toxicology reports are notoriously botched. All they have say is they were "not looking for" such and such. Or they ran a 'standard' toxicology report and didn't find "drugs or alcohol' - but they don't test for DMX or codeine, they most likely test for marijuana, meth, cocaine, and heroin instead.

In any case, even if the facts are there to implicate the Angel Trayvon, look at what Johnnny Cochran did to the LA Police Lab that has sooooooooooooooo much evidence against OJ Simpson. The lab had simply "contaminated" and "manufactured" all the evidence, and the unbiased and impartial OJ jury of Obama voters nodded their collective heads approvingly.

[SkyPilot]

I do believe it will become an integral part of the “facts” of this case. It’s an ingredient in “let’s get high” drink. Google “lean” in the urban dictionary.

You're right - and I just became aware of this because of this thread.

Where is the media on this? Even Conserative media? Drudge? Breitbart? Fox? Rush? Hannity? CNS?

[SoFloFreeper]

Zimmerman is innocent.

[SoFloFreeper]

Zimmerman is innocent.

[SoFloFreeper]

Zimmerman is innocent.

[CORedneck]

I hate to say but I can even see a federal prosecution of Zimmerman when he is tried and found not guilty.

[Red in Blue PA]

Where is the barf alert for this story?

[Red in Blue PA]

Where is the barf alert for this story?

[Red in Blue PA]

I have been following this case fairly closely and even I did not know about the watermelon drink. Excellent post.

The MSM can rot in hell......along with anybody prosecuting this poor guy

[Red in Blue PA]

I have been following this case fairly closely and even I did not know about the watermelon drink. Excellent post.

The MSM can rot in hell......along with anybody prosecuting this poor guy

[Real Cynic No More]

This account is full of lies

You certainly got that right! I still don't see how "stand your ground" is in play here, based on the facts that have been released.

How in the h??? is that an issue when someone attacks you and threatens to kill you while beating your head against the ground and trying to take your gun?

Maybe we should get a new law, the "Lie on the ground" defense.

[Mr Rogers]

Actually, Martin was 5’11”, according the the coroner.

Stand your ground MAY apply here. There are some states where you are supposed to run away as soon as you feel threatened, and cannot legally claim self defense if you do not. I don’t remember the details, but in one state a woman was found guilty when she shot a guy who entered her bedroom because, when she first heard noises, she didn’t immediately crawl out the window.

That is the sort of insanity stand your ground laws were meant to stop. I don’t think it was ever true in Florida, but there were states where Zimmerman would have been expected to turn and run if Martin threatened him. In that sense, stand your ground does apply. No person should be found guilty for failing to run at the first sign of danger, or denied the right of self-defense a minute later when things turn bad.

[bgill]

Now, that’s what you’d call a fair and unbiased article.

NOT!

[HiTech RedNeck]

I hope they kept a few spare vials of blood in a freezer for such questions.

[HiTech RedNeck]

(Tray's Lean was not, like SoBe, a diet drink!)

[HiTech RedNeck]

If Mr. Zimmerman’s reported accounts are to be believed, the brawl with Tray was a surprise, not a face-off that turned ugly.