The Exploitation of Trayvon Martin


George H. Smith

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George Zimmerman has collected two hundred grand the last time I checked but his bail was $150,000, which means the amount needed for a bail bondsman is usually ten percent of that. Then he has his living and legal expenses before his trial. The guy cannot work or show his face in public. I think a lynch mob mentality as fostered by Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson is despicable.

He may have been wrong to continue to follow the suspect after being told not to, IF HE DID, but I gave George Zimmerman ten bucks.

Peter

Mr. Taylor:

There is absolutely no evidence that Zimmerman took one single step to follow the victim. In fact, upon information and belief, it appears that the victim doubled back on Zimmerman.

http://digg.com/news...in_doubled_back

<a href="http://s657.photobucket.com/albums/uu299/Selene44/?action=view&current=TrayvonZimmermanMapDevelopment.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu299/Selene44/TrayvonZimmermanMapDevelopment.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

He apparently was in the process of getting a hard address to give the police and was going directly back to his car when this "incident," or, "confrontation" took place.

Adam

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News editing at its not so finest

Here we go for some more American mainstream news cleanup.

Another Misleading Edit Costs Another NBC News Employee Her Job

By Chris Ariens

May 2, 2012

TVNewser

From the article:

Lilia Luciano, a Miami-based NBC News correspondent, is no longer working for the network, TVNewser has learned.

. . .

In a story for the “Today” show on March 20, Luciano used part of the George Zimmerman 911 call in which an entire phrase (italicized below) was taken from a later part of the conversation:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good or on drugs or something. He’s got his hand in his waistband. And he’s a black male.

Dispatcher: Are you following him?

Zimmerman: Yeah.

Dispatcher: Okay, we don’t need you to do that.

A week later, on March 27, another correspondent, Ron Allen used similar audio from that 911 call in his story, leaving out the dispatcher’s follow-up question.

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.

As we’ve reported, here’s how the conversation actually happened:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.

Dispatcher: OK, and this guy — is he white, black, or Hispanic?

Zimmerman: He looks black.

That edit resulted in the dismissal of the NBC News Miami producer. NBC News confirms with TVNewser that Luciano is no longer with the network.

When I left for Brazil back in the 1970's, this kind of thing was unthinkable for a company like NBC. Regardless of slant, there were professional standards.

Even after being back for 8 years, the 32 year gap has left its mark on me. It makes me sick at heart to see how casual outright falsification of audio has become on broadcast American TV. And it makes me sicker to know that this is just the tip of the iceberg in mainstream news.

What a bunch of liars.

I want to say this reminds me of Brazil because they manipulate the news down there. But I just don't remember the level of lowness I see here. I used to tell Brazilians that there was corruption in the USA, but we kept a lid on how obvious it could get and would never allow it to become blatant like I saw there.

Those sure were the days...

This crap makes me kind of homesick for Brazil. I'm feeling a odd emotion of lost innocence.

(And that's really odd for me. There's a callous where my innocence used to be. :smile: )

Michael

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However pernicious the media are, saying "OK" is not conclusive proof that Zimmerman did in fact stop following Martin, anyjmore than his injuries can be conclusively proven to have been inflicted by Martin. This case looks dreadfully susceptible to OJ-type antics when it comes to court and I hope there is some chance that verifiable facts will be produced.

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However pernicious the media are, saying "OK" is not conclusive proof that Zimmerman did in fact stop following Martin, anyjmore than his injuries can be conclusively proven to have been inflicted by Martin. This case looks dreadfully susceptible to OJ-type antics when it comes to court and I hope there is some chance that verifiable facts will be produced.

Carol:

There is no evidence that he did "follow Trayvon Martin." There are statements to the 911 operator that he was going to follow him and the operator's statement that they did not need him to do that.

There is also the hearsay statement, not on tape, from Trayvon's girlfriend that "...someone was following him..."

Adam

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Carol,

This thing has already been spoiled by the media and backstage manipulations.

The worst part of it all (except for the death), to me, is that fair-minded people get sucked in and start taking sides when otherwise they would wait and see the evidence.

Those who have seen too many unfair law enforcement and court judgments against blacks have hot buttons and the media and manipulators are quick to bang on them to crucify Zimmerman. People who hate trial by media and manipulators have their own hot buttons and the media and manipulators are quick to bang on them to exonerate Zimmerman and condemn Martin as a punk.

This is trial and defense by hype and BS.

I'm not immune, either. I find I am exerting an effort inside myself to not take Zimmerman's side. Seriously. The siren's song lures me to jump on the reefs and shoal rocks of defending him. But when I introspect deeply on that feeling and try to get to the root of it, Zimmerman and Martin are just not there. On that deep level, they are not part of it. If anything, they are bit players in a different drama.

On first blush, I can't stand the people who do media manipulation and scapegoating. That's what makes me want to defend Zimmerman. I can't stand them.

But I have deeper things inside me and I keep digging. The people I really can't stand cast a wider net (which encompasses the ones I already can't stand). These are people who play agenda games with a case like Martin's killing (or murder if that is found to have happened). So in the end, after more effort than I should ever need to think about something like this, I pass by the sirens, cover my ears to their song and simply say I refuse to judge until the legal process has completed.

Now notice this.

That should have been my first attitude and it should have been a no-brainer.

Dayaamm!

The honking of the media sure helps when I get to that point, but before I get there, that honking sounds like a seductive melody to the underbelly of my mind.

Then there's this. When I look around--here, there and everywhere--I see that I am not alone in this experience.

How can we, as a society, ever fix trouble like the Zimmerman and Martin case when we keep judging without trying to know beforehand?

Isn't that--judging without trying to know beforehand--precisely the crap default thinking method that led to killing in the first place?

That last is a rhetorical question and I mean it to include all concerned.

The media has crapped out on us. It's bad, too. Real bad. You can't use the media to know. They now replace who, what, when, where, why and how with any fantasy they deem should have happened instead.

Michael

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Michael, my attempt to hold off judgment is exactly the same as yours. This is why I have avoided this thread lately, trying not even to read it, but I have no self-discipline - anyway, I had come to that same conclusion which is why I hope that the police, the prosecutors and defence have integrity and facts at trial.

I admire you for realizing and admitting that you wanted Zimmerman to be innocent because you hated his media opponents and agenda opportunists.. That takes real self-knowledge and if only more on both sides had it-- if only. Btw one of the few times I have admired Leonard Peikoff was when he admitted that he had spoken in support of Kobe Bryant without knowing any facts of the case, because he hated Bryant's opponents who "try to destroy men of achievement" .

As to the pre-judgers, let's just look at is an epic case of confirmation bias.

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did you read the two Edith Efron books from four decades ago?--one was The News Twisters

Brant,

I never read them.

I did look them up and see they ruffled a lot of feathers.

I'll probably get around to looking at them one day.

It seems that Edith Efron, in her spare time, royally pissed off Murray Rothbard (The Efron Affair).

Michael

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  • 2 weeks later...

My, my as the actual facts are emerging about Mr. Zimmerman, whose grandfather was black, it appears as if he was telling the truth about that night:

"The morning after the shooting, on Feb. 27, Zimmerman sought treatment at the offices of a general physician at a family practice near Sanford, Fla. The doctor notes Zimmerman sought an appointment to get legal clearance to return to work.

The record shows that Zimmerman also suffered bruising in the upper lip and cheek and lower back pain. The two lacerations on the back of his head, one of them nearly an inch long, the other about a quarter-inch long, were first revealed in photos obtained exclusively by ABC News last month.

<<<< interesting video in the story...

Another important fact was released:

Trayvon Martin had bruised knuckles. This was consistently denied at the rallies that took place in the rush to judgment. Statement after statement were made that Trayvon's hands were completely smooth and that his hands had no marks on them.

Even the funeral director made a big deal about that "fact."

Lo and behold, it was not true...what a surprise.

I can hear the echo's of the ghosts of Tawana Brawley and the Duke Lacrosse travesty echoing down the halls of reverse racism with a power that should make us all sit up and take notice.

Adam

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Well, let's take bets with odds--will it go to trial, will there be any conviction?

--Brant

Ok Brant, here goes:

I would set the odds of it going to trial at about 4 to 1 that it will. And, that is purely due to the political correctness pressure.

Second, depending on the actual charges when it does go to trial, in other words, if there are lower charges presented for consideration, e.g., negligent manslaughter, then there will be a conviction. In the later case, the odds of a conviction on the lesser charges would be at least 10 to 1 for a conviction on the lesser charges.

The one wild card in the above scenarios would be the skill of his counsel. If I were his counsel, I would be seeking a plea deal wherein he would plead to a significantly reduced charge of non negligent manslaughter with five (5) years probation and one thousand [1,000] hours of community service.

Adam

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Another interesting fact was revealed today...Trayvon had marijuana in his system. Funny how the "Special hit woman Prosecutor" neglected to include that fact in her indictment...

May 17, 2012

Witness Told Cops He Saw Trayvon Martin Straddling George Zimmerman And Punching Him "MMA Style" [mixed marshal arts]

A witness told Florida cops that he saw Trayvon Martin straddling George Zimmerman and pummeling the neighborhood watch captain “MMA style” shortly before the unarmed teen was felled by a gunshot to the chest.

zimmpic.jpgThe witness’s account was included in Sanford Police Department reports released today.

Interviewed by cops about 90 minutes after the shooting, the witness--whose name was redacted from police documents--said that he was inside his home when he heard a “commotion coming from the walk way” behind his residence.

The man recalled seeing “a black male, wearing a dark colored ‘hoodie’ on top of a white or Hispanic male who was yelling for help.” The black male, he added, “was mounted on the white or Hispanic male and throwing punches ‘MMA (mixed martial arts) style.'”

The witness--who was in his living room and about 30 feet away from the confrontation-- said he called out to the two men that he was dialing 911. “He then heard a ‘pop,’” police reported, and saw the black male “laid out on the grass.”

Zimmerman is pictured above in photos taken by police shortly after the February 26 shooting.

The police reports also include observations from two Sanford cops regarding Zimmerman’s physical appearance following the shooting. Officer Timothy Smith reported that Zimmerman was “bleeding from the nose and back of his head,” while Officer Jonathan Mead noted that he “appeared to have a broken and bloody nose and swelling of his face.”

Investigators also reported receiving medical reports from Altamonte Medical Practice “identifying the injuries sustained by Zimmerman on the evening of 2/26/2012.” The records indicated that he suffered an “open wound of scalp” and “Nasal bones, closed fracture.”

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One abrasion on a finer equals bruised knuckles?

To inflict pictured wounds and stay unmarked, Trayvon was a ninja master indeed.

Carol:

It is fascinating how you will contort your perception to pick that one item to comment on.

Other reports cite "bruised knuckles" plural.

So the eye witness testimony from thirty (30) to fifty (50) feet away which states that Trayvon was "straddling" Zimmerman and punching him "mixed martial arts" style is not to be taken seriously?

Adam

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On eyewitness testimony I will defer to trial examination at appropriate time.

Fair enough.

The coroner's report is that Trayvon was shot at between one inch [1"] and, I believe fifteen inches [15"] which establishes a high priority that it was a hand to hand struggle.

Alan Dershowitz had the following Opinion piece in today's Daily News:

New evidence suggests Trayvon Martin's killer acted in self-defense

By Alan Dershowitz / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Friday, May 18, 2012, 3:55 AM

Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012, 3:55 AM

image.jpg

State Attorney's Office/AP

A medical report by George Zimmerman’s doctor has disclosed that Zimmerman had a fractured nose, two black eyes, two lacerations on the back of his head and a back injury on the day after the fatal shooting. If this evidence turns out to be valid, the prosecutor will have no choice but to drop the second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman — if she wants to act ethically, lawfully and professionally.

There is, of course, no assurance that the special prosecutor handling the case, State Attorney Angela Corey, will do the right thing. Because until now, her actions have been anything but ethical, lawful and professional.

She was aware when she submitted an affidavit that it did not contain the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. She deliberately withheld evidence that supported Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense. The New York Times has reported that the police had “a full face picture” of Zimmerman, before paramedics treated him, that showed “a bloodied nose.” The prosecutor also had photographic evidence of bruises to the back of his head.

State Attorney's Office/AP

This Feb. 27, 2012 photo released by the State Attorney's Office shows George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot Trayvon Martin, with blood on the back of his head. The photo and reports were among evidence released by prosecutors that also includes calls to police, video and numerous other documents.

But none of this was included in any affidavit.

Now there is much more extensive medical evidence that would tend to support Zimmerman’s version of events. This version, if true, would establish self-defense even if Zimmerman had improperly followed, harassed and provoked Martin.

A defendant, under Florida law, loses his “stand your ground” defense if he provoked the encounter — but he retains traditional self-defense if he reasonably believed his life was in danger and his only recourse was to employ deadly force.

RELATED: TRAYVON'S DEATH WAS 'AVOIDABLE,' POLICE REPORT SAYS

Thus, if Zimmerman verbally provoked Martin, but Martin then got on top of Zimmerman and banged his head into the ground, broke his nose, bloodied his eyes and persisted in attacking Zimmerman — and if Zimmerman couldn’t protect himself from further attack except by shooting Martin — he would have the right to do that. (The prosecution has already admitted that it has no evidence that Zimmerman started the actual fight.)

RELATED: EVIDENCE MIXED FOR ZIMMERMAN'S SELF-DEFENSE CLAIM

This is a fact-specific case, in which much turns on what the jury believes beyond a reasonable doubt. It must resolve all such doubts in favor of the defendant, because our system of justice insists that it is better for 10 guilty defendants to go free than for even one innocent to be wrongfully convicted.

You wouldn’t know that from listening to Corey, who announced that her jobs was “to do justice for Trayvon Martin” — not for George Zimmerman.

Trayvon Martin

As many see it, her additional job is to prevent riots of the sort that followed the acquittal of the policemen who beat Rodney King.

Indeed, Mansfield Frazier, a columnist for the Daily Beast, has suggested that it is the responsibility of the legal system to “avert a large scale racial calamity.” He has urged Zimmerman’s defense lawyer to become a “savior” by brokering a deal to plead his client guilty to a crime that “has him back on the streets within this decade.”

But it is not the role of a defense lawyer to save the world or the country. His job — his only job — is to get the best result for his client, by all legal and ethical means.

RELATED: TRAYVON MARTIN HAD MARIJUANA IN HIS SYSTEM THE NIGHT HE WAS SHOT

Listen to the way a famous British barrister put it in 1820:

“An advocate, by the sacred duty which he owes his client, knows, in the discharge of that office, but one person in the world, that client and none other . . . Nay, separating even the duties of a patriot from those of an advocate, and casting them, if need be, to the wind, he must go on reckless of the consequences, if his fate it should unhappily be, to involve his country in confusion for his client’s protection.”

The prosecutor’s job is far broader: to do justice to the defendant as well as the alleged victim. As the Supreme Court has said: “The government wins . . . when justice is done.”

Zimmerman’s lawyer is doing his job. It’s about time for the prosecutor to start doing hers.

Dershowitz, a defense attorney, is a professor at Harvard Law School.

Drop George Zimmerman’s murder charge

2.1302

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So? Justice for dead victim is job of prosecutor. Justice for live accused is job of defence attorney. Alan D. Is a defence attorney. Decision is a jury.

No new news.

Prosecutors are unique in that they have both powers and duties that other lawyers do not. This does not mean prosecutors are any better or worse than other lawyers, but it does result in many misconceptions about the prosecutor’s role in the criminal justice system. The quotations contained on this page are intended to shed some light on this role.

“The duty of a public prosecutor or other government lawyer is to seek justice, not merely to convict.”

Rule 3.8(a) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct

“The United States Attorney [a prosecutor in Federal Court] is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all; and whose interest, therefore, in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done. As such, he is in a peculiar and very definite sense the servant of the law, the twofold aim of which is that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer. He may prosecute with earnestness and vigor – indeed, he should do so. But, while he may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones. It is as much his duty to refrain from improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction as it is to use every legitimate means to bring about a just one.”

Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88 (1935) (bracketed material added)

“The qualities of a good prosecutor are as elusive and as impossible to define as those which make a gentleman. And those who need to be told would not understand it anyway. A sensitiveness to fair play and sportsmanship is perhaps the best protection against the abuse of power, and the citizens safety lies in the prosecutor who tempers zeal with human kindness, who seeks truth and not victims, who serves the law and not factional purposes, and who approaches his task with humility.”

United States Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, April 1, 1940

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And the odds now?

--Brant

I am rethinking the odds. I think they are getting real close to even as to whether it will go to trial at all. She is going to have to provide lesser charges to have a real shot at a conviction.

I think the probability for a plea deal has gone up big time.

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We live in a very sick culture...but this is still hilarious in a dark sick way!

alan-dershowitz-featured.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

http://abcnews.go.co...64#.T-PTMd2bE4S

George Zimmerman Reenacts Shooting of Trayvon Martin"I went to grab my cell phone, but I left it in a different pocket. I looked down at my pants pocket, he said, 'You got a problem now' and then he was here and he punched me in the face," said Zimmerman, throwing a punch near his own face to illustrate."I think I stumbled and I fell down, he pushed me down, somehow he got on top of me... I was trying to push him away from me. He got on top of me somewhere around here, and that's when I started screaming for help. I started screaming HELP as loud as I could. I tried to sit up. That's when he grabbed me by the head and he tried to slam my head down," Zimmerman said."He kept slamming and slamming, and I kept yelling HELP, HELP, HELP as loud as I could," he said.In the voice stress test video, which begins with a bandaged Zimmerman commenting to an officer on the high price of health insurance as a reason he was hesitant to get treatment the night of the shooting, he later calmly questioned an officer about what she did on the force.But in a Feb. 29 interrogation, lead investigator Chris Serino openly doubts the story."You ever hear of Murphy's law?" asks Serino. "This person was not doing anything bad. You know the name of the person that died?""Tavon," responds Zimmerman"Trayvon," Serino shot back."Trayvon Martin" responds Zimmerman.George Zimmerman Reenacts Struggle, Shooting Watch VideoZimmerman's Lie Detector Test: Day After Shooting Watch VideoGeorge Zimmerman Re-Enacts Trayvon Martin Shooting Watch Video"Trayvon Benjamin Martin…He was 17…A kid with a future," said Serino. "In his possession we found a can of ice tea and a bag of Skittles. And $40 in cash. Not the goon."Serino then peppered Zimmerman about if he had any law enforcement experience, and why he deemed Martin suspicious and decided to follow him."You know you are going to come under a lot of scrutiny over this, correct?" asks Serino. "Had this person been white would you have felt the same way?""Yes," responded Zimmerman.Serino then questioned the extent of Zimmerman's injuries telling him that they don't seem consistent with someone involved in a life or death struggle. A medical report obtained earlier by ABC News revealed that Zimmerman suffered a broken nose and two lacerations on the back of his head. NTJlN2VjNiZvZj*w.gifvideo platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player
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